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From 1st September 2025, the statutory reforms to the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) brought a much tougher stance on employment references, and for good reason.
At the heart of the update is a requirement for all references to come directly from senior individuals within the candidate’s current or most recent employer, training provider, or education setting.
It is no longer acceptable to accept open references or allow the candidate to source them. References must not come from family members, and if the candidate has previously worked with children, a reference must be obtained from that employer, even if that role wasn’t their most recent.
But here’s the alarming truth: in our work supporting nursery leaders, we’ve seen a rise in cases where applicants provide email addresses that aren’t genuine.
Sometimes these are personal emails with no connection to the organisation. In the worst cases, the candidate themselves creates a fake account and pretends to be their former employer.
Without a robust referencing process, a nursery could unknowingly employ someone unfit to work with children exposing the setting to regulatory, reputational, and a safeguarding risk.
The revised EYFS is clear: “Providers must record information about… the references that have been completed” and ensure any concerns are resolved satisfactorily before confirming the appointment.
That means contacting referees directly, verifying their position, matching reference content against the application form, and following up any vague or inconsistent responses.
Failure to implement these checks is not just a paperwork issue it’s a safeguarding one. Ofsted inspections and local authority audits will now scrutinise the area of Safer Recruitment more thoroughly.
If you and your team haven’t completed Safer Recruitment training this year, we would strongly recommend you do. You must be able to show how you verified that the referee is a senior person with appropriate authority.
At Redwing, we encourage Nursery Managers to embed these steps into their safer recruitment culture not just because it’s required, but because safeguarding children is all of our responsibility.
If you would like assistance to collect employment referencing our new service Vryfi could be just what you are looking for.
Drop us an email at [email protected] to request our Vryfi™ Brochure.
Never rely solely on the email provided by the candidate. Use official channels to confirm a referee’s identity, and where in doubt, pick up the phone and verify. Your diligence could be the safeguard that makes all the difference. You won’t regret it.
If you need support navigating the latest statutory updates, MBK Early Years Bespoke Safer Recruitment in Education Training is designed to ensure your recruitment processes are robust, thorough, and fully compliant.
You can find out more about this course here
Imogen Edmunds is the founder of Redwing Solutions, providing professional HR consultancy and comprehensive HR support services to help UK businesses manage people, compliance and growth.
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