Nursery World - Ofsted checks delay staff recruitment (1)

Day nurseries in England can no longer employ any staff whose backgrounds have not been fully checked, unless there is an 'emergency' at the setting.

Ofsted said last week that the prior understanding that a new member of staff could work at a nursery under supervision until background checks were completed was not the case. An Ofsted spokeswoman said, 'The policy has not changed - it has always been the case that a person cannot start work until we have made a decision that they are suitable, which includes doing all the necessary checks.'

However, she acknowledged that nurseries could have unchecked staff on the premises, but only in an 'emergency'. She said, 'In certain circumstances, where there is an emergency that would affect continuity of care for the children in the setting, we recognise that it may be necessary for unchecked staff to be employed on the premises. An example of this would be where a member of staff falls ill at short notice, and the provider has to arrange emergency cover.

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