The School Staffing (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2015

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

The School Staffing (England) Regulations 2009 (“the 2009 Regulations”) set out, among other matters, the checks that the governing body of a maintained school in England must make to ensure the suitability of prospective new members of staff at the school. These Regulations amend the 2009 Regulations to reflect changes made by the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 to the circumstances in which the Disclosure and Barring Service (“DBS”) can be asked to carry out checks.

Regulation 3 makes amendments to various definitions and other interpretation provisions for terms and expressions used elsewhere in the 2009 Regulations.

Regulation 4 amends regulations 12 and 24 of the 2009 Regulations, which set out the suitability checks for staff who are to be employed at maintained schools. Regulation 5 amends regulations 18 and 30 of the 2009 Regulations, which set out the suitability checks for staff supplied to maintained schools by employment businesses. The effect of the amendments is that an enhanced criminal record certificate will need to be obtained in cases where the proposed new member of staff will be engaging in ‘relevant activity’ as defined in the Regulations (for example if they will regularly be responsible for supervising children or will regularly have opportunities for contact with children at the school). Regulation 4(2) inserts a new sub-paragraph (3A) into regulations 12 and 24 of the 2009 Regulations requiring a governing body to consider asking the DBS for an up-date confirming whether the information in an enhanced criminal record certificate is still current. Regulation 5(4) amends the requirements for supply staff so that an enhanced criminal record certificate older than three months can still be used if the DBS confirms that the information in the certificate is still current.

Regulation 6 makes consequential changes to Schedule 2 to the 2009 Regulations, which sets out the information that a governing body must record about the checks made when appointing staff.