DBS Check for new teachers
DBS Check for new teachers
The end of the summer term in schools can be both happy and enormously busy. For the teachers, there’s an end to the formal teaching with examinations season already finished. There are sports days and school trips, work experience and school plays.
For the children and young people, they’re tired, longing for the summer holidays to start and are winding down. However, for the administration teams, bursars and school business managers, the end of the summer term is one of the busiest times of the year.
While some pupils are planning to move on to new schools and new adventures, the administration team is preparing to onboard a new cohort of pupils – and teachers.
From the summer half term onwards, schools and colleges are preparing to replace staff members that have handed their notice in.
Summer-time School Work
The admin teams have to run a DBS check for teachers and teaching assistants that have been recruited to replace departing staff before the new school year starts. This can also often mean that school administration teams work through part of the summer to ensure that everything is in place for the start of the new year.
The ability to run an online DBS check with a quick, reliable and affordable provider like My Vetting can make a real difference to the school support staff.
Safeguarding in a school setting
When working in a school as a teacher or as a teaching assistant, you are working in regulated activity with vulnerable groups, specifically children or vulnerable adults.
Ofsted, the UK education regulator, states that professionals working in school require an Enhanced DBS check. This relates to full-time teachers, job share teachers, the senior management team and members of the school support team.
Enhanced DBS checks are also needed for teachers on a temporary contract who come into ‘cover’ classes.
An enhanced DBS check may also apply to school governors, who may have to speak to the children one-to-one and review sensitive pupil information about safeguarding.
It is also likely that parent volunteers that work in and around the school will have to undergo an Enhanced volunteer DBS check.
Parents that volunteer to listen to children read are a valuable part of the school community, supporting pupils’ literacy outcomes.
They will often have close contact with children, without supervision. Parent volunteers also arrive in the new school year, making September another key month for DBS checks for schools.
Other roles around the school that are likely to require an Enhanced DBS check, even if there will be no unsupervised contact with the children, include dinner servers and the catering team, school sports club coaches and faith leaders connected with the school.
DBS checks for Contractors
Often, work takes place in the school setting over the summer. If the work is completed entirely within the school holidays and there is no crossover between contractors and children, a Standard DBS check may suffice.
If the works may run over the planned time, an Enhanced DBS check may be required. Our expert screening team can help school teams to understand which DBS check is required in this instance.
‘Do I need a DBS license for teaching?’
A Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check isn’t a DBS license for teaching, but it is a criminal record check that is carried out as part of the education recruitment process.
There are three levels of DBS check – Basic, Standard and Enhanced – and the level of check required depends on the job role in recruitment. In a school setting, it is highly probable that this will be Enhanced.
What’s Included in an Enhanced DBS Check?
An enhanced DBS check for teachers, teaching assistants, support staff and volunteers in schools reviews an individual’s criminal record and shows the following information:
- Any unspent convictions
- Any spent convictions
- Cautions, reprimands or warnings on your criminal record
- An Enhanced DBS check will also disclose any relevant information held on the Police National Computer or held by local police forces.
Working with children and young people in a school setting will usually include a check of the Children’s Barred List (also known as list 99). A search of the children barred list is compulsory if the applicant for the role will attend the school premises more than 3 times monthly.
While it is usual for teaching staff to attend daily, some sports coaches may attend infrequently, so please do contact us if you would like to check your team’s circumstances.
If the barred list check indicates that an applicant is on the list and barred from working with children, it is illegal and considered a criminal offence to recruit them for a position at a school.
Can you Fail an Enhanced DBS check for teachers?
Except for an inclusion on the barred list, you cannot fail a DBS check. Instead, the information revealed by the check is included on the DBS certificate and will help inform the employer’s recruitment decisions.
If there were minor offences listed on the returned DBS check, that would be a matter for the employer to consider and they may wish to take into consideration the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act. However, this does remain an internal HR recruitment decision by the employer.
DBS Check for Teachers Online
With educational budgets more tightly squeezed than ever, the team at MyVetting has worked hard to create a streamline – but robust and secure – online DBS check that allows you to check your new staff quickly, effectively and affordably.
DBS for Teachers Cost
With My Vetting, you can buy one Enhanced DBS check or buy in bulk, which dramatically reduces the cost of running the check.
Apply for a Teachers DBS check
Applying for an Enhanced DBS for teachers online can be done quickly and simply through our ‘Buy Now’ button. It’s important to remember that it is only the employer that can request a DBS check. However, as part of a school administration team, you can send an Enhanced DBS check request to applicants in seconds through our online DBS portal. As an applicant, your DBS application can be completed online in minutes from your laptop, smartphone or tablet.
Employers can check the progress of the Enhanced DBS check from their MyVetting dashboard and results will be emailed through as soon as the check is completed.
