Safer Recruitment & Employment Policy

One Nation Studios is not a school or academy it is an Alternative Provision however it has adopted the following Safer Recruitment & Employment Policy based on the statutory guidance below

Working Together to Safeguard Children (DfE 2026) states that organisations including schools/academies should have arrangements in place that reflect the importance of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, including:

– Safe recruitment and ongoing safer working practices for individuals whom the organisation or agency permit to work regularly with children, including policies on when to obtain a criminal record check.
– Appropriate supervision and support for staff, including undertaking safeguarding training.
– Creating a culture of safety, equality and protection within the services they provide.
– Clear whistleblowing procedures, which are suitably referenced in staff training and codes of conduct, and a culture that enables issues about safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children to be addressed.
– Clear escalation policies for staff to follow when their child safeguarding concerns are not being addressed within their organisation or by other agencies.

Working Together 2026 states that schools/academies are also responsible for:

– Ensuring that their staff are competent to carry out their responsibilities for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children.
– Creating an environment where staff feel able to raise concerns and feel supported in their safeguarding role.
– Ensuring that staff are given a mandatory induction, which includes familiarisation with child protection responsibilities and the procedures to be followed if anyone has any concerns about a child’s safety or welfare.
– Ensuring that all practitioners have regular reviews of their own practice to ensure they have knowledge, skills and expertise that improve over time.

Volunteers recruited to work with children should be treated in the same way.

Safer Recruitment

Safer Recruitment covers activity from a decision to create a post or role to the successful candidate’s first day working or volunteering in the position in a setting.

It can be further broken down into 4 stages and activities:

– Preparation and advertisement – sending the right message to potential applicants in order to deter unsuitable applicants.
– Shortlisting – rejecting unsuitable applicants.
– Interview/selection process – rejecting unsuitable candidates.
– Pre-employment checks – rejecting unsuitable preferred candidates.

Preparation and Advertisement

When a vacancy is first identified – whether a new or existing post – the job description and person specification will accurately describe the role and attributes required including explicit reference to expectations in respect of safeguarding; responsibility and opportunity for contact with children in the role; attitude, motivation for working with and values towards children and young people and any specific duties in relation to the setting’s safeguarding responsibilities.

It will clearly identify the duties of the post/role and exactly how they expect the post/role holder to perform those duties; and will ensure that the skills, abilities, experience and behaviours required for that performance are reflected in the job description and person specification.

One Nation Studios has a robust and up to date safeguarding policy and a statement about it’s commitment to safeguarding is included in all recruitment and selection materials.

An appropriate advertisement will contain all the necessary information about the role, timetable for recruitment and a clear statement about One Nation Studios’ commitment to safeguarding.

A suitable candidate information pack containing all the required information about One Nation Studios, the role, recruitment timetable, safeguarding and child protection policy and application form is compiled.

When placing an advertisement for the post/role, One Nation Studios will ensure that unsuitable applicants will be deterred from applying by:

– Stating “Successful candidates will be required to undertake an enhanced DBS check with Children’s Barred List check”.
– Sending information about the One Nation Studios safeguarding policy and practices to prospective applicants.
– Stating whether the post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) 1974. The amendments to the ROA 1974 (Exceptions Order 1975, (amended 2013 and 2020)) provide that when applying for certain jobs and activities, certain spent convictions and cautions are ‘protected’, so they do not need to be disclosed to employers, and if they are disclosed, employers cannot take them into account. The MOJ’s guidance on the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the Exceptions Order 1975, provides information about which convictions must be declared during job applications and related exceptions and further information about filtering offences can be found in the DBS filtering guide – making it clear that applicants are not required to disclose information about offences subject to filtering – so applicants understand the information that may be revealed in a DBS check and are thus aware that the prospective employer is entitled to see that information;

Shortlisting

The recruitment campaign will allow sufficient time for:

– Applicants to respond to the advertisement, peruse the information provided and submit an application that addresses all required areas.
– Scrutinising of all applications in a systematic way by two members of the recruitment panel in order to agree the shortlist before sending invitations to interview.
– Agreeing the selection process to include a face-to-face interview with every candidate.
– Agreeing systematic selection criteria for each aspect of the selection process, based on the person specification.
– Requesting and scrutinising references for each shortlisted candidate before interview.
– All shortlisted candidates receive the same letter of invitation to interview, supplying them with all of the necessary information.

