Childcare recruitment

Recruitment guidance

Recruiting quality employees is the starting point to creating a strong workforce. Finding the right employee takes time and high employee turnover costs the childcare sector valuable time and productivity.

Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework states:

Suitable people 3.9. Providers must ensure that people looking after children are suitable to fulfil the requirements of their roles. Providers must have effective systems in place to ensure that practitioners, and any other person who is likely to have regular contact with children (including those living or working on the premises), are suitable.

One vital aspect of ensuring quality and safety in early years settings is the effective selection and recruitment of staff. EYFS safeguarding and welfare requirements states:

3.2 "Providers must take all necessary steps to keep children safe and well"

If you need to recruit new staff, think about:

The job description clarifies the key roles and responsibilities of the position and the expectations required for the role.
The person specification is based on the job description and sets out the essential and desirable skills, qualifications and qualities needed to fulfil the role and if the post is or is not exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (1974) * and whether an enhanced DBS is required.
Ensure that the job description and the person specification make reference to the settings commitment to the safeguarding and welfare of children.

Accepting CV’s

Childcare employers should give serious consideration to using application forms as a key part of their recruitment process. When a candidate completes an application form it ensures that information given by the candidate is presented in a consistent format against the person specification and therefore makes it easier to assess the suitability of the candidate against the specifications when shortlisting for interview.

Shortlisting

When all applications have been received and the closing date has expired senior or relevant staff members should shortlist against the person specification criteria. You may decide to score based on a point scoring process or a Met, Not Met, Partially Met basis.

Note any gaps in employment.
Invite applicants to interview.
Interview letter should include date, time, place of interview.
Details of any presentations the candidate may need to prepare.
A sentence that’s asks if the candidate has any special requirements.
A request to bring original qualification documents.
A request to bring proof of identity to work in the UK.
DBS number if subscribed to online update service.

Interviewing

Agree an interview panel.
Do agree, in advance, questions to be asked and by whom on the panel.
Don’t ask questions that could be interpreted as discriminatory.
Do agree how to score the answers given.
The interview should take place in a quiet room with no interruptions.
The Equality Act 2010 prevents employers asking about the health of an applicant before making a job offer.

After the interviewing all the candidates, the panel should then compare notes and scores on each applicant so that a consensus can be agreed about who should be offered the post.

Once employment has been offered and accepted subject to satisfactory references and enhanced DBS check, the employer should prepare the induction process for the new employee. This will include probation period, regular supervision or induction meetings and agreed objectives.

ACAS offer lots of information and advice about employment law and can be contacted on 0800 464 0970.

Check an early years qualification service

Early years managers can now use the new Check an early years qualification digital service to quickly verify whether staff qualifications meet the requirements for staff to child ratios in England.

This free GOV.UK tool allows managers to check a qualification’s approval status by entering key details such as:

course start date
level
awarding organisation.

At the end of the process, a clear outcome is provided, which can be printed for your records.

Using the new Check an early years qualification service:

saves time during recruitment and HR processes
supports workforce planning ahead of the September 2025 expansion of funded childcare entitlements
reduces confusion when checking qualifications.

The service is tailored specifically for early years managers. All other user groups, for example practitioners, should continue to use the Early Years Qualifications List (EYQL) to check qualifications, and contact our supplier Ecctis if they are unable to find the qualification on the EYQL.

The Check an early years qualification service is for qualifications achieved in the UK. Holders of non-UK qualifications should continue to contact our supplier Ecctis for an assessment.

If you need help using the service you can contact DfE.

Flexible working

With recruitment being a complicated issue, settings may do well to consider flexible working. This guide has been designed to support you as a manager in creating and managing more flexibility within your team.

Apprenticeships

Apprenticeships are a great way to grow your own talent within your business, either through recruitment or upskilling your current employees. They allow people to gain formal qualifications whilst in the workplace through a blended approach of on-the-job training and learning. They can last from one to six years depending on the level of the apprenticeship and they are funded from contributions made by the Government and employers.

