The Corona pandemic has wreaked havoc across the board with all kinds of professions and industries negatively impacted. The past six months have bought about an air of uncertainty and led to severe stress and strain on old age homes, the NHS and many other sectors. Likewise, one sector that has been severely affected is that of education.
Many of the teaching staff have been placed on furlough and in many cases become redundant. With plans to introduce the new term in September, schools are considering reopening along with strict social distancing guidelines in place. These measures are to offer protection from the virus for staff and students.
Also, schools are facing the task of finding new and extra teaching staff that the reopening of the schools has brought this September.
All teaching staff for universities, nurseries and schools and also private tutors have to undergo a thorough DBS check.
These checks are compulsory for all those involved in teaching as also in many institutions. Earlier these were called CRB checks. The purpose of these checks is to determine in any employee or prospective applicant has not committed any offences or been convicted within a particular period.
The three levels of DBS check are:
There are three kinds of dbs checks:
- Basic DBS Check
- Standard DBS Check
- Enhanced DBS Check
All staff members in schools have to undergo an enhanced DBS check because they work and come in contact with children for an extended time and are often unsupervised.
Do new teachers also apply for DBS checks
Anyone that is about to take up a new position as a teacher can go ahead and apply online for a DBS check. If they are planning to apply for a new teaching job the school or institution can ask for enhanced DBS vetting for them. Individuals are only permitted to apply for Basic DBS checks that will show any unspent convictions. In most cases, this is not adequate for most positions in any school.
Those already working in a school that already have their enhanced DBS check completed and filed, need not apply again for a DBS check.
Further, the government has clarified that it is not expected for any new DBS check to be done if any teacher has previously been vetted and moves school temporarily to offer support. The responsibility lies with the school to verify that all its staff including temporary employees have had all their necessary DBS checks done.
COVID-19 and protecting schools and educational institutions
All educational institutions and schools will function due to the pandemic will be quite different from the norm. With more students back in schools, the basic safeguards in place for kids are the same.
The best interest of the children is the main priority.
Any kind of concerns regarding their safety must get immediate action.
The institution must have a DSL (Designated Safeguarding Lead) in place.
Any unsuitable individual should not gain access to children.
Even when online the children must still be protected.
The final two points make it essential to carry out a certified DBS check on every new staff member that joins. While there is a slew of new measures to safeguard kids and employees from the virus, it the responsibility of the employer to determine that every employee is suited to interact with children. It is a legal necessity that any new staff member in a school must undergo an enhanced DBS check along with a barred list check, to ensure that the children are safe.
Recent modifications made to DBS guidelines
The DBS service has instituted certain temporary guidelines for ID checks to verify criminal records. These are done to reduce direct contact and make it possible for documents to be checked using a video link or by authenticating any scanned document submitted. When a new employee begins their job at a school or institution, they will need to furnish the original documents in their possession. Another update includes the permission to temporarily use a UK passport that has expired for the DBS checks process.
DBS Checks in bulk for Schools
Getting registered with our site for DBS checks online is uncomplicated and also cost-effective. To facilitate customers, we have introduced a Fast Trach DBS checks service by which bulk applications for DBS checks can be processed together along with monitoring of the process.
For volunteers, self-employed and individuals wanting to have a DBS check done they are only eligible for a Basic DBS. However, if your organisation or employer has requested a standard or enhanced DBS check it can be done at our portal.
For further info check out our DBS FAQs section.