Application forms

Application forms will require applicants to provide all of the following information:

– Personal details, current and former names, current address and national insurance number (name/address/contact details including telephone numbers and Email addresses).
– Full history of present and past employment and reasons for leaving.
– Full history since leaving school (education and employment or voluntary work).
– Explanation of any gaps in education and/or employment.
– Qualifications, the awarding body and date of award.
– Details of at least 2 referees (applicants are expected to nominate their current or most recent employer as their first referee)
– Personal statement to meet person specification with details of the personal qualities and experience that the applicant believes are relevant to the suitability for the post.
– If they have a criminal history.
– If they are included on the children’s barred list.
– If they are prohibited from teaching.
– If they are prohibited from taking part in the management of an independent school.
– Information about any criminal offences committed in any country in line with the law as applicable in England and Wales, not the law in their country of origin or where they were convicted.
– If they are known to the police and children’s local authority social care.
– If they have been disqualified from providing childcare, and any relevant overseas information.
– Whether they have ever been the subject of a police investigation that did not lead to a criminal conviction.
– Whether they have ever had any allegation made against them, which has been reported to and investigated by a Children’s Social Care department.
– Whether there has ever been any cause for concern regarding their conduct with children, young people.
– Signed declaration that all information is true, that applicant is not barred from working with children and (for relevant posts) that the candidate is not disqualified from working with children subject to the Disqualification under the Childcare Act 2016.

One Nation Studios privacy notice for applicants confirms that after shortlisting, the disclosed information will be considered, it will only be seen by recruiting panel, and will only be used to inform recruitment decisions. (The SRC, DfE and ICO agree that criminal record self-disclosures should be considered for all shortlisted candidates and explored at interview).

The purpose of criminal background self-disclosures is to:

– Deter unsuitable people from applying for the post.
– Ensure applicants understand the information that may be revealed in a DBS check and are thus aware that the prospective employer is entitled to see that information.
– Give applicants an opportunity to be open, honest and demonstrate their integrity by bringing any relevant information to the prospective employer’s attention in a confidential way at an early stage so that, if necessary, it can be discussed with the candidate at interview or beforehand.

NB all convictions and cautions for serious violent and sexual offences remain subject of disclosure and where an individual has more than one conviction or caution, all convictions and cautions will be disclosed.

In order to assist candidates in deciding which convictions are subject of filtering, the following questions will be asked,

1. Have you received more than one conviction?

If yes, none of your convictions will be filtered.
If no, move to 2.

2. If you have only received one conviction, did you receive a custodial

sentence (including a suspended sentence) for it?
If yes, your conviction will not be filtered.

If no, move to 3.

3. Is the conviction that you received on the list of exempt offences?

Check list of offences that will never be filtered on GOV.UK website –
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dbs-list-of-offences-that-will-never-be-filtered-from-a-criminal-record-check

If yes, your conviction will not be filtered.

If no, your conviction will be filtered, subject to 4; move to 4.

4. Did you receive the conviction when you were under 18 years of age?

If yes, your conviction will be filtered after 5 and a half years of the date
of conviction.

If no, your conviction will be filtered after 11 years of the date of
conviction.

In order to assist candidates in deciding which cautions are subject of filtering, the following questions will be asked,

1. Is the caution that you received on the list of exempt offences?
Check list of offences that will never be filtered on GOV.UK website –
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dbs-list-of-offences-that-will-
never-be-filtered-from-a-criminal-record-check

If yes, your caution will not be filtered.

If no, your caution will be filtered subject to 2; move to 2

2. Did you receive the caution when you were under 18 years of age?

If yes, your caution will be filtered after 2 years of the date of the caution

If no, your caution will be filtered 6 years after the date of the caution

The shortlisting process

One Nation Studios will ensure those responsible for recruiting staff and volunteers to work will access safer recruitment training; and that at least one member of every selection panel (ideally the recruiting manager or chair of the panel) has accessed that training.

