Safer Recruitment FAQs

The main principles of safer recruitment are to take all steps necessary to prevent people who might harm children or vulnerable adults from taking up positions where they could do so and to follow all of the latest guidelines and best practices to keep the recruitment process safe, fair and consistent.

Nursery ratios for two-year-olds are six children per adult and four children per adult for ones-and-under.

Safer recruitment means ensuring that the staff and volunteers who are hired to work with children, young people and vulnerable adults have been suitably checked to prevent any harm being done to the people in their care.

Keeping Children Safe in Education are the latest statutory guidelines for schools and colleges that offer advice for managing safeguarding.

Safer recruitment guidelines also apply for those working in health and social care, aiming to not only ensure that safe and suitable people are recruited for working with vulnerable people in care, but also improving the levels of care provided.

Safer Recruitment training covers areas like shortlisting potential candidates for interviews, DBS checks, dealing with any concerns raised during the vetting process, risk assessment and how to manage allegations of inappropriate behaviour.

The Keeping Children Safe in Education statutory guidance advises that all new school governors should be subject to section 128 checks, with anyone failing disqualified from holding office as a governor.

The Disclosure and Barring Service carries out DBS checks to ascertain whether a person applying to work with vulnerable adults or children has a criminal conviction or caution.

Any company that recruits staff or volunteers to work with vulnerable adults, young people or children needs to have a safer recruitment policy that’s in line with the statutory guidelines.

Regulated Activity, as defined by the Disclosure and Barring Service, is any job function that requires the staff member or volunteer to have been the subject of a DBS check. Anyone who has failed that check would be barred from performing this activity.

A regulated role is any role that involves activities working with children or vulnerable adults that would require the staff member or volunteer to have undertaken a DBS check before performing that role.

A regulated activity can be a role that involves working with children, young people or vulnerable adults.

While there isn’t a set expiry date for a safer recruitment certificate, the general rule is that they should be renewed at least every three years.

Registered child-minders are allowed to look after up to six children under the age of eight. At nurseries, six two-year olds can be looked after by one adult, while four children aged one or under can be looked after by a single carer.

For an activity to be considered regular it needs to be done once a week or more often, or on four or more days in a 30-day period, or overnight in the same establishment.

Keeping Children Safe in Education advises that safeguarding training should be conducted at least annually. The Designated Safeguarding Lead is recommended to refresh their own training every two years, as are any deputies.

The guidance from the Department for Education is called Keeping Children Safe in Education which is aimed to offer statutory guidelines for schools and colleges when it comes to safeguarding.

The Safer Recruitment Checklist is a reference document guiding those involved in recruitment for relevant roles to ensure that each necessary step is covered.

Preschool is optional for children from 2 years old and they can stay there until starting school. The alternative is nursery, which is normally attached to a school and is aimed at children in the last year before they begin school.

To manage a preschool, you need a nationally recognised Level 3 qualification in childcare, for example a Level 3 Diploma for the Children and Young People's Workforce, foundation degree or HND in an early years related subject, or a degree in early years, childcare, child development or related subject.

If you are the proprietor of a preschool you do not need a nationally recognised qualification in childcare.

A safeguarding alert is the notification of a concern, allegation or an incident of inappropriate behaviour, such as abuse or neglect, by anyone working with children, young people or vulnerable adults. Anyone can raise an alert, and they must be dealt with swiftly.

It’s generally better to have lower staff-to-child ratios because each child can receive more attention from staff or volunteers and any potential needs are more easily identified and responded to.