Updating your recruitment procedures

Transcription

1 Updating your recruitment procedures Dai Durbridge Safeguarding Lawyer, Browne Jacobson Solicitors Tel:

2 ISA review 15 June Theresa May recently ordered a further review of the ISA/CRB position. Resulted in the Protection of Freedoms Bill No review of: Legal duty to refer Barring powers and decisions How does this impact on policies and procedures?

3 What we need to consider Current statutory guidance for recruitment what do you need to do? How the legal duty to refer impacts on your policies? How will the ISA barring decisions impact on your policies?

4 RECRUITMENT GUIDANCE

5 What guidance to follow? Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment in Education 2007: Current guidance for recruitment However, a couple of tweaks are required 2010 version was consulted upon: Mainly ISA based changes Out of date before it was issued!

6 Recruitment and vetting guidance Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment in Education 2007 Chapter 3 - Recruitment and Selection Chapter 4 - Recruitment and Vetting Checks Appendices Checklists and Flowcharts 35 pages of clear, concise guidance

7 Recruitment and selection Guidance applies to staff who are perceived by the children as a safe & trustworthy adult 3 stages for safer recruitment practice: Planning and Advertising Interviewing Monitoring Written recruitment policy detailing all aspects of the process and linked to child protection policy

8 Elements of safer practice (1) Consider child protection issues at every stage of the process Where post is advertised, refer to commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children

9 Elements of safer practice (2) Consistent approach to obtaining, collating, analysing and evaluating information from and about applicants, including: Job description refers to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and suitability to work with children Obtain independent professional and character references that answer specific questions

10 Elements of safer practice (3) Face-to-face interview exploring suitability Verify successful applicants identity qualifications Confirm employment history Verify health and physical capacity for the job Check Children s and Vulnerable Adults barred lists and carry out enhanced CRB check

11 Recruitment and selection Appoint someone to head up the vetting, selection and recruitment procedures Monitoring recruitment & induction Continuing awareness

12 Recruitment and selection Chapter 3 of the Guidance takes a step by step approach to safe recruitment Read in conjunction with Appendices 4 to 7: App 4 Recruitment Checklist App 5 Recruitment Flowchart App 6 Agency Staff Flowchart App 7 Volunteers Flowchart

13 Vetting and barring Guidance specifically covers: Teachers and other permanent staff Contractors Volunteers Governors For all the above, guidance requires a number of mandatory checks Must keep a single central record of checks

14 Vetting Mandatory checks for all new staff working with children: Identity check Children and vulnerable adults barred lists check Confirm qualifications Confirm right to work in the UK (Appendix 5) Not required if applicant worked in child care post in last 3 months

15 What about CRB checks? Not required for new staff where in the 3 months prior to appointment they have worked in a school in England in a post which: bought them into regular contact with children; or any post they were appointed to since 12 May 2006 What about FE?

16 What about CRB checks? Not required for new staff where in the 3 months prior to appointment they have worked in an FE college in England in a position which: involved provision of education; and regularly caring for, training, supervising, sole charge of anyone under 18 Would you prefer one anyway?

17 CRB checks Best practice (and my advice) to carry out CRB check on all new appointments May be the only way to find out about recent convictions and relevant soft information Enhanced or standard? What s the difference? Outcome of review?

18 Vetting Teachers and staff In addition to mandatory checks: Professional and character references Checks on previous employment history Agency/Supply staff same checks Pending CRB disclosure can they start work?

19 Vetting Volunteers No need to CRB existing volunteers unless you have cause for concern Basic rule - If no check, do not leave unsupervised Enhanced CRB for new volunteers with regular contact with children (frequent and intensive test)

20 Frequent and intensive Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment in Education 2007: 3 times or more in a month, or overnight Sir Roger Singleton in Drawing the Line 2009: Frequent once a week or more Intensive four or more days a month or overnight

21 Vetting Contractors Emergency repairs or servicing equipment Building workers PFI contract staff e.g. private catering staff Governors Enhanced CRB if regularly work with children Others should confirm suitability

22 Single Central Record (SCR) Must maintain SCR of recruitment and vetting checks - paper or electronic record of checks carried out on: all staff and supply employed at the school supply staff engaged through an agency others who have regular contact with children including: volunteers others brought to school to provide additional instruction to pupils e.g. sports coaches, artists contractors

23 Single Central Record (SCR) The person responsible for entering information onto SCR must sign and date it to verify that they have checked the employee or volunteer s details No need to retain documents that are evidence of identity once they have been verified and the SCR contains the name of the person who did so Ofsted will allow correction of minor administrative error

24 Single Central Record (SCR) Administrative errors include: failure to record one or two dates failure to record or the name of the person that carried out the checks individual entries that are illegible No allowance will be made, for example, for breaches to the requirements for the ISA barred list and CRB disclosure

25 Recruitment - current policies Passing and implementation of the Protection of Freedoms Bill will require policy and procedure change At the moment, 2007 guidance still applies no significant changes should be required Ensure policies are up to date for inspection purposes

26 THE LEGAL DUTY TO REFER

27 Legal duty to refer In force since October 2009 S.35 - Regulated Activity Providers: Person responsible for management or control of a regulated activity for an organisation In most cases this will be the Head/Principal who has this legal duty to refer the conduct of the staff/volunteers to the ISA

28 When to refer Referral must be made when both of the following conditions are met: i) The RAP withdraws permission for an individual to engage in regulated or controlled activity or would have done so had that individual not resigned, retired, been made redundant or transferred out of regulated activity because

29 When to refer ii) They think that the individual: may engage in relevant conduct ; or Satisfies the Harm Test Both i) and ii) need to be satisfied to make a referral

30 When to refer At what point in your own process do you refer? When the RAP has gathered sufficient evidence to support decision to withdraw the individual Should be after consultation with the LADO or Health and Social Care Trust Designated Officer as appropriate Should not wait until end of disciplinary process

31 Amendment to policies? Disciplinary/misconduct Policy Refer to legal duty Circumstances in which you will refer Allegations Against Staff Policy Refer to legal duty Safeguarding/Child Protection Policy

32 BARRING DECISIONS

33 What decision can the ISA make? Bar placed on one or both of the barred lists Not to bar not placed on the lists Minded to bar

34 Minded to bar ISA have decided to bar, but will give the person 8 weeks to make representations as to why they should not be barred May not be placed on the barred lists during this period May not be placed on the barred lists during this period depends on circumstances

35 Minded to bar Hugely unhelpful - what do you do with this information? If on list during this period no option but to suspend If not on list, two choices: Remove from regulated activity to another role Suspend on pay

36 Amendment to policies? Disciplinary/misconduct policy What will you do to support staff in this position? Support and assist individual has 8 weeks to make representation help him make them in 7 days? Press ISA for decision as soon as representations made Add this to you policy

37 Amendment to policies? Managing staff during minded to bar period Are you going to suspend? Make each decision on its own merits? Neutral act What will your policy say about this period?

38 SUMMARY

39 What do you need to do? Review policies and procedures Make reference to ISA and new requirements Make reference to legal duty to refer Decide how to manage minded to bar and draft into policy What polices should you review?

40 Policies Recruitment Safeguarding Disciplinary/Misconduct Whistle blowing Allegations against staff (*new guidance*) Others?

41 Updating your recruitment procedures Dai Durbridge Safeguarding Lawyer, Browne Jacobson Solicitors Tel: