New to Teaching? Here’s Information on the Correct DBS Check You Require
Different occupations require different levels of trust. If you work in a shop as a sales assistant, your employer needs to know they can trust you with handling till money, credit cards and with their stock they sell. If you are a teacher your employer needs to know that they can trust you with the safety of children in your care; a child’s life is something infinitely more valuable than stock and something that you can’t put a price on. Therefore, different DBS checks are required for a sales assistant to a teacher because the levels of trust are different. A sales assistant will need a Basic DBS check, whereas you as a teacher will need an Enhanced DBS Check with Barred List.
Is it Essential I have a DBS Check to Teach?
Yes, it is mandatory. Children are vulnerable, therefore those in charge of looking after them need to be honest and trustworthy characters.
What Does an Enhanced DBS Check Look for?
An Enhanced DBS Check will look to see if an individual has any spent or unspent convictions, official reprimands, warnings, or cautions from the police or a court. The Enhanced DBS Check will also check for other relevant information that the police may hold on a person, even if it didn’t result in a criminal record.
What Does the Barred List on a DBS Check Look for?
Anyone wanting to teach, is checked against the Barred List, as well as having an Enhanced DBS Check. The barred list is something that the government keeps records of. People are placed on the barred list if their past behaviour has shown they should not work with children or vulnerable adults. It is only applicable to check someone against the Barred List, if they are intending to work directly with children or vulnerable adults, alone, or unsupervised.
If someone has been placed on a Barred List and they were under 18 at the time, they can appeal this after one year. But, if they were over 25 years old at the time of their offence, they cannot appeal this for ten years.
What is the Procedure to Apply for an Enhanced DBS and Barred List?
- A Prospective Employer Applies for this Check – this check is not something you can request yourself. The School or College will request the check, and once it is done, you will get a copy of the DBS certificate too.
- Time – the check because it is thorough can take between 6-8 weeks. It is important to ensure you have completed the form correctly, especially making sure that your address history is accurate with no gaps, because this can cause hold ups in processing your form, or it could be rejected.
- Are Forms Transferable? – Most schools or colleges will require applicants to have a new DBS check, irrespective of whether you have just had a certificate issued somewhere else recently.
It is legally required that all teachers have an Enhanced DBS Check with Barred List. The school or college will request this for you, and you will receive a copy of the DBS certificate when it is completed. If you apply for a new teaching job, you will need a new Enhanced DBS Check with Barred List.
