Safer recruitment
Important procedures for recruiting and managing people who have contact with children.
Important procedures for recruiting and managing people who have contact with children.
Safeguarding children is everybody's responsibility and has to be built into routine procedures and practice. This is vitally important in the recruitment and retention of people who have contact with children. All organisations that employ staff or volunteers to work with children/in a paid or unpaid capacity should adopt a consistent and thorough process of safe recruitment in order to ensure that those recruited are suitable.
On 1 December 2012 the Criminal Records Bureau and Independent Safeguarding Authority merged to become the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). CRB checks are now known as DBS checks.
There are two main levels of DBS checks. The Enhanced check will provide the same information as a Standard check but may also contain more information held by the Police and an option to apply for a check that includes information from barred lists, available for those working in 'regulated activity' with children or vulnerable adults.
Any agency must report staff/volunteers to the DBS who are dismissed or removed from any regulated activity because they harmed or posed a risk to an individual.
It is a criminal offence for any agency to recruit staff/volunteers appearing on the DBS barred lists to take part in regulated activity with vulnerable adults or children.
The NSPCC website has a number of useful resources on good practice in safer recruitment.