Safeguarding Measures for Children in Childcare
Guest Post by Elin Swain, Director, Nannies Matter
When hiring a nanny, childminder or other childcare professional, parents need to be able to trust that their child will be safe and receive the highest standard of care.
There are several legal mechanisms in place to establish safeguarding measures for young children under the care of a nanny or childminder, and to ensure that people in these roles have the skills and experience to keep children away from harm.
Here, we will examine some of the legal requirements and best practices that keep children safe in a variety of contexts. Whether at school, in the care of a nanny, or during extracurricular activities.
It is important that all childcare professionals meet a high minimum standard when it comes to protecting children. By understanding the measures that are in place, parents can rest assured that their children remain safe, and nannies can work to ensure that they maintain these high standards at all times.
Enhanced DBS Checks
The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) Check is a fundamental way that professionals are vetted and assessed before they can legally work with children. Anyone who aims to take up a job in childcare will usually need an Enhanced DBS Check before they can begin working in that role.
In almost all cases, this is a regulatory requirement not only for nannies, childminders, childminders’ assistants and playgroup operators but in situations where childcare is taking place in a childminder’s home. It also applies to any other adults who live there.
An Enhanced DBS Check will show any convictions on someone’s criminal record, including spent and unspent convictions. It will also show cautions and any information held by local police forces that might be relevant to the person’s prospective role. An Enhanced DBS Check can also include a barred list search, which will indicate whether or not the individual in question is banned from performing the role for any reason.
As a parent, you may wish to ask the agency or nanny whether they have a DBS check. While an agency can arrange an Enhanced DBS Check, a nanny cannot organise one for themselves, nor can parents who wish to employ the nanny.
This means that if you are aiming to hire a self-employed nanny, they may not have been thoroughly vetted.
You can avoid this by hiring through a reputable agency, or by ensuring that your nanny is registered as a childminder; they will be able to arrange an Enhanced DBS Check through Ofsted as part of the registration process.
The EYFS Statutory Framework
The early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework is designed to guide the learning, development, safeguarding and care of children in the UK from birth to age 5, and is mandatory for all childcare providers, teachers and other professionals to follow.
The EYFS framework has advice and regulations on everything from practical skills like communication or physical movements, to social and emotional skills, or art and creative expression. It helps to ensure that childcare professionals are delivering the necessary level of support for young children, and creating an environment in which they can develop and flourish.
The EYFS framework also contains requirements for safeguarding and welfare that aim to ensure children are protected while under the care of a nanny, childminder or other professional.
This includes a requirement for childcare practitioners to remain alert to any issues of concern, which may be identified by changes in a child’s behaviour, physical signs, things that the child says or their overall wellbeing.
As well as monitoring children, this means paying attention to the behaviours of other childcare professionals working in the same area and ensuring that everyone maintains high standards of care.
Alongside the regulations outlined in the EYFS framework, individual organisations will have their own approaches to safeguarding and may have additional rules or guidelines.
As a parent, you can ask your nanny agency about their individual approach to safeguarding to learn more, and as a nanny you can expect that you will be informed of any specific requirements you need to meet when you join the agency.
By thoroughly understanding the requirements of the EYFS and submitting to an enhanced DBS check, nannies can reassure parents that their children are in safe hands.