How safe is your recruitment process?

Stronger guidance for recruitment procedures protect children but put increasing administrative strain on schools to comply. Simon Bevan reports 

"Making safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children an integral factor in HR management is an essential part of creating safe environments for children": Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment in Education DfES /04217/2006.

The Bichard Inquiry was published in 2004 following the Soham tragedy. Its recommendations are relevant to all establishments that provide education and care for children. It led to the Department for Children, Schools and Families publishing guidance entitled Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment in Education (the Guidance), the latest version appearing in January 2007.

The objective of safer recruitment is to deter, identify and reject applicants who are unsuitable to work with children. The Guidance sets out an employer's obligations for the safer recruitment of staff and covers the entire recruitment process.

While you may be experienced in recruitment, you still need to balance safer recruitment obligations with employment law.

Safer and effective recruitment is a priority and schools need to be aware of their obligations to properly vet all staff prior to employment commencing, and to ensure safer termination.

Recruiting
A clear recruitment policy should be developed, with recommendations including:
• appointing one person to take overall responsibility;
• planning vacancies;
• developing an advertisement policy; and
• considering equal opportunities.

All recruitment materials must include a statement that the school and all staff are committed to safeguarding the welfare of children. This includes advertisements, which must also state that the school will carry out a Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check of successful candidates. It is designed to deter unsuitable candidates at the outset and will inform the community of your professional, child-centred approach. There are still a large number of adverts failing to comply with the Guidance.

Planning
This is vital to successful safer recruitment. Be clear about why you need a new appointment and what qualities, qualifications and experience are desirable. Key aspects include:
• a detailed job description and person specification;
• using an application form instead of accepting CVs; and
• sifting, scrutinising and shortlisting of applications. It is vital to verify qualifications and previous employment experience.

Interviewing
Schools operate various methods of assessing applicants, but there should always be a face-to-face interview conducted by a panel. Only proceed after verifying the applicant's identity, even making the interview conditional on the presentation of necessary documentation. You can then postpone or even cancel the interview of an applicant who has not complied with these conditions.

Key issues to be explored include the candidate's motivation to work with children and their ability to form and maintain appropriate relationships and respect personal boundaries. You will not be able to identify a "wrongdoer", but you may identify someone who is not suited to working in education.

Avoid irrelevant questions about home life, age or religion for example, which could give rise to discrimination and harassment claims.

Pre-employment checks
Background checks for appointments to all positions in independent schools have been mandatory since October 2003. All schools must carry out an enhanced CRB check (which includes List 99) for any new employee who has not worked in a school or further education college in the three months prior to the appointment. It is best practice, however, to obtain CRB checks for all new staff.

If there is a delay in receiving a CRB disclosure, there is discretion to allow an individual to begin work pending its receipt, provided appropriate supervision is put in place, and only if all other checks, including List 99 have been completed.

The position for boarding schools is stricter. Newly appointed staff may not begin work (or residence) until satisfactory completion of all checks and receipt of references. Exceptionally, an employee may begin work if some checks are outstanding, provided a satisfactory CRB disclosure has been received.

Other specific checks include:
• verifying the applicant's identity;
• verifying qualifications;
• obtaining two references, one from the applicant's most recent school employer; and
• proof of right to work in the UK.

A school employing supply staff directly must complete all relevant checks in the same way as for all other staff. Where staff are engaged through an agency, the school must obtain written confirmation that the agency has completed all required checks. The school must still check the identity of the individual when they present themselves to work.

Schools should ensure that any prospective employee is physically and mentally fit for the purpose. Make use of a pre-employment medical questionnaire, whilst ensuring not to discriminate on the grounds of disability.
A Single Central Record of Employment should be completed and updated for each employee.

Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006
The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act established the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA). This will introduce a new vetting and barring scheme (the Scheme) for those individuals seeking to work in an education setting. The Scheme is scheduled to commence from October 2009.

The ISA will set up and vet lists of barred persons and will take responsibility for discretionary barring decisions.
The key aims are to reduce the risk and incidence of harm to children and vulnerable adults by:
• providing employers with an improved vetting service for those working in the sector; and
• ensuring known unsuitable individuals are barred from working in the sector.

Under the Scheme, people who wish to work with children (or vulnerable adults) will need to register with the ISA. People who are known to be unsuitable for such work will be recorded as being banned. Schools will be required to check an individual's status in the Scheme before offering employment.

It will be a criminal offence for schools not to have checked an individual's status in the Scheme, or to employ someone who has been banned. Failures to comply are punishable by maximum penalties of up to five years in prison and a fine of £5,000. CRB disclosures must still be obtained.

Being safer for the sector
Safer termination means protecting children in other schools as well as your own. By reporting wrongdoing, unsuitable employees will be driven out of the education sector. Previously, the obligation was to report to the DCSF any employee who had been dismissed for misconduct or because they were considered unsuitable to work with children, had a medical condition that may pose a risk to children, or who had resigned to avoid being dismissed. The DCSF decided whether to prevent or impose conditions on their ability to work in schools.

Reports should now be made to the ISA and only on grounds of unsuitability to work with children. Cases of misconduct on the part of teaching staff, where there are no child protection implications, should now be referred only to the General Teaching Council (GTC). This exposes a potential loophole for support staff and teachers who are not members of the GTC, who are dismissed or resign for reasons of misconduct. As a result you should ensure that references are pursued with even more vigour. Boarding schools are required to phone referees to verify the reference and should keep a note of the conversation. Day schools should do the same as a matter of best practice.

It's only Guidance…
As it is only Guidance, schools often question why they should comply. Many have taken the view that compliance with the Guidance is discretionary, rather than necessary. It is, however, statutory guidance and schools must follow it unless there is a very good reason not to. Safer recruitment is now the hot topic among schools inspectors. All schools can expect to have their recruitment procedures carefully scrutinised during their next inspection.

It is more important than ever to be safer recruitment compliant. Getting recruitment procedures right and selecting the best staff remains the key to a well run and successful school. Now is therefore a particularly good time to review your current practices and procedures.

Simon Bevan is a partner in the education team at Veale Wasbrough and is head of the education department. He can be contacted on 0117 314 5238 or sbevan@vwl.co.uk.

Veale Wasbrough regularly run safer recruitment events throughout England and Wales. To receive information on future events, contact Emma Warr on 0117 314 5406 or ewarr@vwl.co.uk or refer to the website at www.vwl.co.uk within the events section.

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