Early Years HR client gets their Good!

Nursery Staff Files

Safer recruitment and nursery staff files can be a headache, especially if you are taking over a setting and decades of unorganised files.

I have been working with a client who contacted me after receiving an inadequate Ofsted judgement.

Part of the reason for this was their staff files. In the nursery’s welfare requirements notice was the following action:

Ensure vetting and recruitment procedures are fully robust when making decisions about the suitability of staff.

On my first visit to the setting, I sampled a few nursery staff files and quickly identified common issues. From here, I put a comprehensive, personalised checklist in place and spent time explaining best practice and things such as right to work requirements.

These tools allowed the team to then carry out their own audit. Previously they didn’t know what a best practice nursery staff file should look like so realistically couldn’t begin to check them.

On my next visit, we were then able to identify issues in much more detail. Such as small discrepancies in dates or incomplete information. This information had completely passed them by because they didn’t have:

• A safer recruitment process (you need more than just a policy)
• Safer recruiting training
• Nursery staff file checklist
• An exemplary file to compare and check against
• Appropriate employment law knowledge

Once we knew the files had all the required information, and in some ways more importantly what information they didn’t have we put into place a manager’s confirmation of appointment process. This means that every file has a personalised cover page explaining the audit that has taken place. The Nursery Manager can now demonstrate an excellent awareness and ownership of the nursery staff files.

The Outcome??

Ofsted have been and they got a Good with some fantastic comments about the staff files! Everything the Ofsted Inspector mentioned was already there and in most cases even more than was asked for.

If you’re not feeling confident that you nursery staff files would meet the requirements for things such as right to work checks, full and relevant criteria, evidence of level 2 literacy and numeracy, equality act and safer recruitment let Early Years HR take the worry away.

Contact us today on Sophie.Haylock@earlyyearshr.co.uk for more details.