At least two members of the recruitment panel should scrutinise all applications in order to draw up a shortlist. The panel should agree criteria based on the person specification against which applications will be evaluated, using an objective scoring system. If an applicant fully demonstrates she/he meets one of the criteria, panel members will award 2 points, with 1 point being awarded if the applicant only partially meets the criteria.

Shortlisting criteria will be applied consistently to all applicants.

At least one of the criteria used for shortlisting will be based on the safeguarding aspects of the person specification.

When scrutinising applications, panel members will be vigilant in identifying:

– Any inconsistencies.
– Application forms that have not been completed fully.
– That information and evidence provided relates to the person specification and job description for the post/role.
– Any gaps in the applicant’s employment history or other information that need to be explored.

If a candidates chooses to submit a CV, this will not be accepted in lieu of a fully completed application form. As a CV will be structured to provide only the information the applicant chooses to provide, whereas our application pro forma asks applicants to demonstrate how they are able to meet the requirements of the person specification and job description for the post/role.

Once the short list of candidates has been agreed, the shortlisting panel will also need to make decisions and plan the interview/selection process (see paras 72-82 below). Panel members should agree what additional specific questions need to be asked of individual candidates arising from their application form, criminal background self-disclosure and references.

When DBS checks are undertaken in respect of preferred candidates at the end of the interview/selection process, One Nation Studios will compare information in the self-disclosure and the candidate’s responses at interview about the self-disclosure with information on the DBS certificate and any additional information shared at the discretion of the Police.

Employment history and references

We will ask for written information about previous employment history and check that information is not contradictory or incomplete.

References will be sought on all shortlisted candidates, including internal ones, before interview, so that any issues of concern they raise can be explored further with the referee and taken up with the candidate at interview.

References will be obtained, scrutinised and any concerns resolved satisfactorily, before an appointment is confirmed. Requests for references will always be addressed directly.

Candidates will be expected to nominate their current employer as their first referee in order to secure the most recent information about the candidate’s employment history, work performance and suitability for the post that is being recruited to.

The recruiting managers will carefully explore with the candidate reasons for not nominating their current or most recent employer as a referee, making it very clear that it may not be possible to proceed with an appointment without an opportunity to check the candidate’s suitability for the role with their most recent employer.

Candidates may request that the recruiting manager delays requesting a reference from a current employer until a decision about making a conditional offer of employment has been made, in order to avoid any prospective repercussions of seeking alternative employment in the event that the candidate is unsuccessful in their application. Recruiting managers will be sensitive to such requests but should make it clear to candidates that references will be sought in due course and that it may be necessary to call them back for a further discussion about any issues arising from references before a final decision can be made.

If a candidate for a post requiring a specific qualification (e.g. teacher, nursery officer) is not currently employed in that vocational role, the recruiting manager will check with the school, early years provider or organisation at which the candidate was most recently employed in a similar role to confirm details of their employment and their reasons for leaving.

If a candidate is not currently working with children, the recruiting manager will seek references from previous employers where the role involved working with children.

One Nation Studios use a standard reference pro forma that asks the same questions for all candidates with reference to the job description and person specification, which will also be provided for the perusal of referees. In addition to other information, reference pro forma will specifically ask referees whether there have been concerns about:

– Any behaviour that might give rise to concern about the candidate’s suitability to work with children or to fulfil the criteria of the person specification.
– Any substantiated allegations about the candidate’s behaviour towards children.
– Any disciplinary action taken in respect of the candidate.

Upon receipt of all references, the recruiting manager will:

– Scrutinise the reference carefully, giving active consideration to the significance of all information provided.
– Check that the information provided is not contradictory or incomplete.
– Check to ensure that all specific questions on the reference pro forma have been answered satisfactorily. Referees will be contacted to provide further clarification as appropriate.
– Compare the information provided to ensure it is consistent with the information provided by the candidate on the application form.
– Confirm the specific details and responsibilities of the candidate’s previous post as provided by the applicant.
– Take up any discrepancies with the candidate at interview.
– If there are any anomalies or doubts about the candidate’s suitability to fulfil the requirements of the role, contact the referee and explore the issues, asking the referee whether there are any reasons that would prevent them from re-employing the candidate. The recruiting manager will make and retain a detailed written record of all such discussions and sign the record.

