What is NOT statutory to include on the Single Central Record?
It is not your statutory duty to keep copies of DBS certificates. In fact, you must not keep copies for longer than six months (to comply with the Data Protection Act 2018).
It is not your statutory duty to record details of any other checks aside from those listed here, however, you may include these if you believe it to be best practice at your institution:
Childcare disqualification checks
Safeguarding and safer recruitment training dates
Who carried out each check
Whilst it is not your statutory duty to record all volunteers on your SCR, it is advised that it is best practice to do so
Please Note: We must stress that this does not mean it is not statutory to record these elsewhere.
An example of this is recording medical checks: whilst it is not statutory to record it on your SCR, it is your statutory duty to record this elsewhere.
Similarly, designated safeguarding leads must record training dates, but it is not required to be recorded on your SCR. Sign In Central Record has the functionality to record the above information if you would like to keep all of your checks in one place.
See more here - How to Set Up a Staff Training Section
It is not statutory to include supervised visitors on your single central record.
Furthermore, you do not have the power to request DBS checks (and barred list checks) or ask to see DBS certificates for supervised visitors.
You must use your professional judgment to decide what level of supervision each visitor should have.
Emergency Contact
In the event of an emergency regarding the staff member, this contact is used to contact first.
It is not your statutory duty to record this on your single central record.
Should you choose to store this information according to your best practice policies, Sign In Central Record has a separate section for emergency contact.
As with all of Sign In Central Record’s default non-statutory checks, you are able to turn this off in the Template Editor, if you deem it best not to record on your single central record.
Please see - Hide a Non-Statutory Section
Medical Checks
It is not your statutory duty to include a medical check on your single central record, but it is your statutory duty to carry out this check.
According to the guidance, it is your duty to “verify the candidate’s mental and physical fitness to carry out their work responsibilities”.
This allows you to ask relevant questions about disability and health, in order to establish whether the applicant has the physical and/or mental capacity to satisfy the specific role.
The primary purpose of health assessment fitness for work is to make sure that an individual is fit to perform the tasks involved effectively and without risk to their own or others’ health and safety.
It is not the intention to exclude a person from a job but to make any necessary reasonable modifications or adjustments to the job to allow the person to work efficiently and safely.
Should you choose to store this information according to your best practice policies, Sign In Central Record has a separate section for storing medical check information.
As with all of Sign In Central Record’s default non-statutory checks, you are able to turn this off in the Template Editor, if you deem it best not to record on your single central record.
Please see - Hide a Non-Statutory Section
Reference Checks
It is not your statutory duty to include reference checks on your single central record, but the guidance states that you should be asking for written information about previous employment history to check that the information supplied is not contradictory or incomplete.
References should always be obtained from the candidate’s current employer. Where an individual is unemployed, you must verify their most recent period of employment (and reasons for leaving should be obtained).
Any surfaced information concerning previous disciplinary action or allegations against the individual should be considered carefully when assessing the applicant’s suitability for the role.
Should you choose to store this information according to your best practice policies, Sign In Central Record has a separate section for two reference checks.
As with all of Sign In Central Record’s default non-statutory checks, you are able to turn this off in the Template Editor, if you deem it best not to record on your single central record.
Please see - Hide a Non-Statutory Section
Online Checks
Most employers report that they already use social media checks before choosing to hire an employee.
KCSiE 2022 states that educational settings should consider conducting online searches as part of their due diligence during the recruitment process.
Employers within educational settings should hope to identify any issues or incidents that have occurred that may be publicly available online. By doing this, employers can then explore any concerns with potential applicants at the interview stage. You may request an online check from a company or complete this in-house.
Here are some of our tips on how to conduct an online search for a potential candidate:
Identify an appropriate employee/team to conduct the searches and a process to be adhered to. This should be built into any Safer Recruitment Policies and training.
Start with a Google search- See what, if anything, comes up for the person. This may be something that may have made the local or national news or shows their LinkedIn or social media profiles. Consider what social media profiles are available and how far you want to go.
Ensure the process is streamlined for all candidates- for example, agree on the number of checks and the process regarding this and it would only be appropriate to complete further checks if there were any concerns raised. This could include social media checks, media checks, and a Google search. Inconsistent methods may bring challenges for an organisation if the process is not robust or fair.
Ensure any data or records obtained during the search are stored/deleted in line with your organisation's record-keeping and retention policies.
Commence the process during the recruitment stage so all information is gathered prior to the interview to provide an opportunity for any seeking to understand or clarify any queries.
Be sure not to penalise any potential candidates who are acting responsibly and are unable to see any of their online accounts. References offer an excellent opportunity to understand who the person is and how they conduct themselves.
Look out for any significant concerns that may breach an employee code of conduct or any patterns of behaviour that would be a cause for concern. This may include statements or remarks of a discriminatory nature or sharing content that may be deemed inappropriate.
Provide advice and guidance- for example, if the candidate's profile is public and they may wish to be more cautious around sharing their personal information with others.
You may wish to seek legal advice if necessary. There may be an opportunity for a recruiting manager to discriminate with the information they find. You are screening a candidate against your organisation's culture and code of conduct.
Sign In Central Record now has an "Online Checks" section for Schools/Trusts to use to record this information.
This section can be customised to suit your specific process. Please see How to Customise your Online Checks Section
If you'd like any help with this, please contact our customer support team either via the in-app chat feature or you can email us at [email protected]
Staff Training
You should ensure that all staff undergo safeguarding and child protection training at induction, which should be regularly updated.
You should also ensure that staff receive regular updates in the form of bulletins, meetings, emails (etc), to ensure they have the correct skills and knowledge to safeguard children effectively.
Should you choose to store this information on Sign In Central Record, you can track annual training dates, and therefore annual progress, for each staff member.
This allows you to search through full lists of staff members who have, for example, completed fire safety training, prevent training, etc.
For a guide on how to do so please see - How to set up a Staff Training Section