All posts involving direct contact with children are exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) 1974 and the successful applicant/s will be required to hold or undergo a suitable enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service disclosure. However, amendments to the ROA 1974 (Exceptions Order 1975(2013 & 2020)) provide that certain spent convictions and cautions are ‘protected’. These are not subject to disclosure to employers and cannot be considered. Guidance and criteria on filtering of these cautions and convictions can be found on the Ministry of Justice website or via the Unlock website.

Short-listed candidates will be asked to complete a criminal record self-disclosure form to provide details of all unspent convictions and those that would not be filtered or protected, to be returned to the school prior to the date of the interview. You may be asked for further information about your criminal history during the recruitment process. If you application is successful, this criminal record self-disclosure information will be checked against information from the Disclosure and Barring Service before your appointment is confirmed. 

In addition to the above, the school reserves the right to carry out an online search on shortlisted candidates. This will only include a search for information which is publicly available online. 

Please note it is an offence to apply for the role if the applicant is barred from engaging in regulated activity relevant to children.