Providing references in Early Years

When creating references they must be a true, accurate and fair representation of the person. You cannot mislead someone or you might face a consequence.

The person providing the reference needs to present the details in an even-handed manner and avoid misleading the recipient by either adding things to the reference or leaving out relevant information from the reference.

This is of particular interest to those working in the Early Years in England as changes to the EYFS in September 2025 will mean that employers will be required to “up their game” regarding providing references.

There have long been competing interests regarding references. Let’s look at those in turn.

1. If you are seeking a reference, you wish to have as much information as you can regarding the candidate to help make the best decision.

However,

2. If you are giving a reference, you probably will want to keep it brief and to the point to avoid error or misstatement.

The changes to the EYFS include the following statement “that references should be provided for previous employees upon request in a timely manner.”

A timely manner is not defined but as a guideline and in normal circumstances, one ought to look to reply within a week. We await to see the finalised version of the new EYFS to know whether this timeline will be specified. In many ways it would be helpful if it was.

It goes on to say that when asked to provide references,

• providers should ensure the information confirms whether they are satisfied with the applicant’s suitability to work with children.

And an area of particular concern for those in Early Years is what to say about safeguarding concerns. Thankfully the suggestion is that this will be helpfully clarified with the following statement:

• provide the facts (not opinions) of any substantiated safeguarding concerns/allegations that meet the harm threshold.

So what is a substantiated allegation.

Under “Working Together to Safeguard Children”, a substantiated allegation means an allegation that is supported by sufficient evidence and proof. It implies that the allegation is considered to be true based on the findings of an investigation. This is distinct from an unsubstantiated allegation, where there is insufficient evidence to prove or disprove it, or an unfounded allegation, where evidence exists to disprove the original allegation. 

This will be a fairly high bar for providers to report that there has been substantiated allegations.

And a reference should NOT include.

• information about concerns/allegations which are unsubstantiated, unfounded, false, or malicious.

Although the document does not specify exactly what should be included in a reference, it does appear to guide providers towards a giving more information on the person, their skills and qualifications, post or role and want providers to move away from the more traditional “tombstone” form of reference.

To ensure your reference management is effective and helping you hire the best person for the job, check out our reference policy here

If we can be of any assistance with your Employment Referencing head to our website.