Management Information Sheet

In February 2015, the Department for Education issued statutory guidance on the application of the Childcare (Disqualification) Regulations 2009 and related obligations under the Childcare Act 2006 in schools. This guidance replaces the supplementary advice to ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ that was issued by the Department for Education in October 2014.

The guidance still requires all schools and academies to apply the Childcare (Disqualification) Regulations 2009 to relevant staff in relevant settings but provides greater clarity on how schools should fulfil the requirements of these regulations. The key changes to this guidance are as follows:

• Clearer definitions of who is covered by the legislation in terms of early years and later years provisions (page 6).
• Identification of specific staff groups not covered by the regulations in school and academy settings (page 7-8).
• Confirmation that volunteers and casual workers are within the scope of the legislation and are covered by the guidance (paragraph 17).
• Confirmation that there is no requirement from the DfE for schools and academies to use a declaration form to obtain the required information from relevant staff. However, they recognise this is one way of obtaining this information (paragraphs 21-22).
• Guidance on how to comply with the Data Protection Act in terms of storing and using information about staff and their household members (paragraphs 22-27).
• Information on considering the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 when someone is ‘disqualified by association’ i.e. ensuring information detailed is not ‘spent’ and therefore not relevant (paragraphs 29-34).
• Further guidance on application to Ofsted for a waiver from disqualification including a change of e-mail address (paragraphs 35-41).

For those schools and academies who buy the HR service from Norfolk HR Services, the relevant policies and information on Schools’ PeopleNet and Norfolk Schools have been updated accordingly to reflect this change. Those schools can also contact HR Direct on 01603 222212 for further information and guidance.