In this session Dai Durbridge explains what disqualification is and where it applies, who it applies to, who it doesn’t apply to, how you become disqualified, disqualification by association, and what you need to do.

2. What you need to do, with who and when

3. ‐ what it is and where it applies
‐ who it applies to
‐ who it doesn’t apply to
‐ becoming disqualified
‐ disqualification by association
‐ what you need to do
‐ questions…

5. • national law firm with highly regarded
education practice across our five
offices in Birmingham, Exeter, London,
Manchester and Nottingham

6. • approved legal partner of…

7. • approved legal partner of…

8. • approved legal partner of…

9. • passionate about the education sector
– well established education practice
beyond academies

10. • client base of over 1,000 schools,
academies and colleges

11. • over 500 schools use Quickcall - our
fixed fee annual support service for
schools from as little as £500 per year

13. • bespoke disqualification helpline until
31 July - £150

14. • bespoke disqualification helpline until
31 July - £150
• all queries covered
‐ which staff to check
‐ relevant convictions
‐ Rehabilitation of Offenders Act
‐ staff redeployment

15. What support do you need…?

16. ‐ what it is and where is applies
‐ who it applies to
‐ who it doesn’t apply to
‐ becoming disqualified
‐ disqualification by association
‐ what you need to do
‐ questions…

17. What it is and where is applies…

18. • DfE guidance February 2015
‐ Disqualification under the Childcare
Act 2006: Statutory guidance for local
authorities, maintained schools,
academies and free schools

19. • no change in law – same law for the
last 8 years, so why now?
• so what does this mean?

20. Additional information required from staff and
other individuals in their household if that staff
member is involved in providing:
• early years childcare (which includes education)
• later years childcare (not education – before and
after school clubs for example)
early years: from birth to 1 Sept following the
child’s 5th birthday
later years: children who have not attained the
age of eight

21. • defined in the Childcare Act 2006 as:
‐ any form of care for a child
including education for a child and
any other supervised activity for a
child
• wide definition
• which staff are caught?

22. ‐ what it is and where is applies
‐ who it applies to
‐ who it doesn’t apply to
‐ becoming disqualified
‐ disqualification by association
‐ what you need to do
‐ questions…

23. Who it applies to…

24. • staff working with (providing childcare
in) early years and the SLT that
manages the early years provision
• who does this mean in practice?

25. • staff in classrooms?
• midday supervisors?
• staff who were employed to work in
the early years setting?

26. • agency and third party staff (if they
are engaging in childcare)
• contractors (if they are engaging in
childcare)
• trainee teachers?
• volunteers?
• what about other staff?

27. ‐ what it is and where is applies
‐ who it applies to
‐ who it doesn’t apply to
‐ becoming disqualified
‐ disqualification by association
‐ what you need to do
‐ questions…

28. who it doesn’t apply to

29. • staff who are not employed to directly
provide childcare, such as:
‐ caretakers
‐ cleaners
‐ drivers
‐ transport escorts
‐ catering staff
‐ office staff

30. • what other staff would not be caught?

31. • what about later years staff in your
primary school?
‐ new guidance says it does not apply to
them (see paragraphs 7, 9 and 39)

32. • Governors and proprietors
• anyone involved in any form of
healthcare provision for a child
(including school nurses) and LA staff
(such as speech and language
therapists and educational
psychologists)

33. ‐ what it is and where is applies
‐ who it applies to
‐ who it doesn’t apply to
‐ becoming disqualified
‐ disqualification by association
‐ what you need to do
‐ questions…

34. Becoming disqualified…

35. • automatically - simply by committing a
disqualifying offence or disqualifying
event:

36. • in summary:
‐ caution/conviction for certain
violent/sexual offences
‐ grounds relating to the care of
children
‐ having registration refused/cancelled
in relation to childcare

37. • listed in tables A and B in the guidance

38. • staff/volunteers could be disqualified
without knowing
• staff are also disqualified as a result of
someone in their household being
convicted of one of the relevant
offences or having a relevant care
orders

39. • What does this mean?

40. ‐ what it is and where is applies
‐ who it applies to
‐ who it doesn’t apply to
‐ becoming disqualified
‐ disqualification by association
‐ what you need to do
‐ questions…

41. Disqualification by association…

42. • if someone who lives or works in the
same household as the staff
member/volunteer is disqualified,
then through their association with
that person, your staff
member/volunteer is also disqualified

43. • also disqualified if they live with
someone who is on the children’s
barred list
• who is caught by “others in the
household”?

