Staffing / Recruitment Policy

All staff, whether senior managers or lunchtime assistants are selected very carefully.  We choose people not only for their qualifications and experience but also their personal attributes, their ability to work with the Beehive team and most importantly, their love of children.  A low staff turnover is really important to us and we have several members of the team who have been working at Beehive since it opened in 2004.  We view our staff as our most precious asset and know that our good reputation is built on the hard work of our great staff team. 

Our recruitment procedures are stringent.  All staff are interviewed by the manager and successful candidates have at least two references checked.  We also obtain a DBS disclosure.  All staff start on a probationary period and have induction and mentoring to ensure they have a successful start to their employment at the nursery.

Staff Qualifications and Ratios

We are a well-qualified team; the Manager has an Early Years degree as well as holding the post graduate qualification of Early Years Professional Status. The Deputy Manager and several staff hold Early Years degrees.  Most other staff are qualified to Level 3 in childcare including NVQ, CACHE and B’Tech qualifications.

Ofsted give us clear ratios of adults to children at the nursery and we always adhere to these.

Legal ratios are:

• Children under two years:  One adult for every three children
• Children aged two years:  One adult for every four children
• Children aged over three years:  One adult for every eight children

We aim to exceed the required number of adults whenever possible. 

Staff have time away from the children to complete Learning Journals, as well as time for planning and training.

All staff have training in First Aid, Safeguarding and Food Safety and these are renewed every three years.