The nursery staff file: every check Ofsted expects to see, and where it comes from

In short

• You must get an enhanced criminal records check and barred list check for everyone aged 16 or over who works directly with children or works or lives on the premises (EYFS 3.15).
• Nobody may begin working or volunteering until that check has been received. Anyone not yet checked must not have unsupervised contact with children (3.17).
• You must record qualifications, identity checks, vetting and references, including the check reference number, the date obtained and who at the setting obtained it (3.18).
• You need at least one written reference before anyone is recruited (3.20), and at least one person with a current paediatric first aid certificate on the premises whenever children are present (3.37).

1. Who they are

• Identity check (3.18)
• Right to work copy and dated record
• Overseas check if they lived or worked abroad (3.16)

2. Suitability

• Enhanced DBS with barred list (3.15)
• Reference number, date, who obtained it (3.18)
• Disclosure duty told to staff (3.17)

3. Their history

• Written reference (3.20)
• Verification of latest employment
• Reason for leaving last post

4. Qualifications

• Qualification record (3.18, 3.13)
• Manager level 3, half of others level 2 (3.45)
• Paediatric first aid certificate (3.37)

5. Once they are in

• Induction (3.34)
• Safeguarding training, renewed every two years (3.31, 3.33)
• Supervision arrangements (3.35)

1. Suitable people: the DBS and barred list check

Start with the general duty. You are responsible for making sure that anyone looking after children has the right checks, training and qualifications.

3.13 Providers must ensure that people looking after children are suitable; they must have the relevant qualifications, training and have passed any required checks to fulfil their roles.

The check itself is an enhanced criminal records check plus a barred list check. Barred list means the list of people barred from working with children. GOV.UK describes it as an enhanced check “plus whether the applicant is on the list of people barred from doing the role”.

3.15 Registered group and school-based providers, except CoDP providers, must obtain an enhanced criminal records check and barred list check for every person aged 16 and over including all volunteers who:

Paragraph 3.15 then lists three groups: those who work directly with children, those who live on the premises, and those who work on the premises (unless they work in a part where childcare does not take place, or when children are not there). Paragraph 3.16 adds that an additional check should be made for anyone who has lived or worked abroad. GOV.UK says DBS checks “will not cover the time someone lived outside the UK”.

When can they start?

Not before the check has been received. That is what the framework says in its current form.

3.17 … Providers must not allow individuals to begin working or volunteering at the setting until they have received the applicant’s enhanced criminal records and barred list check. Providers must not allow anyone whose suitability has not been checked, including through a criminal records and barred list check, to have unsupervised contact with children being cared for.

So the second sentence is a backstop, not a start date. We found no paragraph in the framework that lets a person start on a risk assessment while the certificate is outstanding. If your own procedures describe one, check them against 3.17 before relying on them. Footnote 24 also says the certificate goes only to the applicant. You must check the disclosure yourself, and consider whether it contains anything that suggests the person is unsuitable, before they have unsupervised contact.

Telling staff to disclose

3.17 also says you must tell staff and prospective staff that they must disclose anything that may affect their suitability, “including, but not limited to, arrests, charges, convictions, cautions, court orders, reprimands and warnings”, whether received before or during their employment. A line in the contract and in the staff handbook, dated and signed, is the evidence.

2. The DBS Update Service

A person can join the Update Service so their certificate stays current from one job to the next. You do not have to ask for it. If they have joined, the framework says you should look at the status.

Where a potential or existing employee has subscribed to the online DBS update service, providers should check the status of the disclosure. Where the check identifies there has been a change to the disclosure details, a new enhanced DBS disclosure must be applied for. Before accessing the DBS update service consent to do so must be obtained from the member of staff.

On GOV.UK, an employer checking a certificate status online must be “legally entitled to carry out a check” and have “the worker’s permission”. There is no charge to the employer. If you accept a certificate issued for a previous role, GOV.UK says you must check that the applicant’s identity matches the certificate and that it is the right level and type for the role.

