Safer recruitment

Safer recruitment is an important part of safeguarding children.

Whether you are a large organisation or a voluntary community group, there are steps you can take to try and ensure that the people who are employed or volunteering for you are safe to work with children and young people.

Safer recruitment has key elements which are:

• Robust recruitment and selection processes
• Relevant vetting and checking processes
• A robust induction
• A good training infrastructure.

The aims of safer recruitment are:

• To prevent unsuitable people working with children, young people and vulnerable adults
• To promote safe practices and challenge poor or unsafe practice
• Respond promptly and appropriately to concerns about a child's welfare
• Develop partnership working.

Having a safe culture is a key part of safeguarding and as an organisation or group you can do this by:

• Having effective recruitment, induction, training, mentoring and supervision processes
• Ensuring that there is an awareness and understanding of safeguarding
• Have open and transparent practice
• Have clear procedures for reporting concerns or issues
• Have a clear reporting structure so that people understand and know who to contact and where to get help
• Have open and agreed standards of behaviour and a code of conduct
• Have robust policies and procedures regarding safeguarding children and young people
• Have a commitment to safeguarding children and young people, and put safeguarding high on everyone's agenda
• Keep an open mind.

Recruitment and selection:

The Local Safeguarding Children Board has developed a document that can be used by all agencies/organisations in the recruitment of people who will be working with children and young people. It is called Standards for Safer Recruitment 2008. This document provides guidance on all stages of the recruitment process. The guidance outlines the appropriate steps to be taken in order to avoid pitfalls and ensure that recruitment is based upon best practice and equal opportunities. Integral to a robust and safe recruitment process are:

• Planning - ensure that the job description and person specification has a clear statement about the role, responsibilities and expectations regarding the attricbutes and characteristics necessary.
• Advertising - sending out the right message.
• Application - gathering, analysing and following up information provided by candidates.
• Obtaining and checking references which ask specific questions about the candidates suitability.
• Interviewing - by people in safer recruitment.
• Conduct identity and qualification checks.
• Vetting checks
• Medical checks.

For information and guidance about safer recruitment, you can download the Standards for Safer Recruitment document.

Criminal Records Bureau check:

Criminal records checks were introduced following the 1997 Police Act. The CRB was launched in 2002 and provides access to criminal records and other information. The CRB assists organisations by identifying candidates or volunteers who may be unsuitable for certain kinds of work. There are two types of checks undertaken, an Enhanced CRB check and a standard check. The Protection of Children Act legally obliges organisations to obtain a CRB check for certain staff and volunteers.

In 2009 the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) will be implemented. This will bring significant changes to the vetting arrangements for people who work with, or wish to work with children, young people and vulnerable adults. The ISA will have a mjor impact on the recruitment and monitoring practices of people working or volunteering with children and young people. The ISA will decide who is unsuitable to work or volunteer with vulnerable groups. Once it is rolled out, it will be illegal to hire someone in regualted activity who is not registered and has not been checked by the ISA.

What is regulated activity?

Regualted activity with children and young people is:

• Activity of a specified nature on a frequent and/or overnight basis. For example teaching, training, care, supervision, advice, treatment or transport
• Activity in a specified place either frequently or intensively. For example schools, care homes
• Fostering and childcare
• A defined position of responsibility such as the director of children's services, a school governor, trustee of a children's charity.

For more information about the ISA visit the Every Child Matters website.

Safeguarding induction:

Induction is an important process following the successfull appointment of a staff member. It will support them in their new role and help them fulfil the responsibilities if that role and the principles of the organisation or group.

Safeguarding children is an essential element of any iduction process for people who work or volunteer with children and young people.

The LSCB has developed a Safeguarding Induction package for statutory or voluntary agencies to use to help with the induction of new staff. To download the document please click on the icon:

Please note: The above documents are in Portable Document Format (PDF). You will need a suitable reader to view them. A reader can be downloaded free from the Adobe website (full instructions for downloading the reader are provided on the site).