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Recruitment Crisis – “I Sent Providers Fake CVs Full Of Mistakes And Void Of Qualifications…And Still Got An Interview”

Are you doing enough to find and grow great staff members?

Jonny Keen
by Jonny Keen
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Staff are the lifeblood of any nursery. Without them, settings simply wouldn’t be able to function.

But staff don’t pop into existence from nowhere; they have to be recruited.

So in an environment in which finding qualified staff is an ongoing challenge, what can settings do to recruit enough?

“You’ll do!”

Some nurseries take a… relaxed approach to recruitment. Whilst working at one branch of a large chain, I noticed that many new recruits had few qualifications and in many cases no experience in childcare. They lacked knowledge of how a typical setting functions and an awareness of the EYFS criteria. Some seemed unsuitable for the setting, but there was such a high turnover that it sometimes felt as if people were being taken in off the street to work for us!

I wanted to test exactly who childcare settings would consider recruiting, and so I sent out some fake applications to five of the largest nursery providers in the UK. I included the following covering letter (with deliberate spelling mistakes!) together with a limited CV:

“Hello my name is sarah and I am realy interested in having a job in childcare I have just left colege and have not really been around children before but I think I would make a great nursery nurse.”

The CV I included with the application stated that ‘Sarah’ had two GCSEs and no prior work experience of any sort. Not what anyone would call an ideal candidate. Yet two of the five nursery chains I sent this application to called asking for an interview!

Needs must

Recruiting large numbers of unqualified and inexperienced staff is perfectly legal provided you have the odd member of qualified staff scattered amongst them, but it’s hardly conducive to a great nursery.

I’ve seen first hand what the effects of poor recruitment can be. Some of the more nuanced elements of the job like planning and observations can fall into chaos, and approaches to discipline and organisation vary wildly amongst people who aren’t sure of the industry standards. And don’t forget, the day Ofsted comes calling these staff are going to find it very difficult to impress the inspectors.

Hopefully you’re planning on slightly better standards for your own team. Perhaps you’ll only recruit unqualified staff if you’re providing an apprenticeship scheme, or perhaps you’ll insist all practitioners have at least a year’s experience before joining your setting. But in a highly competitive recruitment market, this can be difficult to achieve.

I’m sure that the nurseries that do hire unqualified staff would prefer people with experience. The reason they hire so many unsuitable people is simply because they are desperate. So how can you avoid getting into the same situation as them?

Keeping the best

Firstly, it’s important to keep hold of the staff you already have. Settings with a high turnover rate will of course have to recruit as quickly as possible, and standards will likely suffer as a result. Keep a close eye on morale at your setting, treating your staff well and making sure they feel valued. Believe me, staff put great store in how their settings treat them, and a few words of encouragement or praise can make all the difference. If childcare staff feel overly pressured or criticised, it may encourage them to start looking for a job elsewhere.

Finding the best

What about filling vacancies? How can you make sure your nursery attracts applicants with the right skills and experience? First you have to identify what you want out of staff. Presumably you want them to be qualified and experienced, but what other attributes are you looking for? Try to think of skills your nursery is lacking and mention these as desirable in your job description. Avoid generic attributes like ‘passionate’ and ‘caring’. Something that stands out from the crowd is better.

Once you know what kind of person you’re looking for, it’s time to think of ways to attract those people. This might be simpler (and less expensive!) than you think; it doesn’t have to be bouncy castles in the staff room or free limousine rides home at the end of the day. It could be something as obvious as offering slightly more pay than your competitors. Given that many settings offer only minimum wage, even an extra 50 pence an hour can help to attract desirable candidates.

If that’s not possible there are other ways to make your setting stand out (let’s be honest, very few people work in childcare for the money anyway). You could offer small rewards like a gift voucher for employee of the month, or free fruit for staff. Be creative! Nursery practitioners often work long hours for low pay and it’s the small things that can make them feel appreciated.

Finally, don’t forget that staff will be drawn to a good setting. I’ve gone for interviews at nurseries, been offered the job and decided against joining based on what I’ve seen during my visit. Personally, the more pleasant and well resourced a nursery seems, the more inclined I will be to work there. Going the extra mile to recruit some great staff will help to improve your nursery, which will help to recruit better staff and so on!


Team building

Keep these points in mind when it’s time to recruit

  • Cutting corners on staff recruitment can cost you dearly, particularly at Ofsted inspection time.
  • Try to keep your turnover rates down. It’s much easier to retain existing staff members than to constantly recruit new ones.
  • Place importance on identifying what you want in a new staff member. What skill gaps could they help to fill?
  • Get creative in offering something a bit different to attract new staff. Simple things like free food can really make a difference at minimal cost!

Jonny Keen is is a childcare practitioner and writer. Read more about teacher interview questions.

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