Staff recruitment is stalled by red tape

Day nurseries in England are facing a 'double whammy' of delays by Ofsted and the Criminal Records Bureau that is hampering their recruitment of childcare staff, say providers. The National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) reported last week that many of its members had already been facing problems as a result of lengthy delays in police checks of staff by Ofsted's Early Years Directorate, but now the delays have been compounded by the recent introduction of the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB), which has fallen behind schedule due to a higher than expected workload.