passport - National Union of Teachers

13Visiting yournew workplaceIdeally, you should have at least one opportunityto visit your new workplace followingappointment and prior to the start of yourfirst term.Such visits can be extremely useful, not least inthat they help to break the ice. They can alsoprovide valuable opportunities to meet withprospective colleagues, pupils, and, in somecases, governors and parents. If you have notalready been invited to visit, contact your newschool and ask when would be convenient foryou to do so.As a newly appointed teacher, if you are unsureabout whether certain items of information areavailable, take the opportunity on your visit toask for any of the items listed above. If they areavailable, the school should be able to provideyou with copies.Anything todeclare?When you apply for a teaching post, you maybe asked to declare any criminal convictionsyou have. The Rehabilitation of Offenders Actdoes not apply to teachers or those applying forteaching posts. The NUT advises you to fill in thissection of the application form truthfully and toinclude any juvenile or adult convictions. If youare asked to provide details of any caution orbind over, similarly, you must answer truthfully.Failure to answer the questions truthfully, orgiving false or misleading information, mayhave serious consequences such as summarydismissal or a criminal charge.You will be asked to apply for an ‘enhanced’disclosure from the Criminal Records Bureau(CRB). This provides your employer with detailsof convictions and any information that the policehave disclosed about you.The previous Labour Government put plans inplace that would have required NQTs to registerwith the Independent Safeguarding Authority(ISA) from July 2010. The plans were halted,however, when the Coalition Governmentcame into power.Your first year in school