Compliance Statement

Safeguarding and Safer Recruitment: Compliance Statement

In accordance with the requirements of the DfE guidance Keeping Children Safe in Education, that Educated Recruitment (ER) has undertaken all the necessary safeguarding, safer recruitment and vetting and barring checks for all ER employees who visit all schools - This includes Enhanced DBS Disclosures and, as of September 2022, an online search for applicants.

More details as follows:

DBS Checks

All candidates must hold an Enhanced DBS certificate with Child Workforce checked. In exceptional circumstances, candidates may have a DBS that includes both Child and Adult Workforce.

Educated Recruitment may place a candidate whose DBS is currently in process, provided they have a previous Enhanced DBS certificate (Child Workforce or Child and Adult Workforce) dated within the past twelve months.

Some candidates may hold an older DBS certificate not issued through Educated Recruitment but registered with the Update Service. We check the update service annually. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we are not always able to verify DBS checks in person; however, we retain large, clear photographs of all DBS certificates on file.

Please Note: All candidates are required to take their DBS certificate with them to every booking they are placed in.

Right To Work

All candidates have their right to work confirmed at the point of interview. Candidate identification, including the online photo, is checked against the individual either in person or via video call. No candidate is made live or permitted to work without this verification.

Additional checks are conducted as follows:

• For UK/EU citizens: A Trust ID check is carried out to confirm the candidate’s photo matches their passport. Evidence of this check is saved in the candidate’s file.
• For non-UK citizens: A Right to Work online check is performed to confirm the individual’s eligibility to work in the UK and to outline the terms of their visa. Evidence is stored in the candidate’s file.

ID checks

We ask for two proofs of address letters dated within the last three months, as well as proof of their national insurance number, and their ID, either a passport or birth certificate or driver’s licence. We match the candidate’s full name and full address to each document.

Overseas Police Check

Any candidate who has lived or worked overseas for 12 consecutive months or more within the last 10 years will be asked to provide a criminal record check from the relevant country during the interview process.

In some cases, candidates may be unable to obtain this documentation due to:

• Excessive costs (some checks may exceed £100)
• Political instability in the country of residence
• Unreasonable requirements (e.g. needing to post original ID documents overseas)

Where a criminal record check is not obtainable, the candidate may instead provide a letter of good conduct from a former employer. This letter must come from a professional email address.

In all such cases, a risk assessment is carried out for each individual candidate.

References

Educated Recruitment requests a reference from each candidate’s most recent employer, regardless of role or industry, and requires at least one reference from employment or voluntary work. Wherever possible, one of these references should relate to work with children or vulnerable adults.

All candidates must provide a minimum of two references, covering the last three years.

We recognise that some candidates may have relevant experience that is more difficult to reference—such as recent graduates, stay-at-home parents, or retirees returning to work. These individuals will undergo an in-depth interview and may be asked to provide an additional character reference.

If a candidate has been out of the workforce for more than two years, we will seek to obtain their last relevant reference, where possible.

Safeguarding Knowledge/ Keeping Children Safe in Education

All candidates are asked safeguarding-related questions during the interview process. These include:

• Have you completed training in any of the following? If so, in what year?
• Safeguarding Level 2
• Any Level 2 Safeguarding Refresher
• The Prevent Duty
• GDPR
• What is safeguarding, and how should a concern be reported?
• How would you respond to challenging behaviour in the classroom?

Regardless of how well the questions are answered, all candidates are provided with safeguarding information during the interview. Candidates are required to read, understand, and sign the safeguarding declaration, which forms part of their contract.

Educated Recruitment (ER) also offers CPD and refresher courses on safeguarding to all candidates regularly. Completion of this training is recorded and saved in the candidate’s file.

Teacher Registration Agency Checks/TRA Prohibition List Check

A candidate’s induction status is recorded as part of their compliance file. Candidates who have not completed their induction within five years may not be eligible for daily supply teaching roles. This is assessed on a case-by-case basis, and schools will only be provided with candidates who are suitable for their specific requirements.

In these cases, candidates may be offered alternative roles, such as cover supervisor or unqualified teacher, if they choose to proceed. Schools are informed in advance if a candidate is being considered for a role outside of their qualified teacher status. If a school declines a candidate based on this, the information is noted in the candidate’s file.

All candidates are checked against the prohibited list for individuals barred from working with children. Teacher Reference Number (TRN) checks are also completed prior to interview and recorded. Evidence of both checks is stored securely in the candidate’s folder. Any candidate found on a prohibited list is automatically disqualified from being placed.

Higher/ Further Education Checks

Candidates with HE or FE qualifications and an ET Foundation (prev. SET) number are checked and QTLS is recorded where possible. If a candidate does not have QTLS, then they cannot be placed as a teacher but may be offered work as a Cover Supervisor or Instructor.

Health Declaration

All candidates are asked on their application form to confirm if they have any health conditions that will require additional adjustments. Conditions such as epilepsy, or a pacemaker are disclosed to a school at the point of booking.

When a candidate returns to the agency within 2 years of being archived, they must complete a new health declaration.

File Checks

All candidate files are reviewed by the Compliance Administrator and the candidate’s Consultant, with input from a manager if required. A candidate cannot be made active or placed in a role until their file has been thoroughly reviewed and verified, and all required compliance checks and documentation have been completed and recorded.

Once a candidate has been booked into a school, a confirmation email is sent to the designated contact at the school. This email includes:

• Booking details (date, times, daily/class cover rate)
• Any additional notes or comments (if applicable)
• An attached vetting document containing:
• Teacher Reference Number (TRN)
• Date of birth
• DBS certificate issue date and number
• Candidate’s photo

Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you need any further clarification on ER’s compliance.

www.educatedrecruitment.co.uk

admin@educatedrecruitment.co.uk

01626 201 481