As the directly elected, local representative for policing, it is for PCCs to make decisions about the appointment of their staff and the size, composition, and resourcing of their office.

PCCs are required by legislation to seek the views of their Police and Crime Panel (PCP) when appointing senior positions within their office. The PCP must hold a confirmation hearing in public with the proposed candidate, and subsequently produce and publish a report and recommendation for the PCC on whether the PCP supports the proposed senior appointment. The ultimate decision on appointment lies with the PCC, and they may accept or reject the recommendation made by the PCP.

The regulations that are used to determine the eligibility for access to the Department for Education's Barred List Checking Service apply to England only.

The School Staffing (England) Regulations 2009 are for maintained schools and can be accessed here: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2009/2680/regulation/24/made.

The Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014 are for academies, free schools and alternative provision academies, and can be accessed here: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2014/3283/pdfs/uksi_20143283_en.pdf.

The Non-Maintained Special Schools (England) Regulations 2015 and The Further Education (Providers of Education) (England) Regulations 2006 can be accessed here: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/728/contents/made and https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2006/3199/contents/made.

The Department has no plans to give schools in the Crown Dependencies access to the replacement service for Teacher’s Pension Online, the Children’s Barred List Status Check. Teacher’s Pensions Online hosted the standalone barred list check service until 31 March 2021. The replacement service transferred to the Teaching Regulation Agency on 1 April 2021. Schools in the Crown Dependencies should contact the Disclosure and Barring Service directly to obtain an Enhanced plus Barred List information check for those employed in regulated activity.

On 26 February we published ‘Disqualification under the Childcare Act 2006’ statutory guidance for schools: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/disqualification-under-the-childcare-act-2006.

This new guidance clarifies the circumstances in which the provisions of the Childcare (Disqualification) Regulations 2009 apply to school staff. It also supports schools to take appropriate action to ensure that school staff do not work in circumstances that are in breach of those Regulations. It makes clear that where staff are disqualified schools may redeploy them or make changes to their duties. This discretion allows many of those staff affected by the Regulations to continue to work in schools while an application is made to Ofsted for a waiver of disqualification.

The childcare disqualification arrangements are not new and have never applied exclusively to child-minders and day care providers. They apply to all staff providing childcare, including in schools. These arrangements help to ensure that children in the most vulnerable age groups, those who are potentially at greatest risk, are protected regardless of the setting in which childcare is provided.

In schools they prevent staff who have been cautioned or convicted for certain serious offences, from providing childcare:

• for children up to the age of five years before, during, or after school hours; and

• for children aged up to eight years of age before and after school hours.

  School staff are also prevented from providing childcare if they reside in a household where another person who has been cautioned or convicted for such an offence lives or is employed.

The new statutory guidance replaces the Department’s earlier advice on this subject, published in October 2014 as a supplement to ‘Keeping children safe in education’, and is a direct response to requests for additional information to help schools make appropriate and robust decisions should these matters arise.

The guidance has been developed in consultation with a range of stakeholders who have expertise and experience in child safeguarding matters, including children’s safeguarding organisations, employer representative bodies, trade unions and local authorities.

From 5 January 2015, the independent school standards require that schools check both existing and new teaching staff to determine whether a prohibition order or interim prohibition made by the Secretary of State exists for any member of their teaching staff.

The checks are only retrospective in the sense that schools must confirm that existing staff, as well as new appointments, are not subject to a prohibition order. The prohibition order regime began in April 2012, and the standard does not distinguish between staff appointed before or after 5 January 2015, so existing staff should be checked too. We believe that this is entirely justified. The teacher standards which form the basis of the prohibition regime apply to independent schools, and it would be invidious if a school was able to continue employing a prohibited member of staff simply because he or she was appointed before 2015. When a school is inspected, it should be able to demonstrate that it has either completed these checks (which can be done through the National College’s Easy Access system) or is well on the way to completion. If a school cannot do so, regulatory action is likely to follow.

The Department for Education is in discussion with the Disclosure and Barring Service about ways in which schools can do this with the minimum additional burden, and it is hoped that a process will be in place soon. At present no barring directions have been made under the regulations made in 2014 under section 128 of the Education and Skills Act 2008.