Who should be asked to apply for a disclosure?
The DBS check is only a small part of the recruitment process. You must ensure that you carry out other recruitment checks including reference checks, right to work in the UK and identity checks before completing a disclosure. The applicant must also accept your conditional offer of employment before a DBS check is requested. As a school or Academy you are required to maintain a Single Central Record of recruitment checks. Please click here for more information or here for a template Single Central Record.
School employees – All those directly employed by Schools and Academies in paid positions are required to obtain an enhanced disclosure. Exceptions to this are those who have been continuously employed (or with a break of not more than three months) within the education sector prior to March 2002. If you are presented with an existing Disclosure by a new appointee you will need to see the original certificate confirm that there has been no more than a 12 week break in service and email sps.employmentcheck@kent.gov.uk with the following information - Name of Applicant, Disclosure Number, Issue Date, position on certificate and new position applying for, Name of Employer, Registered Body and Countersignatory name.
Volunteers – All volunteers that have unsupervised frequent or intensive contact with children must obtain an enhanced disclosure. This contact can be as little as one hour a week, four days or more in a month, or overnight such as a one-off residential trip. Volunteers undertaking other one-off contact are not eligible for Disclosures, such as helping on sports day, and adequate supervision must be in place.
School Governors are not generally required to have a Disclosure unless they also undertake voluntary duties in School that meet the frequent or intensive definition above. Academies are required to ensure that all their Governors obtain a DBS Disclosure.
Agency staff – The Agency is responsible for ensuring all recruitment checks have been undertaken and the School/Academy must be provided, by the Agency, with a copy of any Disclosure that contains information, in advance of the worker being supplied.
Staff of contractors – The Contractor is responsible for carrying out recruitment checks on staff they are placing in Schools or Academies for e.g. cleaning and catering. The School/Academy needs to obtain confirmation from the contractor that all checks have been satisfactorily completed. Activities by a person contracted to provide occasional or temporary services outside of the school premises (which are not teaching, training or supervision of children) is no longer Regulated Activity (e.g. maintenance contractors or plumbers)
ISA BARRED LIST CHECKS
It is an offence to employ, in a School or Academy, an individual who is barred from working with children. A check against the ISA barred list will be requested as part of the DBS Disclosure and the date that you should enter on your single central record is the DBS disclosure date. Should you wish you are able to request an additional Barred List check at the point you set up the online application. The applicant can then commence the employment with adequate supervision if the Head Teacher wants them to start work ahead of the full Disclosure being issued.
Charges
For details of our pricing, please contact the SPS DBS team on 01622 605709 or e-mail sps.employmentcheck@kent.gov.uk
Further guidance:
For any queries or assistance please contact the DBS team on 01622 605709 or e-mail sps.employmentcheck@kent.gov.uk
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