The Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) makes clear what early learning and care providers must do to keep young children safe, including what they must do to ensure practitioners and other people aged 16 or over likely to have regular contact with children are suitable. Further to the EYFS, the DCSF have provided additional guidance on the actions that providers should take to safeguard and promote children’s welfare, and to ensure that they have access to all the information they need to make the right decisions about employing only suitable people to work with children. We have also provided guidance on what people who work with children should do if they are worried that a child is being harmed, whether by an employee or another adult or young person.
From October 2009 the new barred list of the Vetting and Barring Scheme comes into force. This will ensure that unsuitable people will be barred from working with children. There will be a duty on providers to refer workers they have found to be unsuitable to the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) for consideration for barring in the list. ISA will begin to register new childcare employees and providers in July next year. Further information about VBS can be found at: http://www.isa-gov.org.uk.