Staff suitability

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework requires providers to ensure that people looking after children are suitable.

Following a safer recruitment process is integral to ensuring that the people you are employing are suitable. If you follow a safer recruitment process and ensure that you undertake all of the checks highlighted below, you will be meeting your statutory duties.

Qualifications

Providers must ensure that staff have the qualifications required to fulfil their roles. It is your responsibility to verify the qualifications a prospective employee holds before confirming a formal offer of the role.

You will need to see original certificates of qualifications, not copies. If these cannot be produced, you will need to ask the prospective employee to order a replacement certificate from NFCE. It is important to note that replacement certificates can only be produced for the previous 10 academic years.

A proof of qualification may be issued if the certificate was issued after September 1994. If you do not see an original certificate, or a genuine replacement or proof of qualification from NFCE, you cannot verify that the prospective employee holds the qualification required to fulfil the role.

Once you have seen an original certificate of qualification you will need to check the Department for Education's early years qualification checklist. This will enable you to check that it is accepted as full and relevant for work in an early years and childcare settings. It will also confirm if the prospective employee will be able to be counted in the EYFS staff:child ratios.

If your prospective employee holds a qualification awarded by another country, they will need to make an application to ECCTIS. They will provide qualification statements to confirm if their qualification enables them work as a qualified member of staff in a setting in England. 

Providers are also responsible for checking other qualifications that might be required, such as English and Maths qualifications. To be included in ratio at level 3, employees who achieved their full and relevant level 3 or above qualification on or after 1 September 2014 must also hold a suitable level 2 English qualification.

You will need to see the original certificate. If a prospective employee cannot produce a certificate, and the qualification they received was a GCSE, they can apply for a certificated statement of results.  

If you do not see an original certificate or a certificated statement of results, you cannot verify that a prospective employee holds the qualification required to fulfil the role. 

If a prospective employee is paediatric first aid trained and you want to count them as a member of your staff, you will need to verify the original certificate. It must be in date (within 3 years of training) and must have been conducted face to face over a minimum of 12 hours.

Full details of the requirements around paediatric first aid training can be found in annex A of the EYFS statutory framework.

Enhanced Criminal Records Checks

An enhanced criminal records check, known as an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, must be obtained for all adults who undertake 'regulated activity' with children. This applies to all early years and childcare workers and volunteers, whether supervised or unsupervised.

Early years and childcare providers are responsible for carrying out checks to make sure the people they employ are suitable to look after, or be in regular contact with, children.

The GOV.UK website provides a searchable list of the umbrella bodies who process DBS checks for early years and childcare workers. Volunteers receive the check for free.

It is important to note that an additional criminal records check (or checks if they are required for more than one country) should also be made for anyone who has lived or worked abroad. Visit GOV.UK for guidance on criminal records checks for overseas applicants.

Childminders

Everyone 16 years old and over living or working in a childminder’s home will need to apply for an enhanced DBS via the Ofsted application portal. This includes partners, family members, assistants, cleaners and anyone else at the property. The checks are to make sure the home is safe for children. Childminders can claim this as a business expense.

Owners and managers

The following must also apply for DBS checks via the Ofsted application portal:

  • committee members
  • directors
  • nominated or responsible individuals
  • registered managers
  • sole proprietors
  • trustee members

DBS update service

If a staff member or successful applicant is registered with the DBS Update Service, employers can ask for permission to view their original DBS check and carry out an instant free online check of any new information relating to their record.

Employees pay £13.00 a year to register - volunteers can register for free.

Self-disclosure

Providers must tell staff that they are expected to disclose any convictions, cautions, court orders, reprimands and warnings that may affect their suitability to work with children (whether received before or during their employment at the setting).

You must ask prospective employees to complete a self-disclosure form. You should do this prior to interview, so you can ask any questions you need to ask in order to ascertain suitability during the interview.

The NSPCC provides an example self-disclosure form. The example form on page 7 of this document can be adapted to support early years and childcare providers. These self-disclosure form examples are to help you create self-disclosure forms specific to your organisation’s needs.

You should make sure it is appropriate for the roles you are recruiting to and it aligns with your safeguarding and organisational policies and procedures.

Recording

Providers must record information about staff qualifications and the identity checks and vetting processes that have been completed.

It should also include the criminal records check reference number, the date a check was obtained and details of who obtained it.