Staffing Matters
A guide to
Recruitment & Retention

"Please note - this guide is solely intended for use by private, voluntary and independent sector childcare employers, as a tool to support good recruitment and retention policy and practice."

"Devon County Council-employed staff,including schools, must comply withcorporateor schools guidance and policies, which can be found on The Source.

Please contact the HR Helpdesk on 01392 385555 or the Schools HR Helpdesk 01392 384567 if youare unsure how to proceed”

Spring2012
Contents

Introduction / p. 3
What does a good Recruitment & Retention Policy look like? / p. 4
Making the Most of Your Policies / p. 5
Safeguarding & Recruitment – creating a safer culture / p. 6
Safer Recruitment checklist for managers / p. 7
The Recruitment Process / p. 10
Define your requirements / p. 10
Selection of panel members / p. 10
Job description and person specification / p. 10/ 11
Setting timescales / p. 11
Timescale table / p. 12
Advertising the vacancy / p. 12
Job vacancy service for childcare providers / p. 12
Creating an advert / p. 13
Placing an advert / p. 13
Additional information to support your advert / p. 13
How to handle responses to your advert / p. 14
Application forms / p. 14
Self-disclosure - The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act / p. 14
Disqualification statement / p. 15
Shortlisting applicants for interview / p. 16
Shortlisting grid / p. 16
Pre-employment checks (health declaration, qualifications, identity, right to work in UK) / p. 17
Interviews / p. 17
Sample interview questions (for assistant post) / p. 18
References & employment history / p. 20
Making a verbal offer of employment / p. 21
Enhanced CRB check / p. 21
Making a written offer of employment / p. 22
The contract of employment / p. 22
Managing staff records for your new member of staff / p. 23
Induction of new member of staff / p. 23
Keeping staff in the loop / p. 24
Supervision / p. 24
Appraisal / p. 24
Staff training, development and progression / p. 25
CPD Online (training website) / p. 26
Volunteers / p. 26
Temporary staff cover / p. 27
Creating your own bank of staff / p. 27
Staff leaving your employment / p. 27
Useful contacts / p. 29

Template documentssuch as sample job descriptions are available from the Recruitment pages of the Early Years & Childcare website: and further support this guide.

If you don’t have access to the internet contact the Recruitment Administrator on: 01392 385398
Introduction

Success in recruiting and retaining the right staff is at the heart of improving the well-being of children and families – as well as being the key to a flourishing business. Recruiting and selecting the right staff, at the right time, for the right roles, is fundamental to the success of your business and its ability to deliver quality childcare, early years and/or play provision. The quality of your staff and the range of their skills, knowledge and qualifications can be taken as a direct indicator of the quality of the provision overall.

It’s not just about good business sense either. It could have a dramatic impact on your Ofsted inspection outcome. Ofsted inspectors are looking for evidence of a thorough and carefully managed recruitment and selection process, with emphasis on appropriate checks and vetting procedures to safeguard the children in your care. This includes evidence of CRB checks, references, employment history, medical declaration, qualifications, and evidence of a robust recruitment and selection process, for each staff member.

This guide is designed to help you, and future managers and committees, to ensure that your setting approaches recruiting new staff and volunteers, and retaining existing, experienced personnel in the best possible way.

It includes:

  • Current statutory guidanceon safer recruitment principles(which were issued to schools in 2007 and represents good practice), which was drafted in response to the Bichard Inquiry into the Soham murders
  • Requirements in relation to staff qualifications
  • Guidance on selection processes
  • Information on the CRB process
  • Templates and checklists available via on the recruitment pages.

Please feel free to make as much use of this information as you can – it is here to help you save time, meet your statutory requirements, and ensure your setting is working to the highest standards.

Workforce Development Team

Early Years & Childcare Service

Devon County Council

Tel: 0800 056 3666

Email:

Website:

What does a good Recruitment & Retention Policy look like?

A good Recruitment and Retention Policy provides a simple reference which anyone, including parents, staff and Ofsted inspectors, could read to understand how your setting responds to the need to recruit new staff, and what methods and practices are used to help support and retain existing staff. Your policy can be a working document to ensure consistency of approach in your setting and doesn’t have to be more than one or two sides of A4.

You may find the checklist below helpful in thinking about what to include:

Recruitment Policy: / What is the recruitment process for your setting?
  • How are vacancies identified? (New and existing roles.)
  • Do all roles have Job Descriptions and Person Specifications
    – and when are these reviewed/ updated?
  • How are vacancies advertised? When, where, how?
  • What information is sent out to applicants? How do applicants apply for vacancies? Do you use application forms?
  • Who undertakes shortlisting and interviewing? How is it done? Do you use a Selection Panel?
  • What referencing/suitability checking procedures do you use? How, when? At what stage is a formal offer of employment made?
  • Do staff have employment contracts? What do they include?
  • Is there a written policy on Equal Opportunities relating to staff?
  • How do you ‘recruit’ volunteers?
  • Are Safeguarding policies and responsibilities made explicit to all potential staff and volunteers?

