Safer Recruitment Statement

  1. Park School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff, volunteers and other workers in the school to share this commitment. We recognise that this can only be achieved through sound procedures, good inter-agency co-operation and the recruitment and retention of competent, motivated employees who are suited to, and fulfilled in the roles they undertake.

  2. Park School recognises the value of, and seeks to achieve, a diverse workforce which includes people from different backgrounds, with different skills and abilities. 

  3. Park School is committed to ensuring that the recruitment and selection of all who work within the school is conducted in a manner that is systematic, efficient, and effective and promotes equality of opportunity. Selection will be on the basis of merit and ability, assessing a candidate’s qualifications, skills and competencies required to do the job in relation to the person specification for the post. 

  4. The school will uphold its obligations under law to not discriminate against applicants for employment on the grounds of age, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, race, colour, nationality, ethnic origin or religion.

  5. Park School will implement robust recruitment procedures and checks for appointing staff and volunteers to ensure that reasonable steps are taken not to appoint a person who is unsuitable to work with children, or who is disqualified from working with children, or does not have the suitable skills and experience for the intended role.

  6. The following pre-employment checks will be required:

    • receipt of at least two satisfactory references*

    • verification of the candidate’s identity

    • a satisfactory DBS disclosure.

    • verification of the candidate’s medical fitness

    • verification of qualifications

    • verification of professional status where required e.g. QTS status (unless properly exempted)

    • the production of evidence of the right to work in the UK

    • (for teaching posts) verification of successful completion of statutory induction period (applies to those who obtained QTS after 7 May 1999)

    • NOTE: It is illegal for anyone who is barred from working with children to apply for, or work in a school in any voluntary or paid capacity.

  7. In exceptional circumstances, where you have good reason not to want your referees to be contacted prior to interview, you should set out your reasons with your application form. The school will liaise with you and where they agree to defer in such cases, referees will be contacted immediately after interview and before an offer of employment is made.

  8. The school will keep and maintain a single central record of recruitment and vetting checks.

  9. The school requires all staff and volunteers who are convicted or cautioned for any offence during their employment to notify the school, in writing of the offence and penalty.

  10. All posts within the school are exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore all applicants will be required to declare spent and unspent convictions, cautions and bind-overs, including those regarded as spent and have an Enhanced Criminal Records Disclosure. A previously issued Criminal Records Disclosure Certificate will only be accepted in certain restricted circumstances.

  11. The School is committed to ensuring that people who have been convicted are treated fairly and given every opportunity to establish their suitability for positions. Having a criminal record will not necessarily be a bar to obtaining a position. This will depend on the background, nature and circumstances of the offence(s). The School’s Recruitment (Pre-employment checks) Procedure outlines the considerations that will be taken into account when determining the relevance of a criminal record to the post.

  12. The Criminal Records Bureau has published a Code of Practice and accompanying explanatory guide. This School is committed to ensuring that it meets the requirements of the Criminal Records Bureau in relation to the processing, handling and security of Disclosure information.

  13. The school will ensure that the terms of any contract with a contractor or agency requires them to adopt and implement measures described in this procedure. The school will monitor the compliance with these measures and require evidence that relevant checks have been undertaken for all workers deployed to the school.

  14. A copy of the School’s Safer Recruitment Policy is available from the school upon request