Safeguarding and Staff


This policy aligns with the NSPCC’s ‘ Safer Recruitment ’ guidelines and our head of people has received 'Safer Recruitment' training.

Pre-Interview Checks 
The Hopscotch People and Development Lead conducts initial suitability checks on all candidate, including address verification.  

Interview Process 
Suitable candidate are interviewed by the Holiday Club Manager, with a second senior member of staff present. Pre-approved questions ensure fair treatment. Interview notes are filed or securely disposed of based on the outcome. 
Background Checks DBS – Enhance DBS checks for all staff and volunteers via Zinc. ID verification is completed as part of this process.  References – Two employment referenced, dated within the last 5 years, that: 
  • Not be open references  (e.g. “To whom it may concern”) 
  • Are requested directly from employers, not submitted by candidates 
  • Include a reference from relevant employer of the last time the candidate worked with children, if not currently working with children. If the applicant has never worked with children, ensure reference is from current employer, training provider or education setting.   
  • Are completed by a senior person with appropriate authority if from candidate current employer, training provider or education setting/  
  • Cannot be completed by a family member 
  • Include verification of individuals most recent relevant period of employment, if candidate is not currently employed 
  • Originate from a legitimate source, verified where needed.  
These requirements are checked by the holiday club manager following receipt of Zinc report from People and Development Lead using the checklist found here:  Staff Qualifications People & Development Lead’s sole responsibility is to obtain references and pass these on to the holiday club DSL (management team), in which they will review using professional curiosity and make enquiries where necessary. Managers must: 
  • Contact referees to clarify content where information is vague or insufficient information is provided 
  • Compare the information on the application form with that in the reference and take up any discrepancies with the candidate 
  • Establish the reason for the candidate leaving their current or most recent post, and 
  • Ensure any concerns are resolved satisfactorily before appointment is confirmed. 
Recruitment is not confirmed until all suitability checks are fully completed. 
Ongoing Suitability Staff must complete and regularly update: 
  • Staff Suitability / Criminal History form 
  • Health Statement 
Required Training Before starting work, staff must complete courses on: 
  • Safeguarding Children 
  • Prevent Awareness 
  • Recognising and Preventing FGM 
  • Food Standards Food Allergens and Intolerance 
  • What to do if you’re worried a child is being abused 

In addition to this training, all new staff members will receive in house Hopscotch safeguarding training within the first 3 months of employment. The training slides can be found here:  Safeguarding Resources . More information can be found in this policy under  Hopscotch Safeguarding Training.   Managers are responsible for thorough staff induction, covering: 
  • Roles and responsibilities 
  • Emergency procedures 
  • Safeguarding and child protection 
  • Health and safety 
New Staff and Volunteer Requirements All new staff and volunteers must: 
  • Understand safeguarding and child protection policies 
  • Recognize signs of child abuse 
  • Know how to respond to child disclosures 
  • Understand the procedure for reporting child welfare concerns  

 Staff Suitability Policy 
  • Ongoing suitability of staff at each Hopscotch nursery setting is the responsibility of the Holiday Club Manager and Management Team. 
  • They must undertake ongoing suitability assessments of all their staff teams and ensure that supervision, appraisals, training and other performance review and improvement tools are implemented effectively. Any reservations about the suitability of any member of staff working at Hopscotch should lead to prompt action i.e. a change of duties or tasks. If the Manager is not sure then they should discuss the matter with the Hopscotch Chief Operations Officer or the Head of People and Development. Failure to protect the wellbeing and welfare of children attending Hopscotch by not undertaking ongoing suitability assessments and checks could be considered a failure to properly implement effective safeguarding measures and could result in disciplinary action being taken. 
  • Hopscotch is committed to ensuring that all staff, including students, volunteers and any agency/supply staff are suitable to fulfil the requirements of their role in order to work with or be in regular contact with children. We have effective systems in place to ensure that this includes making a decision about suitability, as part of the recruitment process and monitoring continued suitability, as part of regular staff and/or student supervision. 
  • The People and Development Lead and Holiday Club Manager are responsible for ensuring that all staff and students have an enhanced check with the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), and that the results of such a check are assessed as part of a decision on suitability. 
  • We will always endeavour to ensure staff will have checks completed prior to starting employment. However, if there are delays in checks coming through, as a last resort staff may work in the setting before these checks are completed but they must be supervised at all times by staff who already hold an enhanced check and the check has been applied for. All staff will be informed of any staff awaiting enhanced DBS clearance. 
  • Staff awaiting these checks will never: 
  • Be left unsupervised whilst caring for children 
  • Take children for toilet visits unless supervised by staff holding an enhanced check 
  • Change nappies 
  • Be left alone in a room or outside with children 
  • Administer medication 
  • Administer first aid 
  • Take photographs of any children 
  • Be involved in looking at a child’s learning and development log, but can contribute to it 
  • Have access to children’s personal details and records. 
  • While adhering to the above list, we recognise that it is vital that the staff member awaiting an enhanced disclosure is made to feel part of the team and we support them in participating fully in every other aspect of the nursery day. 
  • We recognise that the enhanced DBS disclosure is only one part of a suitability decision and management will ensure every individual working with a child goes through a vigorous recruitment and induction procedure (as laid out in the Safe Recruitment policy). We will also ensure they receive continuous support, training and supervision from management in order to provide a safe, secure and healthy environment for all children in the setting. We act on any information that comes to our attention that suggests someone may no longer be suitable for their role. 
  • All students will also receive an interview to ensure they are suitable for the setting and an induction process to ensure they fully understand and are able to implement the settings  procedures, working practices and values. All students will be fully supervised to ensure they receive the appropriate support, training and information they may require. 
  • We request confirmation that all necessary checks have been completed by the agency before using any supply/agency staff. We have a short induction prior to them working with the children. It is our policy that all agency/supply staff are fully supervised and not left alone with children. 
  • Once checks are obtained we record the criminal records check reference number, the date the check was obtained and details of who obtained it. We also collect this information for any agency/supply staff prior to using them. 
 
Managing Allegations Against People Working with Children 
  • All management, staff, volunteers and contractors working at the childcare setting will undergo rigorous suitability checks in line with our safe recruitment policies. 
  • Ongoing suitability of staff is monitored through: 
  • regular supervisions 
  • peer observations 
  • frequent declarations of staff suitability 
  • safeguarding competencies 
  • regular review of DBS using the online update service 
  • frequent safeguarding training courses and audits 
  • If an allegation is made against a member of staff, student or volunteer or any other person who lives or works on the holiday club premises regardless of whether the allegation relates to the holiday club premises or elsewhere, we will follow the procedure below. 
  • An allegation against a member of staff/student/volunteer/supply staff or any other person may relate to a person who has: 
  • behaved in a way that has harmed a child, or may have harmed a child; 
  • possibly committed a criminal offence against or related to a child; 
  • behaved towards a child or children in a way that indicates he or she may pose a risk of harm to children; or 
  • behaved or may have behaved in a way that indicates they may not be suitable to work with children. 
  • The allegation should be reported to the senior manager on duty or one of the DSLs. If this person is the subject of the allegation then this should be reported to the Hopscotch Senior Management Team (Chief Executive Officer or Chief Operating Officer) instead. Further information on this is set out in Hopscotch's Reporting Safeguarding Concerns poster. 
  • If the allegation involves allegations about a member of staff then the member of staff should be put onto non-contact duties in the holiday club as soon as is reasonably practicable and until a first fact finding process has been undertaken. At this juncture a decision should be made about whether the member of staff should be suspended pending further investigation or whether they can return to their usual duties. 
  • At Hopscotch we will follow relevant local safeguarding partnership guidelines about how to report an allegation: 
  • If as an individual you feel this will not be taken seriously or are worried about the allegation getting back to the person in question then it is your duty to inform the local authority children’s social care team directly; 
  • The local authority children’s social care team will be informed immediately for advice and guidance; 
  • A full investigation will be carried out by the appropriate professionals (local authority children’s social care team, Ofsted) to determine how this will be handled; 
  • The holiday club will follow all instructions from the relevant organisations if deemed serious enough for their involvement. All staff members should be expected to do the same and co-operate where required; 
  • Support will be provided to all those involved in an allegation throughout the external investigation in line with local authority children’s social care team support and advice; 
  • The holiday club reserves the right to suspend any member of staff during an investigation. Legal advice should always be sought at all junctures in order to ensure compliance with the law; 
  • All enquiries/external investigations/interviews will be documented and kept in a locked file for access by the relevant authorities; 
  • Founded allegations will be passed on to the relevant organisations including the local authority children’s social care team and where an offence is believed to have been committed, the police will also be informed; 
  • Founded allegations will be dealt with as gross misconduct in accordance with our disciplinary procedures and may result in the termination of employment, Ofsted will be notified immediately of this decision along with notifying the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) to ensure their records are updated; 
  • It may be that the person against who the allegations are made decide to leave their employment before the conclusion of any investigation. If the investigation might have prompted disciplinary action which might have resulted in their dismissal then the DBS service should be informed. Further consultation on this point can be sought from the LADO. 
  • All safeguarding records will be kept until the person reaches normal retirement age or for 21 years and 3 months if that is longer. This will ensure accurate information is available for references and future DBS checks and avoids any unnecessary reinvestigation; 
  • The holiday club retains the right to dismiss any member of staff in connection with founded allegations following an inquiry; 
  • Unfounded allegations will result in all rights being reinstated; 
  • A return to work plan will be put in place for any member of staff returning to work after an allegation has been deemed unfounded. Individual support will be offered to meet the needs of the individual staff member and the nature of the incident; this may include more frequent supervisions, coaching and mentoring and external support. 

