Safer Working Practice
Safer Recruitment
The CRB (Criminal Records Bureau) was a ground-breaking service which provided detailed reports of a person’s criminal record history. This service was introduced in 2002 by the Home Office, as a way to protect vulnerable groups of people, by screening anybody they may potentially come into contact with during their employment or education. The CRB service was particularly innovative for organisations who wanted to find out more information about new employees and volunteers, while simultaneously reassuring their staff about how seriously they took their wellbeing. These CRB checks were eventually launched online, and nowadays what we now call a DBS check forms a vital part of the recruitment process for many organisations.
The Soham Murders
Rules on disclosure were tightened following the Soham Murders, when school caretaker Ian Huntley sexually assaulted and murdered two school girls.
He had got his job as a school caretaker six months before the basic legislation was introduced. Despite police records which showed that he had been accused of rape and sexual assaults, because he had never been charged this information was not passed on.
Had this information been available to his employers he would never have got his job in a school. It is important to remember that Ian Huntley was a popular figure at the school and nobody appeared to have had any concerns about his true character.
After the Soham murders, the rules were tightened and now everyone working with children or vulnerable adults had to have a CRB check which checked out whether somebody had ever been associated with these types of crime, even though they may not have been convicted.
The NSPCC describe Safer Recruitment as follows:
Safer recruitment is a set of practices to help make sure your staff and volunteers are suitable to work with children and young people. It’s a vital part of creating a safe and positive environment and making a commitment to keep children safe from harm.
Safer recruitment should be a continuing process of improvement for every school, club, business or organisation whose work or services involve contact with children.
Anybody who might come into contact with children, young people or vulnerable adults should go through safer recruitment practices.
You must carry out the necessary checks on anyone who will be around children, young people or vulnerable adults. A role might not be eligible for a criminal records check if it does not involve regular contact with these vulnerable groups but you should still carry out other appropriate checks such as having interviews and checking references.
Anyone who will be coming into contact with children, young people and vulnerable adults should undertake training so they know how to recognise and respond to safeguarding concerns.
Supervision when adults ‘drop by’
Children, young people and vulnerable adults should not be left alone with adults who have not had appropriate checks. Organisations must be aware that someone may be dropping in, so that they can arrange to have the appropriate supervision in place.
The Recruitment Process
RLG’s should think about including the following information when defining the role (through the job or role description and person specification):
- The skills, abilities, experience, attitude, and behaviours required for the post.
- The safeguarding requirements, i.e. to what extent will the role involve contact with
- children and will they be engaging in regulated activity with vulnerable groups.
The advert should include:
- The RLG’s commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of vulnerable groups and make clear that safeguarding checks will be undertaken.
- The safeguarding responsibilities of the post as per the job description and personal specification.
Where a role involves engaging in regulated activity relevant to vulnerable groups, RLG’s should include a statement in the application form or elsewhere in the information provided to applicants that it is an offence to apply for the role if the applicant is barred from engaging in regulated activity relevant to the post.
The application form itself should ask for the following information:
- Personal details, current and former names, current address and national insurance number.
- Details of their present (or last) employment and reason for leaving.
- Personal details, current and former names, current address and national insurance number.
- Full employment history, (since leaving school, including education, employment
and voluntary work) including reasons for any gaps in employment. - Qualifications, the awarding body and date of award.
- Details of referees/references.
- A statement of the personal qualities and experience that the applicant believes
are relevant to their suitability for the post advertised and how they meet the
person specification.
The purpose of seeking references is to allow employers to obtain factual information to support appointment decisions. RLG’s should obtain references before interview, where possible, this allows any concerns raised to be explored further with the referee and taken up with the candidate at interview.
RLG’s should:
- Not accept open references e.g. to whom it may concern
- Not rely on applicants to obtain their reference.
- Ensure any references are from the candidate’s current employer and have been
completed by a senior person with appropriate authority. - Obtain verification of the individual’s most recent relevant period of employment
where the applicant is not currently employed. - Always verify any information with the person who provided the reference.
- Ensure electronic references originate from a legitimate source.
- Contact referees to clarify content where information is vague or insufficient
information is provided. - Compare the information on the application form with that in the reference and take
up any discrepancies with the candidate. - Establish the reason for the candidate leaving their current or most recent post.
- Ensure any concerns are resolved satisfactorily before appointment is confirmed.
RLG’s should use a range of selection techniques to identify the most suitable person for the post. Those interviewing should agree structured questions.
These should include:
- Finding out what attracted the candidate to the post being applied for and their motivation for working with children, young people or vulnerable adults.
- Exploring their skills and asking for examples of experience of working with vulnerable groups which are relevant to the role.
- Probing any gaps in employment or where the candidate has changed employment or location frequently, asking about the reasons for this.
All offers of appointment should be conditional until satisfactory completion of the
mandatory pre-employment checks:
- Verify the candidates identity.
- Obtain the correct DBS check.
- Verify the candidate’s mental and physical fitness to carry out their responsibilities.
- Verify the person’s right to work in the UK.
- Verify professional qualifications as appropriate.
Following Appointment
Safer recruitment activity doesn’t end with an appointment. A new employee or volunteer should have:
- A probationary period, with expectations put down clearly in writing.
- A structured induction process that includes safeguarding training and covers accepted codes of conduct.
- Ongoing supervision and support.
- Training and development opportunities.
- Regular appraisals.
Safer recruitment really begins with the person or persons with responsibility for appointing staff or volunteers. These members of your RLG should ideally have undergone dedicated Safer Recruitment training. The advice above contains the very basic steps you should be taking to ensure you are following Safer Working guidelines. The CSSA provides two vital documents detailing the steps they expect members to take when recruiting new members and volunteers and you can view these here: