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Safer recruitment and safer working practices

Safe recruitment and safe working practices

What is safe recruitment? 

Safe recruitment training – is a requirement for all organisation’s working with children, young people and their families.

In respect of schools and education settings, the guidance ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSiE)’,  maintains the requirement for governing bodies of schools to ensure that at least one person on an appointment panel has undertaken safe recruitment training. This training no longer needs to be provided by a trainer approved by the ‘Secretary of State’, Schools can choose training appropriate to this area and can take advice and guidance from GSEP in doing so.   

In September 2021 KCSiE brought in some additional requirements for schools in that all schools must ensure that at advertisement stage, they provide a copy of their schools policy - specifically the section on “the recruitment of ex-offenders”. Any candidate shortlisted for interview (whether external or internal appointment) must complete a criminal declaration prior to interview; this requirement has continued in the updated versions of KCSiE.

The GSCP provides an eLearning module on Safe Recruitment to all Gloucestershire partner agencies via the FORM LMS training platform.  To access the full library of courses please click here.

Please ensure your organisation is part of the training membership scheme and then follow the information and FAQ guidance to the GSCP training platform.

For those educational settings and schools that subscribe to GSEP traded services, GSEP will be running a number of face to face Safe Recruitment training sessions from April 2025.

It is anticipated these courses will be highly sought after so please confirm your booking for this GSEP training, via the GCC Plus site, as soon as possible.

Please note that if you would prefer to buy safe recruitment training from elsewhere, the GSCP/GSEP has ratified a set of minimum standards the training should cover:- 

  • Identification of the key features of staff recruitment that help deter or prevent the appointment of unsuitable people
  • Consideration of policies and practices that minimise opportunities for abuse or ensure its prompt recording
  • Tasks that assist participants in beginning to review their own and the organisation's policies and practices in recruitment with a view to making them safer
  • A model of offending behaviour and how this fits with recruitment
  • Implications for recruitment and selection and creating a safer environment in organisations
  • What to do when things go wrong and an allegation of abuse is made against an existing member of staff or volunteer

Please look carefully to ensure training will meet these requirements.