Recruiting managers reserve the right to contact referees directly to discuss information provided in references and clarify a candidate’s suitability to fulfil the requirements of the role.

Recruiting managers will contact all referees directly to confirm that they have provided the written reference and that they have provided all available information to support a safe decision about the recruitment of the candidate.

One Nation Studios will not accept Open references

Online checks

As part of the shortlisting process One Nation Studios will carry out an online search as part of our due diligence on the shortlisted candidates.’ (KCSiE, DfE 2025).

These will be in the form of information that is public facing and therefore easily accessible both to a prospective employer and other stakeholders including pupils and their parents/carers. Job websites and LinkedIn will be considered but in the context of the higher safeguarding standards required, also social media sites such as Facebook in relation to any content that is not subject to privacy settings and is therefore accessible to any other user of that social media platform, i.e. it is in the public domain.

However, One Nation Studios will not to discount prospective employees as a result of online activity unless there is evidence that the individual has engaged in conduct or holds beliefs that are incompatible with the requirement to safeguard children; or that would damage our reputation. For example, it is unlikely to be necessary to discount candidates due to one-off comments posted or behaviour reported or depicted in the past, particularly from when the candidate was a child, or isolated ‘likes’ for organisations or views which could be considered extreme or curious in some way, unless there is other evidence of wider involvement in extreme or harmful activity or views which would be likely to place children at risk or bring the reputation of the school/academy into disrepute.

One Nation Studios privacy notice for applicants confirms that such online information will only be used and process if a candidate is selected for interview.

If One Nation Studios online search gives rise to a concern, the candidate will be provide with an opportunity to make representations and answer any questions about how any information of concern that may have arisen from online checks might impact upon their suitability for the role and ability to fulfil the job description and person specification.

Interview/Selection process

All candidates for posts subject to this policy will undertake a face-to-face interview with a panel consisting of at least two members. The interview will consist of an agreed framework of structured questions to be put to all candidates based upon criteria in the person specification.

As well as exploring candidates’ skills, attributes to perform the role and relevant experience, every interview will include at least two value-based questions designed to explore the candidate’s suitability for the role in relation to the safeguarding criteria in the person specification. They will be used to enable panel members to explore and probe candidates’ motives, attitudes and behaviours in relation to safeguarding and working with children, including how they manage challenging situations and how they establish and maintain appropriate professional boundaries when working with children.

In addition to the agreed framework of questions, the panel will ask follow up questions to address any vagueness or areas of concern and to check its understanding in relation to candidates’ attitudes towards children, child protection issues and motives for working with children

The panel will ask additional specific questions to address concerns or lack of clarity arising from individual candidates’ application forms, gaps in employment history, frequent changes in employment, references, self-disclosure of any criminal history and any concerns or issues arising from any online or social media searches.

The shortlisting panel will also consider whether or not any selection tools in addition to a face-to-face interview will be used. These may include meeting service users, group interview/exercise, written test etc.

Interviewing

Interview questions and conducting interviews:

– Questions and expected responses will be based on the person specification.
– A list of positive indicators, i.e. what the panel would expect a good candidate to say, and responses that would raise potential concerns will be drawn up. They will be bespoke to the role and used to underpin selection decisions and as evidence of why a candidate is suitable or unsuitable for appointment.
– A scoring system for assessing candidates’ responses to all structured questions is as follows, 5 = excellent; 4 = good; 3 = fair; 2 = below average; 1 = poor.

– All candidates’ responses and all panel decisions will be documented.
– Seek to enable every candidate to perform to the best of their ability by making them welcome, addressing comfort issues, providing clear instructions and explanations, providing typed copies of questions at the start of the interview etc.
– Open questions will be asked which invite longer responses, e.g. ‘Tell me about…’, ‘Can you give me an example of…’, ‘How do you go about…’.
– Follow up questions will be asked to probe to check understanding.
– Specific situation questions based on real scenarios will be asked to explore candidates’ capacity to identify issues, challenges, complexities, priorities and their own values as well as what they would actually do. Candidates will be asked specifically to identify and discuss those issues, challenges, complexities, priorities and values in relation to how they might respond to a scenario.
– Candidates will be asked about their practice experience, ask candidates what they have actually done, what was the situation, what was the action they took, was the result an effective or ineffective outcome?

Areas of potential concern

When assessing candidates’ suitability to work with children based on their responses in interview, One Nation Studios will consider the following areas for concern about a candidate:

– No understanding or appreciation of children’s needs.
– Unrealistic/unreasonable expectations of children in relation to their age and stage of development.
– Candidate wanting the role to meet their own needs at the expense of the needs of children.
– Inappropriate language when talking about children.
– Unclear boundaries with children.
– Vagueness about their experiences and gaps in employment/ information.
– Unable to provide any examples to support what they say in interview.
– Reluctance/unwillingness to work as part of a team, comply with guidelines and/or within agreed frameworks/systems.

Pre-employment checks

In accordance with Keeping Children Safe in Education (DfE 2025) the following will be carried out when appointing new staff:

– Verify a candidate’s identity, preferably from current photographic ID and proof of address. Identification checking guidelines can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dbs-identity-checking-guidelines.
– Obtain (via the applicant) an enhanced DBS certificate (including barred list information, for those who will be engaging in Regulated Activity) ***.
– Obtain a separate Barred List check if an individual will start work in Regulated Activity before the DBS certificate is available.
– Verify the candidate’s mental and physical fitness to carry out their work responsibilities. A job applicant can be asked relevant questions about disability and health in order to establish whether they have the physical and mental capacity for the specific role.
– Verify the person’s right to work in the UK. If there is uncertainty about whether an individual needs permission to work in the UK, then prospective employers, or volunteer managers, should follow advice at https://www.gov.uk/check-job-applicant-right-to-work.
If the person has lived or worked outside the UK, make any further checks the school or college consider appropriate.
– Verify professional qualifications, as appropriate. The Teacher Services’ system should be used to verify any award of qualified teacher status (QTS), and the completion of teacher induction or probation.
– Ensure that a candidate to be employed to carry out teaching work* is not subject to a prohibition order issued by the Secretary of State, or any sanction or restriction imposed (that remains current) by the GTCE before its abolition in March 2012.
– Check that a person taking up a management position as described at paragraph 129 of Keeping Children Safe in Education (DfE 2025) is not subject to a section 128 direction** made by the Secretary of State.
– Verification of candidates’ mental and physical fitness to do the job should not take place until after the job offer has been made. Schools/academies will need to decide how this will be undertaken, e.g. completion of a health questionnaire to be considered by the occupational health medical adviser, letter from medical practitioner. However, the key principle is that only candidates selected as suitable for employment subject to pre-employment checks should be asked to participate in this process.

One Nation Studios may allow an individual to start work in Regulated Activity before the DBS certificate is available then it will be ensured that the individual is appropriately supervised and that all other checks, including a separate Barred List check, have been completed.

* The Teachers’ Disciplinary (England) Regulations 2012 define teaching work as: planning and preparing lessons and courses for pupils; delivering lessons to pupils; assessing the development, progress and attainment of pupils; and reporting on the development, progress and attainment of pupils. These activities are not teaching work for the purposes of the regulations if the person carrying out the activity does so (other than for the purposes of induction) subject to the direction and supervision of a qualified teacher or other person nominated by the headteacher to provide such direction and supervision.

** Keeping Children Safe in Education 2025 also specifies that a section 128 direction disqualifies a person from holding or continuing to hold office as a governor of a maintained school.

*** NB Keeping Children Safe in Education 2025 specifies that there is no requirement for a school to obtain an enhanced DBS certificate if, during a period which ended not more than three months before the applicant’s appointment, the applicant has worked in a school in England in a post which brought them regularly into contact with children or young persons. However, if a decision is made not to obtain an enhanced DBS certificate, the school/academy must still obtain a separate Barred List check.