Retention policy: / What retention strategies are in place in your setting?
  • What is the standard induction process? When is it done, by whom, how and why? Is an Induction checklist used?
  • Do staff have one-to-one meetings with their Manager, (Supervision)? When is it done, how, for what purposes?
  • How is necessary information communicated with the team? Are there regular team meetings? Where there is a voluntary management committee in place, how is communication between committee and staff facilitated?
  • Appraisal process – when is it done, how and by whom? Is an appraisal form used?
  • Staff development and training – how are learning needs evaluated, when and by whom?
  • Do staff have personal development or training plans?
  • What planning and support for training and development opportunities takes place, with whom, how often?
  • Do you collect feedback when staff leave? (i.e.; via an exit interview)

Making the Most of Your Policies

Writing policies can be incredibly time consuming, so they need to have a practical application and value. Below are a few pointers as to what needs to be included within key policies or other documents relating to recruitment and retention of staff and volunteers:

Recommended Good Practice indicators
Recruitment Policy/ plan: / Should include:
  • Information about selection processes for staff and volunteers
  • Timescale plan for a ‘typical’ recruitment process
  • Written policies on Equal Opportunities relating to staff
  • Written policies on Safeguarding to be included in applicant information pack and all other recruitment materials

Job description / Should include:
  • Title
  • Line management
  • Specific duties, including safeguarding responsibilities linked to level of/ opportunity for contact with children and young people

Peron Specification / Should include:
  • Essential and desirable criteria required to fulfil the duties of the post, including skills, knowledge, experience and qualifications

Staff terms and conditions / Should include:
  • Name and address of employer and employee
  • Job title
  • Date continuous employment began
  • Wage details: how much, when and how paid?
  • Pension, sick leave, maternity/paternity arrangements/ entitlements
  • Holidays and bank holidays
  • Notice period on both sides
  • Grievance and appeal procedures
  • Disciplinary process
  • Approved and signed copies

Retention policy: / Should include:
  • Induction plan outline for staff and volunteers
  • Induction checklist signed by new employee
  • Details of staff 1:1 and team meetings
  • Appraisal process, including template or forms used
  • Details of any other communication methods between employer, managers and staff

Staff development and training / Should include:
  • Evaluating learning/ Training Needs Analysis
  • Appropriate Safeguarding training identified for every staff member
  • Staff personal development or training plans
  • Planning and supporting training and development opportunities
  • Qualification training plans (all staff/ volunteers)

Safeguarding and Recruitment: Creating a Safer Culture

The reality is that within the Early Years, Childcare and Playwork sector, it is always possible that someone who is not suitable to work with children will try to gain an employed or voluntary role. Often such people have no criminal record or history, which would otherwise show up on a CRB check. In order to remain vigilant and ensure the highest standards of care for your children, you’ll need to demonstrate an organised and safe approach to planning recruitment activity for staff and volunteers, which aims to preventunsuitable people from gaining employment in your setting. Good quality, comprehensive and clearly written policies on how your setting approaches recruitment and selection of new staff, and how the checking of suitability is handled, can act as a powerful deterrent.

Following the Soham tragedy, Sir Michael Bichard was commissioned by the government to report on child safety, with a focus on inter-agency record keeping, recruitment in schools and employment vetting. The inquiry concluded that schools, and other employers across the children’s workforce, must pay more attention to issues about safeguarding children when recruiting and appointing staff.

A setting’s staffing policies and procedures are therefore crucial to the creation of this safer culture, where unsuitable people are prevented from gaining work with children, and where everyone within the setting knows what is, and is not, acceptable and safe conduct.

In order to make safer, more robust recruitment decisions for all posts in your setting (both paid and voluntary), there are three key stages:

  • Deter: promote messages to deter unsuitable applicants at every stage of the recruitment process, by providing clear messages about your setting’s vigilance is relating to safeguarding responsibilities.
  • Reject: seek to reject unsuitable applicants through adopting a robust approach to selecting the right candidates to interview, including pre-interview referencing, employment history checks and appropriate selection techniques, and a well-prepared and properly trained selection panel
  • Prevent: prevent unsuitable people from gaining employment in your setting by undertaking the right combination of pre-employment checks, a rigorous code of conduct for staff, strong protection for whistleblowers, and an open but vigilant staff atmosphere.

For more information on Safer Recruitment refer to recruitment pages.

Safer Recruitment Checklist for Managers

The best way to avoid problems whilst recruiting for new staff is to adopt an organised and practical approach to the process. The checklist below will help you to plan ahead, and keep track on when you have completed each stage:

Recruitment & Selection process / Safer Recruitment Step / Completed? / Date
Refer to your Recruitment Policies & Procedures / Check your own Recruitment Policies & Procedures to ensure you are following a consistent and safe process, relating to roles working with children, young people and families.
Define Your Requirements / Define your requirement – what is the post?
Agree on the Selection Panel members.
Preparing the Job Description: / Safeguarding Responsibilities clearly identified on:
  • Job description
  • Person Specification (Essential and Desirable skills, experience, knowledge and qualifications).

