Prepositions
Teacher helping student in classroom

Safer Recruitment

We believe that safer recruitment is the first stage of the safeguarding process.

At Prepositions, we are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people in education, and expect all clients and candidates to share in this commitment.

In order to make sure we are helping schools to recruit suitable people, all our staff at Prepositions have received appropriate safer recruitment training through the NSPCC and / or EduCare.

We put the following steps in place during our selection process to ensure that we remain committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children:

1

Application Form

All candidates will have completed a full application form. This will include:

  • Personal details, current and former names, current address and National Insurance number
  • Details of their present (or last) employment and reason for leaving
  • Full employment history, (since leaving school, including education, employment and voluntary work) including reasons for any gaps in employment
  • All academic qualifications, the awarding body and date of award
  • Any relevant vocational qualifications, the awarding body and date of award
  • Details of at least two referees
  • A statement of the personal qualities and experience that the applicant believes are relevant to their suitability for the post and how they meet the person specification
2

References

We will obtain references before any shortlist interview. Any concerns raised will be explored further with referees and taken up with the candidate. When seeking references we will:

  • Not accept open references
  • Verify any information contained within references with the referees directly
  • Ensure any reference from the candidate's current employer is completed by a senior member of staff
  • Obtain verification of the candidate's most recent relevant period of employment if they are not currently employed
  • Secure a reference from the relevant employer from the last time the candidate worked with children
  • Compare the information on the application form with that in the reference and take up any inconsistencies with the candidate
  • Resolve any concerns before submitting a candidate to final interview
3

Shortlisting Process

Our shortlisting process will involve at least two people. The process will include:

  • Investigating any inconsistencies in the application form
  • Resolving any concerns before submitting a candidate to final interview
  • Scrutinising any potential concerns
  • Determining the candidate's suitability to work with children
  • Discussing references, as necessary
  • Recording all information considered and any decisions made

We will ensure all candidates complete a self-declaration of their criminal record or any information that would make them unsuitable to work with children. The information we will ask for includes:

  • Whether they have a criminal history
  • Whether they are included on the barred list
  • Whether they are prohibited from teaching
  • Information about any criminal offences committed in any country
  • Whether they have been disqualified from providing childcare

In addition, we will carry out an online search for each candidate. All shortlisted candidates must sign a declaration confirming the information they have provided is true.