Back to school: Safeguarding our children

As another school year starts, this week’s social media has yet again been flooded with a raft of first day at school/uniform pictures.  Parents and families across the globe are full of pride (and some anxiety) as they cart their precious bundles off to school, prepared to hand over care of their children to strangers.  Passing responsibility over isn’t easy and as parents you want to know that your children are in the best possible hands.  Teachers play a big role in caring for, and educating, our children and in this blog we look at the individuals who are applying to become teachers, and how DBS checks can help safeguard our children.

Teachers are essential to the education and wellbeing of our children from a very young age – an age when they are also impressionable, and extremely vulnerable. Children spend a significant amount of their lives in the school environment and as parents we expect them to be safe during this time, and that staff that are responsible for their care are consistently suitable too. However, in a recent report published by the Sun, using figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act (FOI) it was highlighted that a worrying amount of teacher applicants do have some kind of criminal past.

Figures published in the same article show that paedophiles, prostitutes and drug dealers have all applied to be teachers in the past year alone. It was reported that there were 17 counts of prostitution, more than a dozen convictions for race hate crimes and four counts of subjecting animals to undue suffering. Other offences included drink driving – which was the most common conviction occurring in 1325 applications within the past twelve months – indecent assault, which was present in 27 applications, and even one case of manslaughter. Worryingly, violent crimes cropped up more than 200 times – and these are individuals who are hoping to be responsible for educating the next generation. In all, the evidence shows that almost 10,000 individuals with a criminal past applied for jobs in UK schools over the past three years.

As screening experts, CBS believes these figures display just how crucial rigorous DBS checks are when recruiting individuals that work with children or vulnerable adults. The DBS service provides invaluable information to councils and school bodies, and we believe it is essential for ultimate child protection. Having all the possible information about the individual you are hiring at your fingertips means that dangerous individuals are unable to slip through the cracks.

Yet, although this information can be made readily available, the final hiring decision remains the responsibility of the employer, providing the individual does not feature on the Adult & Child Barred List. Although it is a crime not to list any criminal history when applying to become a teacher, each candidate is allowed the opportunity to explain any prior convictions, ensuring that every hiring decision is made on a case by case basis.

However, as with most processes and procedures, there is still room for improvement. Every year, countless teachers are still allowed to continue in their role despite laying claim to various criminal convictions. When RE teacher Geoffrey Bettley was sacked due to his police caution following downloads of child pornography, although he was ordered to sign the Sex Offender’s Register – which usually results in permanent dismissal – a professional conduct panel said that he could return to the classroom due to his ‘excellent teaching’. From our point of view, frankly this should have been regarded unacceptable and was in many ways an unthinkable move.

For the DBS screening service to be a success, recruiters need to uphold the highest standards of the candidates they let through and be extremely vigilant when looking at criminal pasts. If the information from the DBS is not taken into consideration, recruiters are not taking full advantage of the information available and are arguably compromising the standard of safeguarding across the board. The DBS Updating Service is available to ensure that recruiters always have the most relevant information available to them so there is no excuse for poor hires.

If you would like to speak to us about any background screening requirements or if you have any queries, please contact us by calling: 01443 799 900  or email us at: info@cbscreening.co.uk.