TDA - ITT requirements guidance

Further information

A brief question and answer (PDF, 143KB) document on Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks in initial teacher training (ITT) has been issued by the Universities' Council for the Education of Teachers (UCET). This reflects guidance issued by the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA), Department for Education (DfE) and Ofsted.

The DCSF guidance Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment in Education (DFES-04217-2006) was issued in January 2007 and sets out the responsibilities to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people, and recruitment best practice.

The Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) was established under the Police Act 1997 and launched in March 2002 to provide wider access to criminal record information through its check service. This service enables organisations to make safer recruitment decisions by identifying candidates who may be unsuitable for certain work, especially work with children or vulnerable adults. The CRB Code of Practice for Registered Persons and other recipients of Disclosure Information is available on the CRB website.

Organisations eligible to access the check service can do so either by applying to become a Registered Body or using the services of an Umbrella Body who may charge an administrative fee. To become a Registered Body the organisation must satisfy the registration criteria and pay a registration fee for the organisation and lead signatory. There is also an additional countersignatory fee for each member of the organisation who will countersign applications, and for each check application that is submitted. Extensive guidance is available for registered bodies and for umbrella bodies.

The CRB provides enhanced and standard levels of checks. The enhanced level is intended for people who will be regularly caring for, training or in sole charge of children or vulnerable adults, and is the appropriate level for trainee teachers. It will show current and spent convictions, cautions, reprimands and warnings, as well as other information held by local police forces. The Children’s Barred List will also be checked to ensure applicants are not barred from teaching or considered unsuitable to work with children.

The CRB’s address is PO Box 110, Liverpool, L69 3EF. Information tel: 0870 9090 811, application tel: 0870 9090 844, Registered Body registration tel: 0870 9090 822, website: www.crb.gov.uk For general enquiries providers should contact CRB customer services at customerservices@crb.gsi.gov.uk. Information on how to register specific complaints about the CRB or its services can be found at www.crb.gov.uk/complaints

The CRB's monthly customer newsletter, CRB News, provides customers with information, guidance and new developments.

Information on handling police additional information from the CRB is available on the CRB website.

The Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) was created as a result of the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006, to fulfil the role of a single agency to vet all individuals who want to work or volunteer with vulnerable people. The ISA works across England, Wales and Northern Ireland to help prevent unsuitable people from working with children and vulnerable adults. The ISA makes barring decisions and maintains the Children and Vulnerable Adult Barred lists, which have replaced List 99, and the Protection of Children Act (PoCA) and Protection of Vulnerable Adults (PoVA) lists. More information on the ISA is available from: www.isa-gov.org.uk

The ISA decision-making process guidance is available on the ISA website.

The Children’s Barred List is maintained by the ISA and lists those individuals deemed unsuitable to work with children. Up to 100 names can be checked in any one application, and replies will normally be provided within two working days. Providers may wish to register to undertake their own Barred list checks through the TPOnline service. There is an annual charge for this service, but checks can be obtained instantly. Application forms for the TPOnline service can be obtained by e-mail request to tp_support@capita.co.uk Details of the Registered Body’s CRB registration number, or details of the Umbrella Body used, should be provided on the application. The TPOnline service for Barred list checks is available by e-mail request to: tp_support@capita.co.uk

Student teachers are listed as a category 1 profession in Home Office Circular 6/2006 for the purposes of identifying those professions subject to notification by police forces to relevant government departments. Police forces have a duty to disclose to the ISA and any professional regulatory/disciplinary body, such as the General Teaching Council for England (GTCE), any person convicted who is working in one of the professions listed in the annexes to the circular. The full circular can be found on the Home Office website.

Guidance for practitioners and managers from HM Government on Information Sharing is available to download from the Every Child Matters website.

The Department of Health document What to do if You Are Worried a Child is Being Abused can be downloaded online at www.dh.gov.uk or can be ordered by e-mail from: dh@prolog.uk.com

The DCSF document Child Protection: Procedures for Barring or Restricting People Working with Children in Education, 2003 is available at: www.teachernet.gov.uk/barringprocedures.

Guidance documents for providers running Primary Modern Foreign Languages trainee exchange programmes with Belgium, France, Germany, Italy and Spain, outlining the process by which the incoming trainees from each country should apply for an Enhanced CRB check, are available below: