Hi
You would put them under a ‘regular visitor’ tab in your SCR. As a minimum you should check the original DBS (remember to check the barred list was carried out and record this also) and their ID and record this info on your SCR. You would not be expected to obtain references etc but it does no harm to get a letter on headed paper from the relevant organisation to confirm what pre-employment checks were carried out etc.

Presumably they will be engaged in regulated activity so the more thorough you are, the better.

In reply to Sasha:

Hi
I agree, they should go in as regular visitors (I think if they come >4 times per month they are classed as regular). Can you get a covering letter from the organisation advising that all their staff are DBS checked etc. I'd keep a folder with their photo ID and a note saying that original and the DBS certificate were seen, signed and dated by the person who checked it.

In reply to Sasha:

Hi, thank you for your reply. We always check their photo ID and original DBS with barred list and this is recorded. Since your reply I have asked for a letter which I have received from the carer agency but still going around in circles with all the NELFT staff, but hope to obtain everything soon. It does seem like, though, what we have recorded on the SCR should be sufficient.

In reply to Melissa:

Hi Melissa
We stopped keeping copies of DBS and photo IDs a while ago and then even more so when the GDPR regulations came in. Are we allowed to keep these? We keep the record of when the IDs and DBS were checked by us on the SCR, but we also don't say who it was that checked it as it's not mandatory to say who checked things. In a way I don't want to do more than is absolutely necessary as I feel that may trip us up. I am not sure if that's that correct attitude to have but I've heard too many horror stories where something that wasn't mandatory was on the SCR and even though it wasn't mandatory, because it was on there, Ofsted scrutinised everything (as they should) and found errors with the non-mandatory stuff.

Thank you for you suggestions and advice.

I work in an independent school, so the criteria might be a little different (our inspections are ISI rather than Ofsted, but I think they take the same approach with safeguarding). Our SCR has a tab for visiting professionals, and our criteria for inclusion on the SCR is when they are unsupervised on site when the school is in session or when they are providing any kind of healthcare or supervision on overnight trips. So a visiting teacher who stays with a member of our staff at all times wouldn't need recording, but a supply teacher (or visitor who will be moving around classes without accompaniment) would.

Where any of our professionals come via an agency, we have agreements with the agency about the detailed information they need to provide to us ahead of the visit, confirming that the relevant checks have been completed - we then just check ID and DBS on arrival. Happy to send on my template email for those agencies if that's helpful?

In reply to Jenny:

Hi Jenny
We are a maintained school and so use our LA SCR template - they ask for this information. I never keep a copy of the actual DBS certificate but do record the number and that it has been checked/who by.

With regard to GDPR we use the IRMS retention schedule so everything is retained / shredded in line with that.

Hope that helps

Melissa

In reply to Nina Waters:

Template would be really useful!

In reply to Nina Waters:

Hi Nina

Thank you for your reply. I am possibly over thinking it as I feel the NELFT and Carers should not be on the same tag as the staff that we get from agencies and pay for such as supply teachers and LSAs. But they do sound like they could be "visiting professionals" although they are in our school pretty much every day of the term.

Anyway. I think it would be really helpful to see the template if that's ok. Just as I've always used and only seen the one I have, so seeing another would be great. I will message you my email address.

Thank you so much

In reply to Jenny:

Dear X,

I wanted to get in touch now to run through the process we need to follow in relation to the [professional service] team that you contract to us.

As we are a school, we have to keep up to date records of all staff, contractors etc who come onto site. Where these arrangements are through a third party (such as [company]), we need to confirm that the employing organisation has undertaken the relevant checks.

To be clear, we don’t need to see the confidential information you hold for your staff – we simply need confirmation from you that you have undertaken the checks that we need done.

1. Please confirm the names/list of [professionals] who may be asked to attend the school over the year ahead. Please include any who may be asked to cover at short notice as well as those already scheduled.
2. Please confirm that Enhanced DBS and barred list checks (children) have been completed for each member of the team, and that you have seen them to confirm that they are clear. To clarify, we don’t need to ‘re-do’ DBS checks that your organisation has accepted in the past for your staff when they start working at the school – we just need confirmation from you that you’ve accepted them and that they are at the right level (ie enhanced and with a check of the children’s barred list).
3. Please send me as detailed a schedule as it is possible for you to provide, letting me know when the team have been or are scheduled to be working at the school in [academic year]. I appreciate that this may change, but it is helpful to have an overview.
4. Please arrange for all members of your team to come to our site during our normal hours (8am to 5pm during term time, or 9am to 4.30pm during holidays), to bring photographic ID (passport or driving licence) and meet with [HR contact] before they start any work at the school, so we can do an ID check.
5. Please ask all members of your team to bring photographic ID with them at all times when they come to site, so that the gatehouse or [team] staff can check the right people are on site.

Before any new member of staff comes to our site, we need an email or other written communication from you confirming that those checks have been completed for that individual. Please send a separate email for each one.

Many thanks.