Schools notify inspectorate of DBS referrals
IICSA · The Residential Schools Investigation Report · Issued 10 March 2022 · Addressed to: Department for Education
Source — verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation, E
The Department for Education and the Welsh Government should: require schools to inform the relevant inspectorate when they have referred a member of staff to the Disclosure and Barring Service, the Teaching Regulation Agency or the Education Workforce Council; and include in the national standards for local authority designated officers a requirement that local authority designated officers should share information on referrals from schools with the relevant inspectorate.
IICSA, The Residential Schools Investigation Report · 10 Mar 2022 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
Publicly available evidence relating to this recommendation:
- No published requirement for schools to inform inspectorates of DBS/TRA/police referrals has been identified to March 2026.
Response — verbatim from government
●UK Government
On 30 June 2022, the UK government stated that it was cautious about creating a reporting mechanism that only related to the Disclosure and Barring Service and Teaching Regulation Agency when its position in Keeping Children Safe in Education guidance is to have a 'simple' system that applies equally across the system. The UK government also stated that it will consider a requirement that local authority designated officers should share information on referrals from schools with the relevant inspectorate, as part of an update to Working Together to Safeguard Children guidance. On 30 June 2022, the Welsh Government stated that it accepted this recommendation in principle but that it does not currently have the powers to 'require' and there is a need to establish this. It stated it will work to establish the necessary vehicle to implement this recommendation and take appropriate action.
UK Government · 22 May 2023 Written response →
Evidence trail — what's actually happened since
No published activity has been recorded against this recommendation yet.
Each entry above links to a primary source — gov.uk written statement, consultation response document, or inspection report. The Index does not characterise government intent; it tracks what has been published.
How this page is built
Source and Response are verbatim from primary documents. The Evidence trail records published activity since — written statements, consultation outcomes, inspection findings, parliamentary references. The Index does not paraphrase or characterise intent; it tracks what has been published. Where the evidence is the absence of action (a missed deadline, a slipped timetable), that absence is documented from primary sources rather than inferred.
This recommendation's data is verified periodically against primary sources. The Index is monitored for staleness weekly.