Record the date you looked and what it showed. GOV.UK also says “A DBS check has no official expiry date” and that “It’s up to you to decide when a new check is needed”. The framework gives no interval either, so choose one, write it into your safer recruitment policy and keep to it.

3. Disqualification and the self-declaration

A person who is disqualified under the Childcare Act 2006 cannot work in your early years provision. The offence for employing them is in section 76(3) and (4) of that Act, which footnote 27 of the EYFS names.

3.22 A person may be disqualified from registration. Providers may find guidance about disqualification under the Childcare Act 2006 helpful. If a person is disqualified, they must not continue as an early years provider or be directly involved in the management of any early years provision. When a person is disqualified, providers must not employ that person in connection with early years provision.

The Department for Education’s statutory guidance on disqualification is written for schools and local authorities, so read it as background and take your duties from the EYFS. It says a self-declaration form is a choice, not a rule, and that a form should ask only what the law needs.

It’s not necessary for schools to ask staff to complete a self-declaration form to obtain information about whether a staff member is disqualified. Where schools decide to adopt the approach of using a self-declaration form, it’s important that the questions posed in the declaration are relevant and limited to the requirements of the legislation

For a nursery, the duty that does apply is the disclosure duty in 3.17 above. One way to evidence it is a dated, signed declaration at recruitment. Paragraph 3.23 treats the disqualification of an employee as a significant event you must notify to Ofsted.

4. What you must write down

3.18 Providers must record information about staff qualifications and the identity checks, vetting processes and references that have been completed (including the criminal records check reference number, the date a check was obtained and details of who at the setting obtained it).

That gives four things to record for the DBS check: the fact that it was done, the reference number, the date obtained, and who at the setting obtained it. Alongside it sit identity, vetting, references and qualifications. Paragraph 3.96 requires staff records to be “easily accessible and available” and also “held securely and only accessible” to people with a right or professional need to see them.

The framework does not use the phrase “single central record”. The disqualification guidance mentions a single central record for schools, but for a nursery the requirement is the recording in 3.18, in whatever form you keep it.

5. Identity and right to work

Identity checks are in 3.18. The right to work check is a separate legal duty on every employer, set out by the Home Office, not in the EYFS. We do not summarise the checking steps here. The one rule to take from the guide is how long to keep the copies.

ensure all copies of documents are kept securely for the duration of the worker’s employment and for two years afterwards. The file or document must then be securely destroyed.

The same section asks you to keep a record of the date the check was done. Keep the leaver’s date in the file too, because the two years run from the end of employment.

6. References and employment history

3.20 Providers must obtain at least one written reference for any member of staff (including students and volunteers) before they are recruited. Providers should: • Not accept open references e.g. to whom it may concern. • Not rely on applicants to obtain their reference.

The paragraph goes on to say references should come from the applicant’s current employer, training provider or education setting, completed by a senior person, and not from a family member. Where the applicant is not currently employed you should obtain verification of their most recent relevant period of employment. It also asks you to contact referees where the content is vague, to compare the reference with the application form and take up any differences, and to establish the reason for leaving the last post. Keep the evidence of each step on file.

7. Qualifications and paediatric first aid

You must verify qualifications, not just record them (3.13). The manager of a setting on the early years register needs a level 3 or above, and at least half of the other staff need a level 2 (3.45). To check a UK qualification, GOV.UK offers a service for managers and practitioners.

Managers and practitioners can use this service to: check if an early years qualification achieved in the UK is approved as full and relevant by the Department for Education (DfE)

The page says to have the certificate and the transcript to hand. Save a dated note of the result in the file next to the certificate copy.

3.37 At least one person who has a current paediatric first aid (PFA) certificate must be on the premises and available at all times when children are present and must accompany children on outings.

The same paragraph says the course must be a full one that meets the criteria in Annex A, and that PFA training must be renewed every three years. Paragraph 3.40 says you should display the certificates, or a list of the staff who hold a current one, or make them available to parents and carers.

