Staff Numbers Policy

The nursery will always ensure that there are sufficient staff to provide proper care and attention to the children present, and in particular that we shall not fall below the staff:child ratios as directed by Ofsted.

The number of permanent staff shall always be higher than the minimum required by Ofsted. The percentage of qualified staff shall always be higher than the minimum required by Ofsted, because it is the policy of the nursery to only employ childcare staff who are already qualified to a minimum of NVQ Level III, or apprentices who are studying towards their Level III. No unqualified staff member will be employed in a childcare position unless they are already undertaking training towards a recognised qualification. The manager and owner when present are also supernumerary and qualified and can be called upon to take over a position in the event of staff absences.

A long term apprentice or volunteer can be taken account of in the staff:child ratios, but will always count as an unqualified member of staff. Trainees on short term placements or short term volunteers will not be counted towards staff:child ratios.

Ofsted allows the relaxing of staff ratios in an emergency situation.  There has also been a recognition that staff absences due to Covid have been difficult to predict, and manage.

If there should be a temporary difficulty maintaining ratios as a result of an emergency or sudden sickness on the part of a member of staff, then staff breaks will take second place to maintaining legal ratios (but will be paid). The nursery has links with local temporary staff agencies and will bring in temporary staff as required. We stipulate that any such temporary staff member has been vetted by the agency and has a valid DBS check. As a last resort we will telephone parents to take children home.

On trips out of the nursery, the ratio of staff:children will be significantly increased, depending on the nature of the trip and the age of the children involved.

Revised May 2022
By: Jacquelin Curtis
Adopted as the policy of the nursery
By: Jacquelin Curtis Director,
Activeplay Nurseries Ltd