Statement of Vetting and Compliance with Safer Recruitment
Education Appointments is fully compliant with the DfE Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment regulations.
The DfE requires schools to keep a central record of the vetting checks made on all staff including those who work on supply via an agency. Before any member of supply staff is deployed to your school, Education Appointments will send you an email confirming that each of the mandatory checks required by the DfE has been carried out. You may use the vetting confirmation reports as evidence for future OfSTED inspections.
Education Appointments is currently working towards the DfE Quality Mark which
recognises supply agencies and LEAs who are able to demonstrate that they have met standards of good practice in selection and vetting, development and provision and management of education supply staff.
Education Appointments is committed to Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all supply to share this commitment.
Please find below a statement of the vetting checks that Education Appointments conducts to ensure that the candidates we deploy are suitable for work in an education setting.
Identity Check
EA makes thorough checks to verify each applicant’s identity including name, date of birth, proof of address and photographic identity e.g. passport, birth certificate and driving licence combined with evidence of address. Only original, official documents satisfy our requirements.
If a supply teacher or worker is provided by an agency, the school must check it is the correct person by carrying out an ID check. We inform all candidates at interview that they must carry their principal passport and proof of identity to show upon arrival.
Work ISA Barred / List 99
EA conducts an ISA barred/List 99 check on all current and previous names.
ISA barred/List 99 checks are renewed every 6 months.
Criminal Records Bureau, Enhanced Disclosure
Teachers and school staff are exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.
EA require candidates to declare any cautions, convictions, bind-overs or pending prosecutions, even if they would otherwise be considered ‘spent’ under this act.
CRB Enhanced Disclosure checks are conducted on all UK and Overseas candidates deployed.
The Enhanced Disclosure ensures candidates are checked against local police force records, the Police National Computer (PNC) and the list held by the independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA).
Before placing a candidate, we will confirm that an Enhanced Disclosure has been requested, whether or not it has been received and whether it includes any disclosure information. If the Disclosure contains any information, a copy will be supplied to the head teacher or designated person.
Enhanced Disclosures are renewed every 3 years unless there is a break of more than 3 months from working in the education workforce or there are grounds to believe the candidate may be unsuitable to work with children.
Induction
Confirm for Newly Qualified Teachers, their progress towards or completion of the statutory induction period within the set time period as outlined by the TDA/ GTC
Professional and Character References
At least 2 detailed teaching references are taken from a head teacher or equivalent to cover the last 5 years. One of the references must be from the candidate’s most recent school.
Reference requests are only sent to verifiable places of work and are checked on receipt to ensure that they are legitimate.
Professional Face-to-Face Interview
A 45 minutes to an hour face to face interview is conducted to ascertain the suitability of candidates for supply work.
Full Induction to supply work is provided, training needs are identified and roles and responsibilities explained.
- Qualification check and QTS
- Original qualification certificates and QTS letters are sighted at interview
- UK teaching qualifications are verified with the Department for Education Teaching Agency
- Overseas-trained teachers qualifications are verified by UK Naric to ensure equivalence to UK standards
- Overseas Police Checks
- All overseas trained candidates must have a police check from their country of origin before they can be deployed
- Overseas police checks are verified by Principal Offices. A CRB check is also conducted in the UK
- Time pent travelling or working abroad is checked via employer reference, a police check, a letter of good conduct or via passport stamps.
Teaching Agency Registration Check
Education Appointments checks whether teachers applying for teaching posts in school are registered with the Teaching Agency, whether any restrictions are in force, and whether they have completed their QTS and induction period.
Education Appointments checks provisional registration for Instructors and Overseas Trained Teachers applying for posts in schools.
Permission to Work
Education Appointments ensures that foreign nationals have permission to work in the UK by sighting a valid, current, working visa or worker registrations scheme certificate, in accordance with our statutory duty.
Medical Fitness
Education Appointments conducts a health check on all candidates in line with DCSF circular 4/99 Physical and Mental Fitness to Teach of Teachers and Entrants to Initial Teacher Training.
Fluency of English
Confirmed that a candidate’s fluency of English is sufficient to effectively carry out their duties in the classroom.
If you have any further questions please phone our head office 0845 226 8160 or maybe give us a tweet @EducationAppts or write on our wall on Facebook