You can employ apprentices at different levels, from school leavers and university graduates to people who want to further their careers or change career direction and are already employed within your organisation.

How your business could benefit

There are many benefits to recruiting an apprentice or using apprenticeships to upskill your current workforce. These benefits include:

having the opportunity to adapt training to the needs of your business
a £3,000 payment for new apprentices
apprentices are motivated to learn new skills
the opportunity to expand or upskill your workforce
fill key skill gaps in your business
boosting employee engagement, by investing in their development
improving retention.

To find out more about apprenticeships please visit the government website Apprenticeships - Hire an apprentice. For an initial discussion on how we can support you, please contact Derby’s Employment and Skills Team by email at employmentandskills@derby.gov.uk or telephone 01332 956989.

Sector-based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs)

A Sector-based Work Academy Programme (SWAPs) provides training and work placement for entry-level jobs. It enables both applicant and employer to understand the ‘match’ to the job. SWAPs offer help to those receiving unemployment benefits to transition into employment, unlocking potential talent into the workforce.

SWAPs can offer placement of up to six weeks and including three main components:

pre-employment training – matched to the skills required for the job
work experience placement – a great opportunity for your business to identify talent on the job and for the individual to cement their knowledge and understanding of the required role
a guaranteed job interview – to recruit directly into the role you are recruiting.

An important feature of a SWAP is that each one offers a flexible approach and can be adapted to meet the needs of your business. If you are unable to offer all three components, we can develop a bespoke training package to meet your needs.

Participants remain on benefits while on a SWAP placement. The Government will pay any travel and childcare costs whilst benefit claimants are on the scheme. There is no direct cost to an employer for running a SWAP as training and administration costs are covered by government funding.

How your business could benefit

It’s a flexible programme that can be tailored to meet your recruitment needs.
You can recruit staff with the right training and skills from the outset, developed through fully funded pre-employment training.
Opportunity to provide work experience placements for potential employees to ensure they are suited to that type of role and your company, decreasing turnover of staff.
Reduces the risks within the overall process of recruiting new employees.
Reducing the cost of recruitment, avoiding agency costs for entry-level employment.
SWAPs can be tailored to increase the diversity of your workforce by working directly with specific cohorts such as ex-offenders, care leavers, women, depending upon your recruitment priorities.
Opportunity for positive publicity to showcase how you are working collaboratively with providers to meet your recruitment needs or corporate social responsibility goals.

To find out more or for support on SWAPs, contact Derby s Employment and Skills Team by email at employmentandskills@derby.gov.uk or telephone 01332 956989.

Do Something Big

Do Something Big is the Department for Education’s (DfE)national recruitment campaign to drive potential applicants to the Find a Job vacancy platform to search for early years roles both locally and nationally.

Providers can also advertise their vacancies for free. Use the Employer service if you’re a UK employer and would like to advertise vacancies on the Find a job website.

The DfE has created some ‘how to’ videos to help providers set up their Find a Job account and how to advertise vacancies:

Make sure you include the term ‘early years’ in your job advert titles and select ‘Education and childcare jobs’ as the job category.

Your job vacancy will be live for 30 days. To extend this period, you must re-post the vacancy. If these steps are unclear, visit employer help and advice.

Search for Derby childcare jobs

Are you just about to start your career or are thinking about a change in direction? Then why not consider working in Derby's childcare sector. It offers lots of opportunities, it is fun and very rewarding.

The Government's Do Something Big is a national recruitment campaign directing potential applicants to use DWP’s Find a Job vacancy platform to search for early years roles both locally and nationally.

Find a job

The Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years (PACEY) tells you more about the different roles, the qualifications that you can work towards, and if you are not sure it’s for you, they have some case studies of real people doing the jobs.

Derby Jobs Weekly

If you are an employer wishing to add your vacancies or employment opportunities to the Derby Jobs Weekly, email employmentandskills@derby.gov.uk or visit the Recruitment support pages.