Education
CC Nurseries is a growing UK childcare provider operating multiple nursery settings. Before implementing Jobtrain, the organisation had no applicant tracking system. Recruitment was managed via emails, spreadsheets and job boards, making record‑keeping difficult and compliance risky. For a childcare organisation, safer recruitment isn’t optional – it’s essential.
“Everything was done manually. We didn’t have a central place where candidate information lived, so there was a risk of losing key information. In childcare, safer recruitment is incredibly important.” – Rebecca Rumble, Recruitment Manager
When leadership asked for progress, Rebecca found herself counting applications manually, spending hours on admin tasks such as sending interview invites, collecting references and issuing contracts.
“If someone asked me for numbers, I was manually counting them. Now, in the ATS I can just run a report and the data is there instantly.”
Rebecca reviewed several ATS providers and spoke to sector peers before selecting Jobtrain. Her criteria were clear:
“Even though we’re a smaller organisation, I wanted a system that could support us even if we had 100 nurseries. Jobtrain had everything we needed. The integrations with DBS and Right‑to‑Work checks were a huge plus and the platform itself is really easy to use.
I didn’t want something overly complicated that would be difficult to train people on. It’s a very clear layout. I can see what I need instantly and move through everything in seconds.”
Once CC Nurseries rolled out Jobtrain, manual tasks were replaced by configurable workflows that automate administration and safeguard compliance:
“From the moment the offer goes out to the contract being signed, everything is automated. It’s been a godsend having everything handled through one platform.”
Jobtrain gives CC Nurseries a centralised audit trail with all documentation – from references and health forms to candidate details – instantly available to hiring managers. This supports Ofsted reviews and strengthens governance across locations.
“Managers can access references, health forms and candidate details instantly. One of our managers even spotted something in a reference before I did because she received the notification straight away.”
“If Ofsted ever need to review something, it’s easy. Managers can access everything from one place.”
Safer recruitment in childcare is the set of processes nurseries use to vet, verify and assess applicants to keep children safe. An ATS like Jobtrain helps ensure consistent documentation, checks and audit trails across every hire.
With Jobtrain, hiring managers can see candidate progress and access information directly – no more chasing spreadsheets or emails. This improves collaboration and speeds up decision‑making.
“Previously managers didn’t have access to references or candidate information. Now they can just click a link and see exactly what’s been submitted.”
Weekly reporting enables Rebecca to monitor the impact of location‑specific and role‑specific campaigns in real time, refresh adverts and allocate budget where it’s needed most. For competitive childcare hiring, evidence‑led spend matters.
“We track how many applications we’re getting and whether adverts need to be refreshed or boosted. It also helps prove which areas are harder to recruit in.”
“We still invest in Indeed because childcare recruitment is so competitive, but now we can focus our spend on the roles and locations that really need it.”
Rebecca’s strategy – supported by our Jobtrain ATS – has delivered tangible gains:
“When I joined, the company was relying heavily on agencies. Now we don’t use them at all. Because we’re fully staffed, we were able to secure a significant amount of funding.”
With admin reduced, Rebecca has launched an apprentice community across nurseries, providing support, guidance and resources to nurture early careers in childcare.
“Now, we’ve been able to build an apprentice community across all the nurseries… That’s something I wouldn’t have had the time to do before having Jobtrain.”
Julie Dunning, CC Nurseries’ dedicated Jobtrain Account Manager, describes the onboarding process with CC Nurseries as a “genuine partnership rather than a traditional supplier – client relationship.”
“From day one, Rebecca has been engaged, open and clear about her goals for streamlining and professionalising CC Nurseries recruitment.
She took to Jobtrain ‘like a duck to water’, diving straight into the ATS and making tweaks and changes from day one. Moving at pace, she has already delivered visible improvements to CC Nurseries hiring process.
Rebecca has achieved her initial ATS goals – bringing the recruitment journey online, enhancing the candidate experience, empowering Hiring Managers, and improving reporting and data transparency – so what’s next, Rebecca?”
How do nurseries improve safer recruitment quickly?
By implementing an ATS designed for childcare, integrating DBS and Right to Work checks and building workflow automation that standardises vetting and onboarding.
If you’re recruiting in childcare and want fewer spreadsheets, fewer risks and faster hires, our Jobtrain ATS is built to help – with integrations and workflows made for safer recruitment.
CC Nurseries is an award-winning early years group delivering high‑quality education across multiple UK nursery settings. As the organisation expanded, recruitment needed to evolve to support growth, safeguard compliance and improve candidate experience across locations. Jobtrain has helped the team achieve that transformation.