Advertising the Vacancy: / Insert safeguarding message to deter unsuitable applicants:
  • “(Our organisation) is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people, and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.”
Include:
  • application forms will be used (do not accept CVs)
  • CRB disclosure is required (if applicable)
  • information packs will be sent to all applicants

Preparing the Applicant Pack: / Insert safeguarding message to deter unsuitable applicants:
  • “(Our organisation) is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people, and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.”
  • Enclose full Job Description and Person Specification.

Short-listing Applications: / Devise short-listing criteria based on Essential criteria.
Reject all applications which do not meet your essential criteria e.g. Qualifications, experience, skills.
References: / Invite successfully short-listed applicants to attend an interview.
Take up all available references on short-listed applicants – ideally covering a 5 year period to date.
Telephone to confirm reference receipt and follow up any queries.
Interviews & Assessment: / Plan a range of assessment methods including:
  • Interview questions which probe attitude towards safeguarding, and motivation to work with children, young people and/or families
  • Request applicants to complete a relevant task, e.g. With the children if possible, or planning and delivering a presentation relating to the role
  • Involving children and young people in the interview process – if applicable
Question any gaps exposed on application form.
Recruitment Decision made: / Issue verbal offer of employment to the candidate who best demonstrated their suitability for the role.
Inform candidate that the offer is subject to thorough checks and further references (where applicable).
Pre-Employment Checks: / Confirm:
  • Identity using photo ID - where available
  • Name, address, date of birth
  • Validity of qualification certificates
  • Right to work in the UK
  • All references including current employer received and followed up (where needed)
  • Health Declaration Form
Submit:
  • Completed CRB form
NOTE: Safer recruitment practice is about preventing risk of harm to your children. Therefore, your new worker should not begin work within your setting until the CRB has been returned and you are satisfied with its outcome.
Plan Induction Period: / Highlight safeguarding responsibilities and process for reporting concerns about colleagues within the setting.
Ensure appropriate Safeguarding training is taken up by the new worker, if not already achieved.
For information on training:
Ensure staff feel able to report concerns about colleagues’ behaviour or conduct around children and young people.

Page 1 of 32

Early Years & Childcare Service

Please note - this guide is solely intended for use by private, voluntary and independent sector childcare employers, as a tool to support good recruitment and retention policy and practice.

The Recruitment Process

Define your requirements

Think carefully about what you want from the post you’re going to recruit for, and from your new employee.Whether you are replacing a previous worker, or creating a new role, you should consider how the new role will complement your existing staff team, and how it might fit into future plans for the setting. If you’re replacing someone, think carefully about different ways of fulfilling that role, for example, using a job share system, rather than assuming you have to find a direct replacement.

It is important to make sure you meet the staffing requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage(EYFS).For more guidance on staff qualification and ratios refer to the welfare section of the EYFS document or speak to your Early Years Adviser.

If you are unsure who your adviser is refer to the About Us section of the EYCS website:

Agree on the Selection Panel members

A selection panel should be made up of three people, at least one of which should be the direct Line Manager for the post. Others might be the setting Manager or owner, committee chairperson and so on. It is important that at least one member of the panel has undertaken the online Safer Recruitment training which can be accessed from the CWDC website:

Three people on the Selection Panel creates a balance of views and opinions, and presents a professional image to applicants. The Panel will take responsibility for checking the recruitment information such as Job Descriptions, Person Specifications, and advertisements, as well as taking an active role in the key activities of referencing, shortlisting and interviewing applicants. The Panel should be fully empowered to make the employment decision.

Job Description

The Job Description should clearly identify:

  • The name of the organisation
  • The job title
  • The immediate supervisor or manager of the post
  • Which staff, if any, the post supervises
  • The normal hours of work
  • The pay
  • The purpose of the post
  • A list of duties and responsibilities of the post
  • A statement about safeguarding responsibilities, which relates to the nature of the role, and the level of opportunity to gain unsupervised access to children.

Please check any old or potentially out-of-date Job Descriptions prior to use, to ensure that they meet the requirements given above.

To view sample job descriptions, which we encourage you to make use of, and adapt to suit the needs of your setting, please refer to the recruitment pages of the EYCS website

Person Specification

The Person Specification should cover the essential and desirable criteria which is required to ensure that the worker can do the role, including:

  • Skills
  • Knowledge–e.g. Knowledge of the EYFS framework
  • Experience – e.g.previous experience within a specific role or setting
  • Personal Qualities – e.g. Calm and consistent with the children at all times
  • Full and relevant Qualifications – e.g. Relevant Level 3 qualification for a Leader role
  • Suitability checks – 5 years’ worth of employment references (or equivalent), CRB check

Often, a Person Specification is attached to the end of a Job Description, and is divided into Essential and Desirable criteria. This is a very useful model to follow, as this plays an important part at the shortlisting of applications stage.

To view sample person specifications, which we encourage you to make use of, and adapt to suit the needs of your setting, please refer to the recruitment pages of the EYCS website