NB – If an employer knows or has reason to believe that an individual is on the Children’s Barred List, it commits an offence if it allows the individual to carry out any form of Regulated Activity. There are penalties of up to five years in prison if a barred individual is convicted of attempting to engage or engaging in such work.

Agency and third-party staff

One Nation Studios will ensure staff from third-party organisations (e.g. health professionals, peripatetic specialist teachers) that will have regular direct contact with children on our premises and/or use the services of staff who are employed by external agencies (e.g. bank staff, supply teacher agencies) to care for or teach children will obtain written notification from the third-party organisation or agency that it:

operates a safer recruitment policy and
has carried out the checks on the individual who will be working at the setting/school/college that the setting/school/college would otherwise perform. Those checks must include a Barred List check prior to the individual commencing work at the setting/school/college.
check that the person presenting themselves for work is the same person on whom the checks have been made.

Contractors

One Nation Studios when commission contractors to undertake work on site when children are present will ensure that any contractor, or any employee of the contractor, has been subject to the appropriate level of DBS check.

One Nation Studios will determine whether the contractor and/or the contractor’s employees will be engaging in Regulated Activity in order to decide what checks are required. Contractors engaging in Regulated Activity will require an enhanced DBS certificate (including Barred List information).

For all other contractors who are not engaging in Regulated Activity, but whose work provides them with an opportunity for regular contact with children, an enhanced DBS check (not including Barred List information) will be required.

One Nation Studios will obtain written notification from the contractor that they have carried out DBS checks at the appropriate level and also that the contractor has seen their employees’ DBS certificates.

One Nation Studios will ensure that contractors and their employees for whom appropriate DBS checks have not been undertaken are supervised at all times if they are going to have contact with children.

If a self-employed contractor has contact with children, One Nation Studios will obtain the DBS check because self-employed people are not able to make an application directly to the DBS on their own account.

One Nation Studios will always check the identity of contractors and their employees on arrival at the school/academy.

Relevance of criminal records

When assessing applicants’ criminal records both in self-disclosures and DBS certificates, recruiting managers will consider any offences in terms of:

– Nature, seriousness and relevance to the role applied for.
– How long ago the offence occurred.
– If it was a one-off or part of a history.
– Circumstances of the offence being committed.
– Changes in the applicant’s personal circumstances since the conviction.
– Country of conviction.
– Subsequent decriminalisation of the offence.
– Remorse and the applicant’s sense of responsibility.

Single Central Record

One Nation Studios is not a school or academy it is an Alternative Provision and is not required to maintain a SCR however it has equivalent document that based on KCSiE 2026 guidlines

Keeping Children Safe in Education 2025 specifies that schools/academies must maintain a single central record (SCR) of pre-appointment checks. The checks are specified in regulations which are set out in KCSiE 25. The single central record must cover:

all staff, including teacher trainees on salaried routes, agency and third party supply staff who work at the school; and for independent schools, all members of the proprietor body. In the case of academies and free schools, this means the members and trustees of the academy trust.

KCSiE 25 specifies the minimum information that must be recorded. There are a number of available SCR templates for schools to use and KCSiE 25 is not prescriptive about the format of the SCR. It can be kept in paper or electronic form. Whilst there is no statutory duty to include on the SCR details of any other checks, schools and colleges are free to record any other information they deem relevant. For example, checks for childcare disqualification, volunteers, and safeguarding and safer recruitment training dates. KCSiE 25 also states that schools and colleges may also wish to record the name of the person who carried out each check.

It is important to emphasise that KCSiE 25 states that for agency and third party supply staff, schools and colleges must also include in the SCR whether written confirmation has been received that the employment business supplying the member of supply staff has carried out the relevant checks and obtained the appropriate certificates, and the date that confirmation was received and whether any enhanced DBS certificate check has been provided in respect of the member of staff. This does not mean that schools should ask or expect to see the DBS certificate of an individual that the school does not employ. The written confirmation is sufficient, along with checking that the individual presenting themselves for work at the school is the same person on whom the checks have been made.

