9. Letter of Invitation to Interview

Once the short-listing process has taken place, a letter inviting the applicants to interview should be sent.

It is very important that the letter of invitation is clear and contains all the relevant information:

• Date, time and venue (you may consider supplying a map or directions if the venue is difficult to find)
• Start and finish time
• Information about available parking
• Who to ask for on arrival
• Details of any specific task you have set to be a part of the interview process (e.g. presentations and/or a practical observation of their practice with children)
• What to bring to the interview (as stated in the information pack)
• Details of interview panel members
• Contact details of the person candidates need to notify of any support/reasonable adjustments they will need to attend the interview
• Notification of the requirement to bring in qualification certificates which are essential requirements of the job
• The requirement to bring to the interview verification of registration with the relevant professional body or the registration number (where this is stated as a requirement of the role on the job description or person specification).
• The requirement for the organisation to establish both proof of identity and proof that the candidate is eligible to work in the UK - ask the candidate to bring the relevant documents with them. (You may wish to provide a list of acceptable documents with the letter).
• Notification of the procedures to be followed in relation to checks with the Disclosure and Barring Service

A letter inviting applicants to interview should be set out using the following format:

<Date> <Applicant's name and address>

Dear <Applicant's name>,

<Main body of letter> (Including relevant information from the bullet points above)

Yours sincerely,

<Your name>

<Position within setting>