The Committee
The committee will be responsible for acting as an employer including the appointment, employment, support and management of staff. The regulations for employing staff are complicated, you should discuss these with your local Mudiad Meithrin Support Officer before starting the process.
Mudiad Meithrin
Human resources guidelines can be found in Mudiad Meithrin's Little Purple Book at the bottom of the page.
The Mudiad Meithrin intranet includes information on relevant issues, for example: Appointment, Induction, Probationary Period, Discipline, Complaints, Absence, Maternity, Holidays, Maternity / Paternity Rights. Mudiad Meithrin members have access to a telephone help line which gives advice on legal matters.
Mudiad Meithrin does not provide human resources advice to individual staff members.
Mudiad Meithrin does not provide advice to committees that act against the advice given in the Llyfr Mawr Piws / Management Guidelines or to committees that have acted contrary to any legal regulations.
Requirements of Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW):
1. Ratios:
- The Childcare Regulations specify the number of staff that a Cylch must have for a specific number of children, namely
1 adult for every 3 children under 2 years old
1 adult for every 4 children under 2 - 3 years old
1 adult for every 8 children under 3 - 7 years old
- In a Full Day Care situation where the Cylch is registered for 20+ children, one additional person must be employed to the above ratios (supernumerary).
- There must be at least 2 members of staff in the Cylch at all times.
2. Qualifications
- The Cylch's leader must have a qualification at least at Level 3, which has been recognised by the Care Council for Wales as suitable for the post. Any appointed Leader must have at least 2 years' experience.
- At least half of the assistants should have a Level 2 qualification that has been recognised by the Care Council for Wales as suitable for the post. Click here to see a list of acceptable qualifications.
- There are different rules for Flying Start and full day care settings, these need to be discussed with the local Support Officer before appointing.
3. Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS):
- Each cylch must register with an external company (e.g. uCheck) for DBS checks.
- A DBS must be obtained before any person can start working in Cylch.
- It is the responsibility of the management committee to carry out DBS checks for Cylch assistants, and there will be a cost. The Cylch's management committee will decide if the cylch or the individual pays for the check.
- The management committee needs to register online and log in with the external provider to perform the check.
- The committee should recommend that the member of staff makes the DBS check transferable, this must be done within 14 days of receiving the certificate.
- If the person has a portable DBS the committee must check that certificate online.
- Click here for more information about the DBS service
Additional information:
For a list of acceptable qualifications click here.
As well as the Mudiad Meithrin intranet and your local Mudiad Meithrin Support Officer, additional support is available on staffing and human resources issues by ACAS , and other useful contacts are:
Business Wales: Information, advice and support by the Welsh Government.
Advice Guide: Online help by Citizen's Advice
HMRC: General Employment Support and Information
Healthy Working Wales: Health support to improve workplace health, prevent illness and help people return to work after illness.