SAFER RECRUITMENT POLICY
Date of policy: 01/09/2023
This policy will be reviewed every 12 months (as a minimum).
Review Date: 01/09/2024
Introduction
Maze Recruitment Group are members of APSCo which gives a recognised badge of quality.
We recruit to the highest standards in recruitment working to APSCo’s ground-breaking benchmark designed to safeguard children and offer best practice for temporary and permanent recruitment.
As we provide services to education establishments, we understand our obligating in protecting children. Maze Recruitment Group is committed to creating a culture that safeguards and promotes the welfare of children. In order to achieve this culture, we adopt robust recruitment procedures that deter and prevent people who are unsuitable to work with children from applying for or securing employment.
Scope of policy
This policy applies to anyone engaged by Maze Recruitment Group including our directors, staff, contractors and any work placement/volunteers.
All prospective applicants will be supplied with copies of the Safeguarding Policy, Allegation Policy, Safeguarding Children Policy, Safeguarding Children and Adults at risk Policy, Whistleblowing Policy and Code of Conduct.
Roles and responsibilities
Maze Recruitment Group will:
Prevent people who pose a risk of harm from working with children by having effective policies and procedures in place for the recruitment of staff and volunteers in accordance with the DfE Guidance, Keeping Children Safe in Education 2023 (KCSIE) (as updated from time to time) and any guidance or Code of Practice published by the Disclosure and Barring Services (DBS);
Ensure that it meets its commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people by carrying out all necessary pre-employment checks.
Recruitment and Selection Process
All those involved with the recruitment and employment of staff to work with children will be trained to a recognised standard in safer recruitment.
Maze Recruitment Group ensures at least one person who conducts an interview has completed training in safer recruitment.
Advertisements
When defining the role (whether through the job, role description and person specification) Maze Recruitment Group will have regard to Section 210 of Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE 2023) and include:
The skills, abilities, experience, attitude, and behaviours required for the post; and
The safeguarding requirements, i.e., to what extent will the role involve contact with children and will they be engaging in regulated activity relevant to children.
All adverts will also include:
Maze Recruitment Group’s commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and make clear that safeguarding checks will be undertaken;
The safeguarding responsibilities of the post as per the job description and personal specification; and
Whether the post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the amendments to the Exceptions Order 1975, 2013 and 2020.
Application forms
All roles advertised by Maze Recruitment Group will include (in the application form or elsewhere) the following statement:
Maze Recruitment Group will also ensure that all prospective applicants provide the following:
Personal details, current and former names, current address and national insurance number;
Details of their present (or last) employment and reason for leaving;
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; and
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.
Maze Recruitment Group does not accept curriculum vitae in place of application forms.
Shortlisting
In order to ensure that candidates have the opportunity to share relevant information and allow for this to be discussed at interview stage before the DBS certificate is received, all shortlisted candidates will be asked to complete a self-declaration of their criminal record or information that would make them unsuitable to work with children.
Maze Recruitment Group will ensure the following:
That at least two people carry out the shortlisting exercise.
That reasons are given for any inconsistencies and for gaps in employment and reasons given for them; and
All potential concerns are explored.
In addition, as part of the shortlisting Maze Recruitment Group will carry out an online search as part of their due diligence on the shortlisted candidates. Any incidents identified or issues that have happened, and are publicly available online, will be explored with the candidate at interview.
Employment history and references
All offers of employment made by Maze Recruitment Group will be subject to the receipt of a minimum of two written professional references, this will include from the most recent assignments.
Maze Recruitment Group follows strict standards and therefore will:
Not accept open references e.g. to whom it may concern;
Not rely on applicants to obtain their references;
Ensure any references from the candidate’s current employer have been completed by a senior person with appropriate authority (if the referee is school or college based, the reference should be confirmed by the Headteacher/Principal as accurate in respect to disciplinary investigations);
Obtain verification of the individual’s most recent relevant period of employment where the applicant is not currently employed;
Secure a reference from the relevant employer from the last time the applicant worked with children (if not currently working with children), if the applicant has never worked with children, then secure a reference from their current employer;
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; and;
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, and,
Ensure any concerns are resolved satisfactorily before appointment is confirmed.
Employment selection
Maze Recruitment Group uses a range of selection techniques to identify the most suitable person for posts. All interview questions will include:
Finding out what attracted the candidate to the post being applied for and their motivation for working with children;
Exploring their skills and asking for examples of experience of working with children which are relevant to the role; and
Probing any gaps in employment or where the candidate has changed employment or location frequently, asking about the reasons for this.
