FAQs about the Single Central Record

 How long should we keep details of supply or agency staff?

The SCR is a record of all the background checks that have been completed and should include 'all staff...who work at the school' (Keeping Children Safe in Education (2018). Some supply staff will stay for a period of time, others may only work one day. The record of checks will build up over time, and in some schools may well become overwhelming. I usually suggest that at the end of each year, schools archive agency staff and start again in September.

Should volunteers be included on the Single Central Record?

It is not statutory to include volunteers on the SCR.

Keeping Children Safe in Education (2018) says, ' Whilst  there is no statutory duty to include on the single central record details of any other checks, schools and colleges are free to record any other information they deem relevant. For example, checks for childcare disqualification, volunteers, and safeguarding and safer recruitment training dates. Schools and colleges may also wish to record the name of the person who carried out each check.' (paragraph 146). 

I think it is sensible to keep all the checks together, and my suggestion is to include volunteers, but on a separate tab to your paid staff.

If we only have one reference for a member of staff appointed in the past, should we try to get a reference now?

Ofsted addressed this point in their mythbuster guide in July 2018, where they said, 'Ofsted does not expect schools to retrospectively apply for references for staff appointed prior to and continuously employed since the introduction of the vetting and barring requirements." (see point 8 here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-inspection-handbook-from-september-2015/ofsted-inspections-mythbusting )