Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment in Education, a letter from the DfES.

Keeping children and young people safe is paramount. Preventing those who might wish to harm or abuse them from entering the workforce is a top priority. We are pleased to inform you that DfES has published on-line the revised guidance on Safeguarding Children in Education on 14 November 2006. This fulfils the Secretary of State's commitment made in his statement of 20 June 2006 to revise the guidance to ensure that all schools and FE colleges have the information on safeguarding children, recruitment and vetting in one place.

The guidance reflects changes we intend to make to the law governing school and FE staffing. The regulations, subject to Parliamentary procedures, are intended to come into force on 1 January 2007. The guidance will take effect from the same date. The purpose of the final regulations and the supporting guidance is to tighten up recruitment practices in the education sector as far as possible, and to consolidate these within one piece of guidance on safeguarding children for the education sector.

This guidance will apply in advance of the implementation in 2008 of the new vetting and barring scheme being established under the provisions of the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006.

The main regulatory changes reflected in the guidance are:

• Making it mandatory for local authorities, schools and FE colleges to carry out CRB disclosures on all new applicants for work in schools and FE colleges who have lived or worked overseas, and to seek additional information about an applicant's conduct.
• Placing a responsibility on schools and FE colleges to keep a single, central record collating when checks on staff were made and by whom, including identity, qualification requirements, List 99 and Criminal Records Bureau checks.
• Introducing a responsibility for schools and FE colleges to request full details of CRB checks carried out on staff supplied through an agency, for schools and FE colleges to see the CRB disclosure where it contains information and the need for schools and FE colleges to show that these checks have been verified in the single central record.

Some of the key non-legislative changes are:

• Clarifying the expectations on schools and FE colleges where staff are employed pending the completion of a CRB check so that they only work with children and young people under appropriate supervision
• Clarifying the process for checking volunteer staff, including Governors, who come into regular contact with children and young people
• Guidance on the checks for contractors
• Guidance on checking existing overseas teachers by the end of the summer term 2007 where they have not had a CRB disclosure to date.

The guidance consolidates and replaces the previous guidance on safeguarding children:

• Child Protection: Preventing Unsuitable People from Working with Children and Young Persons in the Education Service;
• Criminal Records Bureau: Managing the Demand for Disclosures;
• Safeguarding Children in Education;
• Safeguarding Children: Safer Recruitment and Selection in Education Settings;
• Dealing with allegations of abuse against teachers and other staff (November 2005)
• Guidance (09/04) Checks on Supply Teachers

It also replaces the guidance contained in Circular 7/96, Use of Supply Teachers and in the associated Guidance Notes for Teacher Employment Businesses and Agencies. The guidance contains step by step flow charts to assist those responsible for recruitment and vetting in working their way through the process systematically.

We hope that you will find this consolidated guidance helpful in fulfilling your responsibility to safeguard the children and young people in your care. There are few more important responsibilities carried by the staff and governors or proprietors of schools, and principals of FE colleges than ensuring children and young people are safeguarded from harm, especially from those in positions of trust, care or authority.

We urge every school to ensure that they either download or order hard copies by clicking here. Alternatively visit www.publications.teachernet.gov.uk 04217-2006.