Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what restrictions are placed on people convicted of a criminal offence who seek employment in education.

The government has a robust safeguarding framework in place in the form of the ‘Keeping children safe in education’ (KCSIE) statutory guidance, which all schools and colleges must have regard to when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. The KCSIE guidance can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education--2.

This guidance clearly sets out the requirements regarding safer recruitment checks, including Disclosure and Barring Service checks, that schools and colleges should undertake for all staff, including external staff, and visitors, to ensure appropriate safeguarding measures are in place.

Employers must assess whether a conviction deems an individual to be suitable for a role, taking into account the nature of the offence, its relevance to the role and any safeguarding risks.

However, KCSIE stresses the importance of creating a culture of safer recruitment, ensuring that schools and colleges have robust processes and policies in place to ensure people who might pose a risk to children are not employed in education.