All information considered in decision making will be clearly recorded along with decisions made.
Pre-appointment Vetting Checks
Maze Recruitment Group completes all the following legal pre-employment checks when appointing an individual to engage in regulated activity in relation to children:
Registration Interview
All candidates are provided with written policies or procedures covering the recruitment process, and safeguarding activity. They can also be found on our website at www.mazerecruitmentgroup.co.uk.
A full registration process is undertaken for each new candidate before being placed on assignment with a client, which shall include the candidate’s confirmation of the type of work that s/he would be willing to undertake.
Where the candidate has had a break of more than 12 weeks since their last assignment, we ensure all details from that previous registration remain valid and reference any gaps.
We undertake a face to face registration interview with every candidate prior to them being placed on assignment with a client, unless in exceptional circumstances.
All original documents provided by the candidate is checked for legitimacy during the registration interview.
The registration interview assesses the candidate’s experience to establish congruency with the candidate’s application form/CV.
The interview is evidenced by the completion of an interview document, signed and dated by the consultant conducting the interview and the candidate.
We obtain a completed application form and CV from the candidate which covers the last 10 years’ employment history, or back to compulsory education, whichever, is more recent.
Any gaps of 12 weeks or more in the employment history are explained in full.
A “Rehabilitation of Offenders” declaration is signed and dated by the candidate. This declaration will include a “yes” or “no” answer to the following question:
‘Do you have any, or any pending convictions, cautions, reprimands or final warnings, which would not be filtered in line with current guidance?’
If the candidate answers ‘yes’ to any part of this question we obtain written details pertaining to this.
A Disqualification Under the Childcare Act self declaration is completed by all candidates.
We obtain a signed declaration from the candidate regarding their physical and health capacity to work, as required by the Education Health Standards (England) 2003 Regulations.
All candidates must undergo up to date Safeguarding Training every 12 months and PREVENT Duty Training and FGM Training. Candidates also have access to free accredited CPD.
ID Checking
Photographic evidence of the candidate’s identification is obtained from an approved list provided by the Disclosure & Barring Service’s 3 route ID checking process.
Right to Work is checked via a government approved IDSP or manually face to face.
Two proofs of the candidate’s address are obtained from an approved list provided by the Disclosure and Barring Service’s Trusted Government Document lists 2a and 2b.
Where a candidate has had a former surname, we obtain original document as evidence of change of name.
All original documents provided by the candidate is checked for legitimacy during the registration interview.
All original documents provided as evidence of identification is copied (in full or all relevant pages), and the copies are validated, signed, and dated by the interviewer.
We obtain a minimum of one document from an approved list of National Insurance proof.
We sight all of the candidate’s original qualifications that are legally required for the job.
For teachers who have qualified since 1999 we gain evidence that the induction period has been completed satisfactorily.
For all qualified teachers we conduct an online check with the TRA to ensure that the candidate has a valid Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) qualification, that there are no active restrictions and/or prohibitions against the candidate, their induction status and a Section 128 check.
Disclosure and Barring
We either obtain a new or see an original existing Enhanced DBS certificate with a children’s barred list check for all candidates. Hard copies of the Enhanced DBS certificate are verified (with name, signature and date). Electronic checks are recorded with the date and the name of the person that undertook it.
Where the Enhanced DBS certificate is not the result of a new application an Update Service check is undertaken.
Update Service checks are undertaken at least every 12 weeks and recorded with the date and the name of the person that undertook it.
Where the candidate provides a DBS certificate from a third party, we will tell the end client before placing the candidate and will immediately initiate a new Enhanced DBS check.
Where a candidate has a gap of more than 12 weeks since their last assignment we will immediately initiate a new Enhanced DBS check.
Where the candidate has not signed up to the Update Service the original DBS check may relied upon for 12 months, after which we initiate a new Enhanced DBS check.
We act appropriately on any information received relevant to a candidate’s DBS status, which comes to our attention.
Overseas
Where a candidate has worked/lived overseas during the last 5 years for a period of six months or more, we obtain an overseas police check. Where an overseas police check is not possible, we apply for a Letter of Good Conduct.
Overseas trained candidates will provide an original UK ENIC (was NARIC) check to us to establish their qualifications are equivalent to the UK.
Overseas candidates will provide evidence to us that they have applied to the National College for Teaching & Leadership (NCTL) for the award of QTS.
No more than 12 weeks after the candidate provides evidence of their application for QTS, the candidate will provide us with evidence of their QTS award from the NCTL.