5. Developing an Application Form

The application form must be detailed enough to give you all the information you need and are legally able to ask for.

Essential information must identify the person, their employment and education history and give details of any previous convictions or cautions and must be signed as a true declaration. Reasons for leaving previous employment and explanations of any gaps in education or employment must be provided.

Any relationship with any employers, employees, resident person or governing body must be declared and details given.

The setting must ensure that only their application form can be accepted, and it must be fully completed and signed. The panel must ensure that references are only accepted from those named on the application form. You may choose to ask applicants to complete your own reference form in which case only this form should be accepted. If the setting does not use a reference form, references from previous or current employers can only be accepted if they are on headed paper. This must be made clear to potential applicants.

The application form should also request a signed statement which declares that the person is not disqualified from work with children or subject to sanctions imposed by a regulatory body or professional body e.g. Ofsted, the General Social Care Council (GSCC) or General Medical Council (GMC) and that the information provided on the form is complete and accurate.

Please note: This guidance has been developed to highlight the importance of safeguarding issues; there may be other areas relating to your setting that would need to be included.

Please see the following example:

Sample Job Application Form (Word doc, 33 KB)

The sample application form is an EXAMPLE and has not been developed to reflect your setting - PLEASE DO NOT COPY THE EXAMPLE