44. • not limited to partner/spouse
• not limited to family members
• not limited to adults
• extremely broad definition that would
capture flat mates, lodgers, parents,
children, siblings – anyone in ‘the
household’

45. • is it the same convictions that apply to
staff?
• no - why?
• the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act has
an impact
‐ schools cannot require staff to disclose
spent convictions of those who
live/work in their household
• how do schools manage that?

46. • staff and volunteers may be
disqualified as a result of their own
convictions/care orders relating to
their children

47. • staff and volunteers may be
disqualified as a result of
convictions/care orders of those
people living or working in their
household
• what do you need to do about it?

48. ‐ what it is and where is applies
‐ who it applies to
‐ who it doesn’t apply to
‐ becoming disqualified
‐ disqualification by association
‐ what you need to do
‐ questions…

49. What you need to do…

50. • duty is on the school to ask staff
• declaration form no longer the
preferred approach
• lighter touch now required
• staff should be ‘made aware of the
legislation’
• how do you do this in practice?

51. We advise three steps:
1. add in a small section to the safeguarding
policy
2. amend contracts for new starters
3. hold a staff briefing for relevant staff only
‐ prepare a script covering the important
points

52. Explain
• that you need to make them aware of
the legislation
• what it means in practice
• that they should talk to you if they
think they may be disqualified

53. • what ‘by association’ means and ‘best
of their knowledge’
• that they need to sign to say they
attended the briefing

54. • can still use one, but DfE keen for it
not to be the first port of call

55. • your duty will be discharged by
carrying out a staff briefing
• staff briefing script available as part of
the £150 Disqualification helpline
package
• do you need to pursue staff or check
the honesty of answers provided?

56. • what if you know the staff member is
lying?
• basic rule: if you have no reason to
doubt them, accept the declaration at
face value

57. • guidance is silent on the point – no
expectation that you repeat the
process
• include in the briefing an expectation
that staff will tell you of their position
changes

58. You need to find out
• whether they think they are
disqualified because of their own
offences/issue or those of someone
they live with

59. • the offence in question
• when the offence took place
• whether it resulted in a caution or a
conviction and the punishment

60. • a complex issues that can apply to ‘by
association’ offences
• guidance offers little clarity on the
point
• you need support from your legal or
HR provider to take an offence into
consideration
• we can support you with that

61. • next step – identify the offence and
check if it is in table A or B.
• if it is not, no problem
• if it is, they are disqualified from
providing early years childcare?
• what do you have to do if they are
disqualified?

62. • required to tell Ofsted within 14 days
• staff member can apply to Ofsted for a
waiver allowing them to continue in
post
• what do you do with your disqualified
staff member pending the waiver
application outcome?

63. • redeployment encouraged by the
guidance

64. • “…schools will need to decide whether it is
appropriate to redeploy staff elsewhere in
the school, or make adjustments to their
role to avoid them working in relevant
childcare. This means that a member of
staff could be disqualified from working
with children of reception age or under in
a school, but could work with children
aged 6 and 7…”

65. • can you make this work in your school?

66. • what if you cannot redeploy staff?

67. • “schools will need to consider whether
to grant paid leave or similar, or as a
last resort suspend the member of
staff, while the waiver application is
under consideration.”

68. • what would you do – suspend or grant
paid leave?

69. • consider the waiver application
• speak to your staff member and the
relevant ‘associated person’
• speak to you
• decide
• require you to put a risk assessment in
place

70. • SCR - recording the fact of the check
and the date carried out on the SCR is
good practice. Guidance allows for a
separate record to be kept if preferred

71. • where schools retain personal
information relevant to the
disqualification it should be kept on
the personnel file

72. • guidance repeatedly refers to the need
to seek support from your HR support
• required for many issues, including:
‐ advice on which staff are covered
‐ understanding the Rehabilitation of
Offenders Act
‐ advice on redeployment
‐ advice on suspension

73. • amend your policy
• amend contracts for new starters
(optional)
• hold a staff briefing for relevant staff
only

74. • consider conviction information (if
any) and seek expert legal or HR
advice
• build process into your recruitment
policy
• review staff currently on suspension

75. ‐ what it is and where is applies
‐ who it applies to
‐ becoming disqualified
‐ disqualification by association
‐ what you need to do
‐ questions…

76. Dai Durbridge| 0161 300 8037
dai.durbridge@brownejacobson.com

77. Dai Durbridge| 0161 300 8037
dai.durbridge@brownejacobson.com