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Employment

The Purpose of this Policy

This policy outlines the procedures to be followed during the recruitment of new staff. It also outlines the procedures to be followed in the event of concern over a member of staff’s conduct.

Policy statement

All staff employed at Sky Little Angels are recruited following a structured selection process, which includes an open advertisement of the role, the completion of an application form, attendance at interviews and providing two written references. We meet the Safeguarding and Welfare Requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage, ensuring that our staff are appropriately qualified, and we carry out checks for criminal and other records through the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) in accordance with statutory requirements.

Procedures

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Vetting and staff selection

  1. We offer equality of opportunity by using non-discriminatory procedures for staff recruitment and selection.

  2. The appointment of new staff will be completed by a recruitment panel, containing a minimum of two members of the management team. At least one member of the recruitment panel will have completed Fairer Recruitment training.

  3. All vacant positions will be openly advertised.

  4. All roles within Sky Little Angels have a defined job description, which is made available to all applicants prior to completing an application form.

  5. A full application form must be completed prior to the interview.

  6. We welcome applications from all sections of the community. Applicants will be considered because of their suitability for the post, regardless of disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation, sex, age, marriage, or civil partnership. Applicants will not be placed at a disadvantage by our imposing conditions or requirements that are not justifiable.

  7. We follow the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage (DfE, 2021) and Ofsted guidance on checking the suitability of all staff who will have unsupervised access to children. This includes obtaining references and ensuring they have a satisfactory enhanced criminal records check with the barred list(s) check through the DBS. This is in accordance with requirements under the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act (2006) and the Protection of Freedoms Act (2012) for the vetting and barring scheme.

  8. Where an individual is subscribed to the DBS Update Service, we carry out a status check of their DBS certificate, after checking their identity and viewing their original enhanced DBS certificate to ensure that it does not reveal any information that would affect their suitability for the post.

  9. We keep all records relating to the employment of our staff; those demonstrating that suitability checks have been done, including the date of issue, name, type of DBS check and unique reference number from the DBS certificate, along with details of our suitability decision.

  10. We require that all our staff keep their DBS check up to date by subscribing to the DBS Update Service throughout the duration of their employment with us. 

  11. Our staff are expected to disclose any convictions, cautions, court orders, reprimands and warnings which may affect their suitability to work with children – whether received before or at any time during, their employment with us.

  12. We obtain consent from our staff to carry out ongoing status checks of the Update Service to establish that their DBS certificate is up to date for the duration of their employment with us.

  13. When we become aware of any relevant information which may lead to the disqualification of an employee, we will take appropriate action to ensure the safety of children. In the event of disqualification, that person’s employment with us will be terminated.

  14. All our staff have job descriptions, which set out their roles and responsibilities.

  15. All our staff are employed on a six-month probation period.

Notifying Ofsted of changes

 We inform Ofsted of any changes to our Registered Person (trustees/director(s)/owner(s) our provision) and/or our manager.

Training and staff development

  1. We provide regular in-service training to all our staff

  2. Our budget allocates resources to training.

  3. We provide our staff with induction training in the first week of their employment. This induction includes our Health and Safety Policy and Safeguarding Children and Child Protection Policy. Other policies and procedures are introduced within an induction plan.

  4. We support the work of our staff by holding regular supervision meetings and appraisals.

  5. We are committed to recruiting, appointing, and employing staff in accordance with all relevant legislation.

Staff taking medication/other substances

  1. If a member of staff is taking medication which may affect their ability to care for children, we ensure that they seek further medical advice. Our staff will only work directly with the children if medical advice confirms that the medication is unlikely to impair their ability to look after children properly.

  2. Staff medication on the premises will be stored securely and always kept out of reach of the children.

  3. If we have reason to believe that a member of our staff is under the influence of alcohol or any other substance that may affect their ability to care for children, they will not be allowed to work directly with the children and further action will be taken.

Managing staff absences and contingency plans for emergencies

We organise our staff's annual leave so that ratios are not compromised.

Where our staff are unwell and take sick leave in accordance with their contract of employment, we organise cover to ensure ratios are maintained.

Sick leave is monitored, and action is taken where necessary, in accordance with the individual’s contract of employment.

We have contingency plans to cover staff absences, as follows:

We do not use agency staff; our team has been made up of the same people for 13 years.

Staff disciplinary procedure

All potential instances of misconduct or gross misconduct will be investigated fairly and confidentially. The staff member suspected of potential misconduct will be informed of the nature of the concern and will be provided with specific information about the procedure for an investigation, as well as the range of outcomes.

 

As soon as a concern about potential misconduct or gross misconduct arises, our team must meet to consider whether the investigation is to explore potential misconduct or gross misconduct.

Staff misconduct

Misconduct includes, but is not limited to, instances where a member of staff:

  1. has failed to comply with an aspect of our policies.

  2. has failed to maintain performance consistent with their role description and has been unresponsive to staff development support mechanisms.

Staff gross misconduct

Gross misconduct includes, but is not limited to, instances where a member of staff:

  1. puts a child in danger or breached their duty of care to a child.

  2. causes emotional or psychological distress to a member of our organisation (children, parents, or colleagues) 

  3. commits an act of theft, fraud, or the deliberate falsification of company documents.

  4. commits an act of assault on a member of our organisation (children, parents, or colleagues) 

  5. deliberately damages company property.

  6. sexual or racial harassment.

  7. is unfit for work through alcohol or illegal drugs.

  8. has been negligent.

  9. Has been insubordinate.

  10. Procedure for investigating staff misconduct

  11. Once it has been agreed upon that a concern requires an investigation into potential misconduct, the member of staff whose conduct is in question must be notified of a pending investigation.

  12. A pre-investigation meeting will be arranged with the member of staff, which will outline the specific detail of any concern and the expected timeline for the investigation. This meeting will also detail whether the member of staff is to continue with their employment duties during the investigation, or whether a period of absence is required until the investigation is concluded.

  13. The member of staff whose conduct is under investigation can be accompanied to all meetings by a colleague, friend, or personal representative.

  14. At all stages of the investigation, written records will be collated and will be available to the member of staff. 

  15. The investigation will ensure that all aspects of the suspected misconduct are examined, and that any testimony needed from other members of staff are obtained sensitively.

  16. Once all possible detail pertaining to the potential misconduct have been obtained, the members of management team involved in the investigation must determine the outcome and agree on any further action.

  17. Upon timely conclusion of the investigation, a meeting will be arranged with the member of staff to discuss all aspects of the investigation. This meeting will also stipulate the outcome of investigation and any further action to be taken.

  18. The four possible outcomes of the investigation are: 1.) The investigation has not found evidence of misconduct and no further action will be taken. 2.) The investigation has found some evidence of misconduct and a written warning will be issued, along with a plan for improved performance. 3.) The investigation has found evidence of repeated misconduct and a final written warning will be issued. 4.) The investigation has found evidence of significant misconduct, constituting gross misconduct, and the procedure for addressing instances of gross misconduct will be followed.

  19. For all potential outcomes, the member of staff whose conduct has been investigated will be informed of their right to appeal. An appeal will be considered by a senior member of the team, who has not been part of the initial investigation.

Further information

 

The New Early Years Employee Handbook (Pre-school Learning Alliance 2019)

Recruiting Early Years Staff (Pre-school Learning Alliance 2016)

People Management in the Early Years (2016)

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