The Bichard Inquiry - Report - Digital Education Resource Archive ...

opportunity to develop these skills, and, of course, there will be examples
where they do this already.
4.62 € The danger is that too much reliance will be placed on CRB checks or on
the improved systems I recommend later, if these are adopted in the future.
There is a concern that many abusers do not have convictions and that no
intelligence is held about them. Therefore, the selection and recruitment
process, if properly conducted, is an important, indeed essential, safeguard.
Better audited
4.63 € I understand that in their inspection of regulated care settings (for example,
children’s residential care homes), the CSCI includes an evaluation of
evidence on effective recruitment and vetting procedures. Given the
importance of this issue, it is perhaps surprising that recruitment and
selection standards elsewhere do not feature strongly in inspection/audit
arrangements, including, as far as I can see, in Ofsted’s standards for the
inspection of schools (or of youth organisations and agencies such as
Connexions). Even the very recent DfES consultation paper, Improving
Child Protection in Schools, makes only scant reference to recruitment
and training.
Recommendations
Head teachers and school governors should receive training on how
to ensure that interviews to appoint staff reflect the importance of
safeguarding children.
From a date to be agreed, no interview panel to appoint staff
working in schools should be convened without at least one member
being properly trained.
The relevant inspection bodies should, as part of their inspection,
review the existence and effectiveness of a school’s selection and
recruitment arrangements.
Responsibility: The DfES
Vetting
4.64 € The Inquiry discovered that police vetting processes, like police systems
for record keeping, were not routinely covered in HMIC inspections. It was
agreed by HMIC that this should change.
The Bichard Inquiry – National systems and structure – the findings 141