Principle and statement of intent
This policy has been formed following the guidelines and principles in the:
- Getting it Right – standards of practice for the protection of children and young people, published by Volunteer Now third edition Aug 2009, updated Feb 2011 (funded by DHSSPS) standard 2 states that – the organisation consistently applies a thorough and clearly defined method of recruiting staff and volunteers.
- Department of Health & Social Services NI – Childminding & Day Care for children under age 12 Minimum Standards published July 2012 standard 2 states that – the setting’s practice in recruitment, selection and retention of staff complies with equal opportunities and fair employment legislation.
At Bumbles Day Care we are committed to ensuring that that the procedures and practices used in recruitment and selection are fair, consistent and effective. We are registered with the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland and follow the principles and guidelines in the Fair Employment & Treatment NI Order (1998). Staff members will be selected on the basis of merit and applicants for the positions will not be treated less favourably on the grounds of gender, marital status, disability, age, religion, sexual orientation, race, colour, ethnic or national origin, or put at a disadvantage by unjustifiable conditions or requirements.
Procedures
When a vacancy arises a job description will be drawn up outlining the duties, tasks and responsibilities for the job along with a person specification describing the experience skills and any other attributes required to carry out the job.
The job will be advertised and this can be:
- internally – on staff notice board
- externally – on Bumbles Day Care web site, external recruitment web site, Job Centre and newspapers
Applicants will then be, short listed, according to whether they meet the criteria as set out in the person specification for the job.
Short listed applicants will then be invited for interview.
Selection and vetting
All staff working in day care, whether they are voluntary, paid, part-time or full-time, are required by social services to make a declaration of good health and to undergo police vetting to ensure that they are a fit person to be working with children, before their employment is confirmed.
The application form includes a declaration of any criminal convictions and this information will be verified through an AccessNI Enhanced Disclosure check when a candidate is being offered the position.
AccessNI has a code of practice and is committed to:
- encouraging the spread of best practice in recruitment;
- to ensuring the best possible use of the information it provides;
- encouraging safe recruitment
Once all pre-employment checks have been processed including validating references and employees right to work in UK then a formal job offer will be made and this will include the Terms and conditions of employment and inform of any probationary period required.
All new staff will have an induction to include an awareness of all Bumbles Day Care Policies & Procedures and Code of Practice.
All staff records will be stored securely and retained in accordance with the guidelines under General Data Protection Regulations (May 2018) guidelines