Nursery World - Government consults on 'unfair' disqualification rules

The Government is considering scrapping ‘disqualification by association’ rules for some settings, following heavy criticism from the early years sector, and is inviting comment on three consultation options.

The automatic ban was enforced in February last year meaning practitioners can be stopped from working in an early years setting if they live with someone convicted or cautioned for a violent or sexual offence.

Since then, the sector has been flagging deep concerns, including that the system is ‘unfair’, ‘ineffective’ and ‘unclear’.

Practitioners can apply for a waiver from Ofsted, but this can take weeks to be processed by Ofsted, causing difficulties for staff and settings who do not pose a risk.

The proposed safeguarding changes relate to schools, nurseries and other non-domestic settings, but do not affect childminders, who care for children at home.

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