Annual Certificate in Safer Recruitment for International Schools (2021-22)

Course Duration: 1h 10m (approx) online training + self-directed learning and activities + final assessment.

All schools must ensure that they have robust policies in place around the selection and suitability of prospective employees and that they are proactively creating a culture of safer recruitment. It is essential that all staff have an awareness of safer recruitment as part of their statutory duty to keep children safe from harm and abuse.

This Essential CPD course provides you with the knowledge and skills you need to develop and deliver a comprehensive safer recruitment process and help deter, reject and identify individual considered a risk to children.

Split into bite-sized modules, the training has been designed to provide maximum learning potential in the leanest, most cost-effective and most time-efficient manner. It has been produced in high-quality remote video CPD format which is accessible on any device, any time, anywhere.

Developed by Robin Watts, international safeguarding expert, the course is split into eleven modules. The course consists of learning through video modules, completion of tasks, further reading and viewing external resources. Please consider this when planning and allocating your time. To successfully understand and achieve the objectives from the course, learners are expected to engage in all aspects of the learning process and complete all relevant activities to ensure they can successfully apply the knowledge and skills they have gained in their own setting.

Learning outcomes

• Understanding how to develop safer recruitment procedures and policies that fall in line with safeguarding and child protection priorities.
• Recognising how to implement safer recruitment practice before, during and after the recruitment process to ensure children are kept safe from harm.
• Identifying the relevant checks that should be made and the information that should be provided to employees and to schools during the recruitment process.
• Recognising the key practicalities involved in drawing up recruitment specifications, interviewing, suitability checks, referencing and the induction process.
• Understanding offender behaviour, the offending cycle and the motivations behind sexual abuse.

Modules

Module 1: Introduction to safer recruitment

In module 1 you will be asked to think about some of the dangers associated with recruitment in schools and what challenges you might face during the recruitment process.

Module 2: Preparation and purpose

Module 2 will explore what schools should include in their safer recruitment policy and how they should be using this to promote safer recruitment from the start of the recruitment process.

Module 3: Developing recruitment specifications

In module 3, you will learn about drawing up recruitment specifications and job descriptions and consider different aspects of the candidate’s suitability for the role.

Module 4: References

Module 4 will discuss how, when and why references should be used and the important part they play in determining a candidate’s suitability for employment.

Module 5: Interview questions

Module 5 will explore various examples of interview questions around child protection and safeguarding and consider possible answers that you might receive.

Module 6: Undertaking relevant suitability checks

Module 6 will discuss regulated activity and how schools can conduct the necessary suitability checks to ensure they’re employing robust recruitment and safeguarding practice.

Module 7: Self-disclosures and risk assessments

In module 7, we will consider the merits of using a self-disclosure form and undertaking risk assessments, as well as things to consider if and when applicants disclose offences.

Module 8: Offering employment and recording employment checks

Module 8 will explore what should be included in offers of employment, what checks schools should carry out and where employee data should be stored.

Module 9: Induction processes and procedures

In module 9 we will focus on the importance of carrying on safer recruitment practice after employment has begun and consider what the induction process should include.

Module 10: Managing offending behaviour

Module 10 will discuss what offending behaviour looks like, why offending behaviour may take place and what the motivations are to carry out abuse.

Module 11: Review and summary

In module 11 you will review some of the findings from the exercise in module 1 and understand why prevention is always better than the cure.