1. Introduction

Summary

This 'Safer recruitment toolkit' has been developed to provide early years and childcare settings with guidance and information to enable the development of a robust and secure recruitment process within their setting. Safer recruitment starts at the point of identifying a vacancy and continues until the induction and probationary periods are completed successfully.

Reference to the Norfolk Safeguarding Children Partnership (NSCP) 'Safer Recruitment Guidance' and the 'Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment in Education' has taken place throughout the development of this toolkit.

"For those agencies whose job it is to protect children and vulnerable people, the harsh reality is that if a sufficiently devious person is determined to seek out opportunities to work their evil, no one can guarantee that they will be stopped. Our task is to make it as difficult as possible for them to succeed" Bichard report, 2004, p12, para 79.

Norfolk County Council

Norfolk County Council has a statutory responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people.

All organisations that employ adults or volunteers to work with children should adopt a consistent and thorough process of safer recruitment to ensure those recruited are suitable to work with children.

This toolkit sets out best practice and should be used to develop and embed a safer recruitment process for individual settings. It outlines the recommendations of the Norfolk County Council safer recruitment process for early years and childcare settings which aims to ensure that people who are employed to work with children and young people are safe to do so.

The Council has an expectation that this toolkit and the guidelines set out in the 'Safeguarding Toolkit' will be followed by all early years and childcare settings in Norfolk.

The purpose is also to encourage all early years and childcare settings to clearly outline to existing and future employees that they have safer recruitment practices in place.

There is a specific legal requirement that:

'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.' Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework.

Safer Recruitment

Safer recruitment is designed to:

• Deter applications from those who are unsuitable to work with children and young people
• Reject applicants that are identified as unsuitable through the application and interview process
• Attract the best possible applicants to vacant posts (paid staff and volunteers)

Safer recruitment aims to:

• Prevent unsuitable people working with children and young people
• Promote safe working practices and challenge those practices that are poor or unsafe

Key elements of safer recruitment are:

• Robust recruitment and selection processes
• Rigorous vetting and checking processes
• Strong induction, probation, appraisal and performance management systems. All managers and those on the interview panel must ensure that they understand the importance of the safer recruitment process and have attended appropriate training
• The importance of planning your recruitment process
• The importance of having clear frameworks in place for making the right decisions
• Not to rely on the recruitment and selection processes alone to ensure your organisation is safe - safeguarding is an ongoing process (refer to the annual safer staffing evaluation form in section 16)
• Never think you have done enough in terms of creating a safe culture
• Always believe it could happen in your setting
• Keep safeguarding high on everyone's agenda
• Never rely on any one process to keep children safe

Remember:

• No safer recruitment process can eliminate all risks
• Do ensure that all new staff and volunteers have a carefully planned induction and be proactive about ensuring all staff make the most of the training opportunities on offer
• Regular supervisions help identify staff that may be under stress or struggling to meet the competencies required in their role and support systems can be out in place
• Creating a culture in which staff can voice concerns or challenge unsafe practice contributes to safeguarding children within organisations

Norfolk Safeguarding Children Partnership (NSCP)

This toolkit comprises guidance information and sample templates for settings to develop their own materials. The following statement could be applied to all materials used in advertising and recruiting as appropriate: 'This organisation is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.'

Settings are encouraged to apply their own wording that relates directly to their setting.

The Disclosure and Barring Service

The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) role is to help prevent unsuitable people from working with children and vulnerable adults.

Referrals are made to the DBS when an employer or an organisation, for example, a regulatory body, has concerns that a person has caused harm or poses a future risk of harm to children or vulnerable adults. In these circumstances the employer or regulatory body must make a referral to the DBS.

Additionally, the DBS can take referrals from members of the public.

Remember: If you have concerns about an adult working with or applying to work with children you must contact the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) team.

Guidance from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) states that:

There are specific rules for working with children - known as working in a regulated activity with children.

It is against the law for employers to employ someone or allow them to volunteer for this kind of work if they know they're on one of the barred lists.

Employers must refer someone to DBS if they:

• Dismissed them because they harmed someone
• Dismissed them or removed them from working in regulated activity because they might have harmed someone
• Were planning to dismiss them for either of these reasons, but they resigned first
• Employers are breaking the law if they do not refer someone to DBS when they should

For further legislative information and guidance please refer to:

Safer Recruitment Guidance | Norfolk Safeguarding Children Partnership

Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) Helpline: 03000 200 190

Disclosure and Barring Service - GOV.UK