Staff Training and Development 
  • We are committed to ensuring all staff are qualified, have opportunities for professional development and have relevant up-to-date training in safeguarding children. 
  • All new staff, volunteers and students will participate in an induction programme before taking up their duties and will be allocated an experienced member of staff to mentor them for the duration of the induction. 
  • All staff will be required to complete online child protection training upon appointment. 
  • All volunteers and students will be required to complete the online child protection training. 
  • All training must reflect the requirements of Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018 and informed by the Brighton & Hove Local Safeguarding Children Board training strategy and plans. 
  • Staff are required to update their knowledge by attending Brighton & Hove Council approved training every two years. 
  • Staff supervision meetings will record discussions regarding continuing professional development and subsequent identification and planning of training to meet those needs. 
  • Staff will receive training in FGM and Prevent. 
  • The Management Team will receive Designated Safeguarding Lead training. All DSLs will provide feedback upon receiving DSL training, in order for the DSL Committee to review safeguarding policies annually. 

Hopscotch Safeguarding Training 
  • In addition to this training, all new staff members will receive in-house Hopscotch safeguarding training within their first three months of employment. This training is specifically tailored to Early Years practice and goes beyond statutory requirements. It is delivered by a trained Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) and refreshed annually for all staff. 
  • The training is interactive and scenario-based, using both real and hypothetical situations to ensure staff develop a practical understanding of safeguarding in everyday nursery life, allowing staff to explore different perspectives and consider appropriate responses. The training slides can be found here:  Safeguarding Resources .  
  • To support staff in applying their knowledge, managers provide follow-up opportunities for reflection during supervision and team meetings. Staff are encouraged to discuss how safeguarding principles apply in their daily work, identify challenges, and share effective practice. 
  • Management adopts a dynamic and responsive approach to staff development. This means that if concerns are identified regarding an individual’s confidence, understanding, or practice, targeted support or additional training will be arranged. This may include refresher sessions, one-to-one coaching with a DSL, or specialist training focused on specific safeguarding themes. This ensures all staff remain confident, competent, and able to fulfil their safeguarding responsibilities effectively. 
 
Low level concerns about staff 
Hopscotch Holiday Club recognises that low-level concerns about the behaviour or conduct of staff, volunteers, students or contractors may arise which do not meet the threshold for an allegation of harm but still warrant attention. These concerns may include boundary issues, inappropriate language, or conduct that does not align with our staff code of conduct. All low-level concerns are taken seriously, recorded and reviewed by the Designated Safeguarding Lead or senior management to identify patterns, provide appropriate support or guidance, and prevent escalation. Staff are encouraged to share concerns promptly in a culture of openness and professional challenge, and no individual will be treated unfairly for raising a concern in good faith.  
This Safeguarding and Staff Policy should be read alongside the  Hopscotch Code of Conduct , which outlines clear expectations for staff behaviour, including the requirement to “avoid alcohol, smoking, and illegal drugs on premises”.