The Department for Education (DFE) has recently upgraded the process on carrying out teacher checks, aiming to simplify and streamline the verification process for schools. This update marks a shift from the traditional manual process, promoting a more efficient way for schools to manage compliance with teacher qualifications and safeguarding requirements.
Historically, schools were tasked with manually ‘claiming’ teachers through the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) portal. This process involved linking teacher records with the schools that employed them, ensuring that schools could keep track of teachers’ qualifications, sanctions and any prohibitions.
Schools can now just search for any teachers’ record using their last name and date of birth. This is applicable for trainee, newly qualified, or fully qualified teachers. This process will require a DFE sign-in account.
This update to the website offers improved functionality, integrating many compliance checks into a more efficient system. This enhancement allows schools to maintain up-to-date records with less administrative workload, simplifying the process significantly.
Prohibition from teaching checks are essential to ensure that individuals are not barred from teaching activities, even if they are not qualified teachers. This check is particularly relevant for support staff who have teaching responsibilities or close contact with children.
For support staff, such as Higher-Level Teaching Assistants (HLTAs), who do not have a formal teacher record and therefore do not appear on the TRA database, the approach to checks remains unchanged.
It is crucial for schools to conduct comprehensive safeguarding and background checks for these staff members, in line with statutory guidance, particularly Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE).
Overall, this change represents a significant improvement in how schools manage teacher verification processes. By shifting the focus from manual claims via the TRA to a more streamlined and integrated system, it will be much easier to ensure compliance and safeguard the welfare of students.
If you have any further queries relating to compliance checks or other HR matters, feel free to get in touch with the team at FusionHR on 01924 827869 or click here to request a callback and one of the team will be happy to help.
