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19-21 Broad Street | St Helier Jersey | JE2 3RR
Deputy Lyndsay Feltham
Chair, Public Accounts Committee
BY EMAIL
6 March 2023 Dear Chair,
Thank you for your letter of 27 February 2023. This is an area that concerns us all. I can confirm the following:
- All employees appointed to work with children or vulnerable groups are required to have an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service Check (DBS). The enhanced check is a mandatory requirement for all employees who work in a position of trust with children and/or vulnerable adults.
Roles that require an enhances DBS check include:
• Teachers and school staff
• Doctors, Nurses, and Carers
• Volunteers working with children
• Contractors on school sites
Please note the above list is not exhaustive.
The enhanced DBS check will show details of any spent or unspent convictions, cautions, reprimands, or warnings recorded on the Police National Computer (PNC), plus a check of the records held by the local police force where the employee resides. In addition, a check of the barred list is also undertaken.
Strict pre-employment safeguarding references are also required in line with the Public Service Safe Recruitment' policy.
There are a few occasions when risk assessment' are completed prior to all pre- employment checks being received. These are only to be completed in exceptional circumstances where a candidate is required to commence employment without all pre- employment clearances being obtained. Strict supervision and safeguards are put in place as well as protective measures (for example, no unsupervised contact with children or vulnerable adults).
- There is a requirement that all employees requiring an enhanced DBS check are renewed every three years. The People Hub run a report and contact the employees directly informing them that an update is required.
Professional registration checks are maintained in HCS for Nurses, failure to do so leads the officer's suspension (un-paid) pending confirmation of re-registration. - The Independent Jersey Care Enquiry made several recommendations in relation to employment checks. As a result, the Government of Jersey introduced a Safe Recruitment Policy' that applies to all staff working with children and vulnerable adults. The Safeguarding Partnership Board have a Multi-agency Framework for Managing Allegations in respect of People working with Adults and Children in a Position of Trust.
The Sexual Offences (Jersey) Law 2018 provides additional protections for young people
aged 16 and 17 defining the circumstances in which an adult is in a position of trust (Article 19).
- We are in the process of reviewing the DBS update service which will allow applicants to keep their DBS certificates up to date and allow us the employer' to check a DBS certificate.
I trust the above answers your questions. Yours sincerely,
Deputy Kristina Moore Chief Minister