8. Induction, training and supervision

3.34 … Providers must ensure that all staff receive induction training to help them understand their roles and responsibilities. Induction training must include information about emergency evacuation procedures, safeguarding, child protection, and health and safety issues.

Record the date and content of each induction. Safeguarding training follows the criteria in Annex C (3.31) and “must be renewed every two years” (3.33). On supervision, the duty is to have arrangements in place:

3.35 Providers must put appropriate arrangements in place for the supervision of staff who have contact with children and families.

The framework does not say how often supervision must happen or what the record looks like. Paragraph 3.36 says it should give staff a chance to discuss issues, find solutions and receive coaching. A dated note per session, kept confidential, shows the arrangement is working.

9. The staff file checklist

Item	Where it comes from	Paragraph
Enhanced DBS and barred list check received before they start	EYFS framework	3.15, 3.17
DBS reference number, date obtained, who obtained it	EYFS framework	3.18
Disclosure of suitability information explained to them, dated	EYFS framework	3.17
Update Service status checked, with consent, if they have joined	EYFS footnote 24; GOV.UK DBS Update Service	3.17, footnote 24
Check for time lived or worked abroad	EYFS framework; GOV.UK DBS page	3.16
Not disqualified; declaration if you use one	EYFS framework; DfE disqualification guidance	3.22
Identity check recorded	EYFS framework	3.18
Right to work copy, dated record, kept for employment plus two years	Home Office employer’s guide	Section 4, Record and retain
At least one written reference, from a legitimate source, before recruitment	EYFS framework	3.20
Verification of latest employment if not currently employed	EYFS framework	3.20
Qualification verified and recorded	EYFS framework; GOV.UK Check an early years qualification	3.13, 3.18, 3.45
Paediatric first aid certificate, renewed every three years	EYFS framework	3.37, 3.40
Induction covering evacuation, safeguarding, child protection, health and safety	EYFS framework	3.34
Safeguarding training, renewed every two years	EYFS framework	3.31, 3.33
Supervision arrangements in place	EYFS framework	3.35
File held securely and available to those who need it	EYFS framework	3.96

Staff numbers and qualifications also drive your ratios. See EYFS staff:child ratios explained, how Ofsted early years inspections work, what you can charge parents for funded childcare and food allergies and choking.

How NurseryGuard handles this

NurseryGuard keeps the staff file as one register, with one row per person. Each row shows eight evidence chips in the order of the EYFS paragraphs: suitability declaration, references, DBS including the barred list check, right to work, induction, safeguarding, paediatric first aid and qualification. It records the DBS reference and dates you enter, and chases the dated renewals: safeguarding every two years and paediatric first aid every three. A DBS check has no official expiry, so it is recorded rather than counted down. A blank date shows as something to complete, not as a failure. The register records what you tell it. It does not contact the DBS, and the certificate and your own judgement remain the evidence.

Questions people ask

Sources

• Early years foundation stage statutory framework for group and school-based providersDated 13 July 2026, effective 1 September 2026; retrieved 2 October 2026 · GOV.UK
• Check someone’s criminal record as an employer (GOV.UK)GOV.UK page, no version date shown; retrieved 2 October 2026 · GOV.UK
• DBS Update Service (GOV.UK)GOV.UK page, no version date shown; retrieved 2 October 2026 · GOV.UK
• Disqualification under the Childcare Act 2006 (DfE statutory guidance)Updated 31 August 2018, applies to England; retrieved 2 October 2026 · GOV.UK
• Check an early years qualification (GOV.UK)GOV.UK page updated 23 December 2025; retrieved 2 October 2026 · GOV.UK
• Right to work checks: an employer’s guide (Home Office)Employer’s guide to right to work checks, 1 October 2026; retrieved 2 October 2026 · GOV.UK

NurseryGuard is software, not a legal adviser or an Ofsted inspector; it does not give legal advice. This page describes what the Early Years Foundation Stage statutory framework, Ofsted’s published guidance and the Department for Education’s guidance say, with the paragraph for each point, so you can read the source yourself. Versions and dates are those in force on the date shown; the documents change, so check the current version before you rely on any of it.