Candidate Declaration | Criminal Record Checks
The vacancy for which you are applying requires you to undertake regulated activity where you are working with vulnerable adults or children, and is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. Therefore, you are required to complete the Declaration of Offences in the box below. You must declare any convictions, cautions, reprimands and final warnings that are not "protected" as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2013) or any proceedings pending against you.
The amendments to the Exceptions Order 1975 (2013) provide that certain spent convictions and cautions are 'protected' and are not subject to disclosure to employers , and cannot be taken into account.
You do not need to disclose a conviction:
- If it is more than 11 years old (or more than 5.5 years old if you were under 18 at the time of the offence) AND
- It was your only offence AND
- It did not result in a custodial sentence.
You do not need to disclose a caution:
- If it more than more than 6 years old (or more than 2 years old if you were under 18 at the time of the offence)
However, there are certain offences which are relevant to safeguarding that you will still need to disclose regardless of how long ago they were committed - a list of these offences can be found at :
Please also refer to the flow chart on page2. All information you disclose is treated in the strictest of confidence and will only be considered if you are successfully appointed to the role for which you have applied.
Declaration of Offences
Have you ever been convicted of an offence?Yes/No (please delete as appropriate)If ‘YES’ please give details and dates
Signed______
Print Name______
Date______
Policy Statement on the Use of Criminal Record (DBS) DBS
As an organisation using the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checkingservice to assess applicants’ suitability for positions of trust, Royal School for the Deaf Derby complies fully with the Code of Practice and undertakes to treat allapplicants for positions fairly. It undertakes not to discriminate unfairly againstany subject of a DBS check on the basis of a conviction or other informationrevealed.
Royal School for the Deaf Derby is committed to the fair treatment of its staff, potential staff or users of its services, regardless of race, gender, religion, sexualorientation, responsibilities for dependants, age, physical/mental disability oroffending background. We have a written policy on the recruitment of ex-offenders, which is made available to all DBS applicants at the outset of the recruitment process. We actively promote equality of opportunity for all with the right mix of talent, skills and potential and welcome applications from a wide range ofcandidates. We select all candidates for interview based on their skills, qualifications and experience. A DBS check is only requested after a thorough assessment of the role has taken place and hasindicated that one is both proportionate and relevant to the positionconcerned. For those positions where a DBS check is required, all applicationforms, job adverts and recruitment briefs will contain a statement that a DBScheck will be requested in the event of the individual being offered theposition.
Policy Statement on the Recruitment of Employment of Ex-offenders
Where a DBS check is to form part of the recruitment process, we encourageall applicants to complete a declaration of offences relevant to the role applied for and provide information about offences relevant to the role applied for.
We request that this information issent marked confidential to the Human Resources Manager and guarantee that this information will only be seenby those who need to see it as part of the recruitment process.
Unless the nature of the position allows Royal School for the Deaf Derby to ask questionsabout your entire criminal record, we only ask about unspent’ convictions defined in the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 as relevant to the role applied for.
We ensure that all those at Royal School for the Deaf Derby who are involved in therecruitment process have been suitably trained to identify and assess therelevance and circumstances of offences. We also ensure that they havereceived appropriate guidance and training in the relevant legislation relatingto the employment of ex-offenders, e.g. the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act1974 (as amended).
Having a criminal record will not necessarily bar you from working with us however failure to reveal information that is directly relevant to the position sought could lead to withdrawal of an offer of employment. This will depend on the offence and the relevance of the offence in relation to the position applied for. At interview, or in a separate discussion we will discuss the factors taken into account which will include the responsibilities of the position, the vulnerability of the customer group, the nature of the offence(s), the number and pattern of the offences (if there is more than one), how long ago the offence(s) occurred and the age of the offender when the offence(s) occurred.
We make every subject of a DBS check aware of the existence of the Code ofPractice and make a copy available on request.
Royal School for the Deaf Derby
Applicant Declaration Disqualification under the Childcare Act 2006 (as amended)
(identified Roles only)
The Department for Education has recently reminded early years settings and schools that they must undertake an additional safeguarding check on current and future staff as appropriate to ensure that no one who is disqualified is employed in connection with:
- early years provision, or
- later years childcare outside of school hours for children who have reached 5 years but not yet reached 8 years, which includes before and after school care.
The disqualification criteria include:
1) caution or conviction for certain criminal offences
2) Certain grounds relating to the care of children (eg parental right order, supervision order or care order)
3) Having registration refused or cancelled in relation to childcare, children’s homes or disqualification from private fostering (except where that cancellation or refusal was to do with unpaid fees)
4) Living in the same household where another person who is - or would be - disqualified lives or works[1]
The nature of your role you have applied for means the School is legally obliged to make you aware that you have a duty to disclose any relevant information either about yourself (even if that information has previously been considered in relation to a DBS check) and / or, to the best of your knowledge, about anyone living or working in the same household as you. This latter requirement does not mean you are required to specifically make enquiries of householders but you must declare any relevant information you are aware of or can reasonably be expected to be aware of. Please be assured that any information disclosed will be treated in the strictest of confidence and in line with Data Protection requirements.
This check is separate from the DBS check. Any of the above criteria disqualify people undertaking the role you have applied for. This includes ‘disqualification by association’ (i.e if someone in the same household is disqualified). Applicants who either have a relevant offence / order or have someone living or working in their home who has a relevant offence mustdeclare this using the apply to Ofsted to request a waiver in order to allow them to work in these areas.
The full list of relevant offences, orders and determinations can be located in tables 2-5 of the Compliance, Investigation and Enforcement handbook, section 5.1 ‘Disqualification’ which can be accessed via the link below.
They are also at included in Table A and Table B of the DfE Statutory guidance available at
Please read through tables A and B before completing the declaration at the end of this document.
Broadly speaking, the ‘certain criminal offences’ include a caution or conviction for:
- any offences by an adult against or involving children
- Any sexual offence by an adult or a child against an adult or a child
- Murder, manslaughter, kidnapping, false imprisonment, assault occasioning grievous or actual bodily harm
For cautions, you are only required to disclose those issued on or after 6 April 2007. This does NOT apply to relevant convictions, which must be declared irrespective of date.
If you believe that you, or a householder, may meet one of the four disqualification criteria set out at the start of this letter, you are required to check the complete list in order to determine whether or not the specific information must be disclosed.
You are required to disclose any relevant information by completing the questions below. If you think you have relevant information about yourself or a householder, you will need to provide, as far as possible, any details relating to the order, determination, conviction or other grounds, the date it was made along with any other details including a copy of the relevant order or conviction.
Please note that this is an ongoing requirement and so, if you are appointed to the role you have applied for and have no relevant information to disclose at this point, but do in the future, you must make the School aware of any relevant information immediately.
Please complete and return the declaration on the next page.
Declaration of Relevant Offences under the Childcare (Disqualification) Regulations 2009
1. Are you disqualified under The Childcare (Disqualification) Regulations 2009?
Yes/No (please delete as appropriate)
If ‘YES’ please give details and dates
2. To the best of your knowledge, is anyone living in your household disqualified under The Childcare (Disqualification) Regulations 2009?
(Household includes family, lodgers, house-sharers, household employees etc.)
Yes/No (please delete as appropriate)
If ‘YES’ please give details and dates
Signed:______
Print Name:______
Date:______
[1] Disqualification under the Childcare Act 2006 Statutory guidance for local authorities, maintained schools, independent schools, academies and free schools February 2015