Induction

Keeping Children Safe in Education (DfE 2025), highlights that:

All staff should be aware of systems within their school or college which support safeguarding, and these should be explained to them as part of staff induction. Therefore One Nation Studios Induction process will include the:

– child protection policy (which which amongst other things also includes the policy and procedures to deal with child-child abuse)
– behaviour policy (which include measures to prevent bullying, including cyberbullying, prejudice-based and discriminatory bullying.)
– staff behaviour policy (sometimes called a code of conduct) which amongst other things, includes low- level concerns, allegations, against staff and whistleblowing.
– safeguarding response to children who are absent from education particularly on repeat occasions and /or prolonged periods
– role of the designated safeguarding lead (including the identity of the designated safeguarding lead and any deputies).
– part one of Keeping Children Safe in Education 2025 and Annex B

Inductees working with children will be advised to maintain an attitude of ‘it could happen here’ where safeguarding is concerned. That when concerned about the welfare of a child, they should always act in the best interests of the child. If they have any concerns about a child’s welfare, they should act on them immediately. They will be made aware of the policies and procedures concerning referrals of cases of suspected abuse and neglect.

Inductees will undergo the following training,

– Safeguarding and child protection training (including online safety) which will regularly updated. Induction and training will be in line with advice from the local safeguarding partnership.
– Receive regular safeguarding and child protection updates (for example, via Email, E-bulletins, staff meetings) as required, and at least annually, to provide them with relevant skills and knowledge to safeguard children effectively.
– The local early help process and understand their role in it.
– The process for making referrals to children’s social care and for statutory assessments under the Children Act 1989, especially section 17 (children in need) and section 47 (a child suffering, or likely to suffer, significant harm) that may follow a referral, along with the role they might be expected to play in such assessments.
– What to do if a child tells them he/she is being abused or neglected. How to manage the requirement to maintain an appropriate level of confidentiality. This means only involving those who need to be involved (in the case of allegations against a member of staff or volunteer), designated safeguarding lead (or a deputy) and children’s social care. That they should never promise a child that they will not tell anyone about a report of abuse, as this may ultimately not be in the best interests of the child.
– Of indicators of abuse, neglect and specific safeguarding issues as set out in paragraphs 19-48 of Keeping Children Safe in Education 2025 so that they are able to identify cases of children who may be in need of help or protection.
– That if staff are unsure, they should always speak to the designated safeguarding lead (or deputy).
– Policy and procedures with regards to child-on-child abuse.

Furthermore, in accordance with Working Together 2026, inductees will be made aware of the arrangements that reflect the importance of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, including:

– A culture of listening to children and taking account of their wishes and feelings, both in individual decisions and the development of services.
– Clear whistleblowing procedures, which reflect the principles in Sir Robert Francis’ Freedom to Speak Up Review and are suitably referenced in staff training and codes of conduct, and a culture that enables issues about safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children to be addressed.
– Clear escalation policies for staff to follow when their child safeguarding concerns are not being addressed within their organisation or by other agencies.
– Safe recruitment practices and ongoing safe working practices for individuals whom the organisation or agency permit to work regularly with children, including policies on when to obtain a criminal record check.
– Appropriate supervision and support for staff, including undertaking safeguarding training.
– Creating a culture of safety, equality and protection within the services they provide.
– Practitioners regular reviews of their own practice to ensure they have knowledge, skills and expertise that improve over time.
– Probation periods and supervision.

New starters will be given an opportunity to discuss and clarify any issues arising from the safeguarding and child protection and staff behaviour policies on their first day before they have any contact with children; and will be asked to sign a pro forma to confirm they have read, understood and agree to work in accordance with both policies.

Inductees will also be informed about and provided with copies of other relevant policies and procedures in relation to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, such as:

– Behaviour management policy (which should include guidelines in respect of physical intervention and the use of force).
– Online safety.
– Staff use of social media.
– Whistleblowing (i.e. how to raise concerns about abuse or neglect of children by other staff/volunteers or conduct of staff/volunteers that places children at risk or undermines the organisation’s safeguarding practice);
– Tackling bullying;
– Intimate care;
– Health and safety.