Hiring for a nursery is nothing like hiring for a shop or an office.
Every person you take on will be working with children, so Ofsted, the EYFS statutory framework and safer recruitment rules all have a say in how you do it.
That starts with vetting, and for most settings the first practical step is arranging a dbs check for every new starter before they go anywhere near the children.
Get the process right, and it becomes routine.
Get it wrong, and you risk enforcement action, an invalid registration, or an unsuitable person in your setting.
This guide walks through what actually needs to happen between “we need another practitioner” and their first shift.
Write the Job Ad with Safeguarding in Mind
Your advert is part of your vetting evidence, not just a recruitment tool.
State clearly that the role is subject to an enhanced DBS check and references, and that the setting follows safer recruitment practice.
This does two things: it deters unsuitable applicants before they apply, and it shows an inspector that safeguarding runs through your whole process rather than just the final paperwork stage.
Be specific about qualifications too.
If you need someone who counts in your staff: child ratios, say whether you require a full and relevant Level 2 or Level 3 early years qualification.
Vague ads attract vague applicants, and you end up sifting CVs from people who cannot legally do the job you are filling.
Interview Like It Matters
A childcare interview should probe attitude as much as competence.
Ask scenario questions.
A child discloses something worrying, a parent turns up smelling of alcohol at pick-up, a colleague uses their phone in the baby room.
You are listening for safeguarding instinct, not rehearsed answers.
Take notes and keep them.
Safer recruitment guidance expects you to explore any gaps in employment history directly, in the interview, and record the explanation.
“Travelling” or “caring for a relative” is fine.
What matters is that you asked and wrote it down.
The Vetting Stage: Where Most Delays Happen
Once you have made a conditional offer, the checks begin.
Budget two to four weeks for this stage, sometimes longer, because several items run on other people’s timescales.
Enhanced DBS with barred list check.
Anyone working in regulated activity with children needs one, and as the employer you must apply at the enhanced level.
A basic certificate is not acceptable for this kind of role.
Encourage new starters to join the DBS Update Service within 30 days of their certificate being issued, because it makes future checks instant and saves you repeating the whole process if they change roles.
Two references, one from the most recent employer.
Chase these by phone if written requests stall.
Ask specifically whether there were any safeguarding concerns, since a bland “dates of employment confirmed” reference tells you nothing.
Right to work check.
Do this before day one, either in person with original documents or via a certified digital identity service.
Qualification certificates.
See the originals, not photocopies.
Check the qualification against the government’s early years qualifications list to confirm it is full and relevant.
Health declaration.
The EYFS requires you to be satisfied that staff are physically and mentally fit for the role.
A candidate can start before the DBS certificate arrives only under strict supervision arrangements, and many settings simply refuse to do it.
If you do allow a supervised start, document the risk assessment and never leave that person unsupervised with children, not even for a nappy change.
Do Not Forget the Disqualification Rules
Childcare has an extra layer most industries do not.
A person can be disqualified from working in childcare for reasons beyond their own criminal record, including certain orders and registrations.
Ask every new starter to sign a disqualification declaration, and repeat it annually.
It is a five-minute form that protects your registration.
Records: Your Single Central Register
Every check you complete should land in one place.
Most nurseries keep a single central record, usually a spreadsheet or HR system listing each staff member alongside their DBS number and date, reference dates, qualification checks, right to work evidence and first aid status.
Ofsted inspectors ask for it routinely, and a tidy record turns a stressful inspection question into a thirty-second answer.
Set renewal reminders while you are at it.
Paediatric first aid certificates expire after three years, and your ratios depend on having enough certified staff on shift.
Induction Is Part of Vetting, Not Separate from It
The first weeks tell you things no certificate can.
A proper induction covers your safeguarding policy, whistleblowing procedure, mobile phone rules and intimate care policy, and it gets a signature confirming each one was read.
Pair the new starter with an experienced practitioner and observe them in the rooms.
Use the probation period honestly.
If something feels off at week six, it will not feel better at month six.
The Short Version
Advertise honestly, interview for attitude, check everything at the right level, record it all in one place, and keep watching after they start.
None of it is complicated.
It just has to be done in full, every time, for every hire, because the one shortcut you take is always the one an inspector or a parent ends up asking about.
