This help centre article has been written for Koru Kids' Home Nursery service
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Assessing our Early Educators
We have a discerning and rigorous process for recruiting, vetting, training and inspecting our Early Educators which means we meet with and engage with them at multiple points on their journey to becoming registered with Koru Kids.
Statistically speaking, it’s harder to become a Koru Kids Early Educator than to win a place at Harvard University!
Recruitment and vetting
Before even being interviewed, each prospective Early Educator must complete a detailed application form where we ask a series of important questions to determine their suitability to care for children.
Each Early Educator is then interviewed by the Koru Kids team for half an hour before being admitted to our training program - we ask about their background in childcare, their understanding of child development, and how they plan to create a safe and engaging environment for children in their home.
This interview is conducted via a phone call.
The team conducting these interviews have experienced backgrounds in early years settings, primary school teaching, special needs teaching and social services, and so can quickly identify who would make a wonderful Early Educator and who would not.
Whilst our Early Educators are undergoing training, we then conduct DBS criminal record checks, we speak to a personal and professional reference and we also check with their local authority and Ofsted to see if they have had any concerning interactions with them in the past.
Early Educators must also submit a health assessment from their GP which we discuss with the candidate if required.
Training
During an Early Educator’s training, our experienced team spend many hours with them on intimate, small group video calls as they learn about safeguarding, the EYFS, menu planning and how to set up their home.
We also meet our Early Educators in person during their outdoor learning training session which is an all-day course, giving us a great chance to really get to know each Early Educator as an individual before we allow them to start working with Koru Kids families.
Inspections
To officially qualify as an Early Educator with Koru Kids, one of our experienced quality assessors will visit their home in person. They will assess their home for safety and as a positive learning environment, and also interview them on their understanding of their duties and responsibilities under the EYFS and in relation to safeguarding.
Crucially, they will only ‘pass’ an Early Educator where they are confident they can deliver an excellent standard of care.
Once an Early Educator is registered, each year a Koru Kids quality assessor will then conduct a follow-up inspection where they’ll be given a quality grade and a detailed report which we will make available to parents on our website.
This level of oversight is actually a great deal more than Ofsted has with childminders, where they typically are inspected once every 5 or 6 years.
Throughout the process of becoming an Early Educator with Koru Kids, we develop a strong understanding of each individual candidate and their suitability to care for young children. We also develop a strong relationship with our Early Educators once they’re working with families, giving us a strong insight into their childcare practice.
Our utmost priority is to make sure that the children in our care flourish and are safe at all times, and we take this responsibility incredibly seriously.
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