Safer Recruitment: One-Minute Guide

Safer Recruitment: One-Minute Guide

What is Safer Recruitment?

Safer recruitment is essential for protecting children and young people within organisations. All organisations hiring individuals to work with children and young people (under 18yrs) —whether paid or voluntary—should apply these principles to deter unsuitable candidates and prevent inappropriate appointments.

Organisations must also implement clear policies and procedures for preventing abuse and ensuring prompt reporting of any concerns. A policy statement should outline the commitment to safeguarding, require all staff and volunteers to comply, and specify robust recruitment and selection practices to reduce risks of harm from those in positions of trust.

What are the Key Principles of Safer Recruitment?

Safer recruitment is based on a number of key principles:

• Deter unsuitable applicants from applying by putting Safeguarding First. Make the welfare and safety of children your top priority throughout the recruitment process. Ensure potential applicants are given a clear message about the organisation’s commitment to recruit suitable people.
• Reject unsuitable applicants at the selection stage through Rigorous Vetting and thorough pre-appointment checks.
• Prevent any opportunities to abuse children and young people once appointed by Creating a Safe Culture where your organisational culture promotes safeguarding and the welfare of children.
• Detect and respond promptly, fairly, and proportionately to any concerns about an individual once appointed.

What are the Safer Recruitment Practices?

The following are examples of good practice that organisations should follow, as appropriate.

• Advertising posts – your organisation’s commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children should be clearly stated in any information provided to candidates. Any advert/information provided to candidates should also make it clear if the role is subject to DBS and Barred List Checks.
• Job Description / Person Specification / Role Profile – the roles and responsibilities relating to safeguarding should be clearly stated in any job description/role profile.
• Application Form – wherever possible, an application form should be used rather than accepting CVs. A simplified version of the application form can be used for volunteer posts.
• References – references should be taken to obtain information to support appointment decisions. Where possible, a reference should be obtained from the current employer and/or the last employer where the applicant worked with children.
• Selection – organisations should use a selection process (including interviews) to explore not only the skills but also the motivation for working with children and young people.
• Pre-appointment checks – these will include identity checks, right to work in the UK, and professional qualifications and registration/regulations appropriate to the post. This may also include health checks.
• Training – Recruiters should, where possible, undertake safer recruitment training, and it is best practice to ensure that at least one member of any interviewing panel has completed safer recruitment training.

NB. Not all the above will be relevant for volunteer posts, but we need to remember that children and young people view volunteers as being safe adults. It is therefore important that there is a relevant but robust process in place for volunteer appointments.

What Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) Checks are needed?

The organisation will need to determine if a DBS check is needed and what level of check is needed for individual posts. This needs to be made clear to applicants before applying for the post and included in any advert/documentation provided as part of the application process.

The organisation will need to determine if the person will be engaging in Regulated Activity and, therefore, if a Barred List Check is also needed.

Further information can be found in the Government guidance available at:

Government Guidance – Regulated_activity_in_relation_to_children.pdf

If a person is not in a regulated activity but is working with children and young people, they may be in a supervised role. Further information is available from:

Government Guidance – Supervision of children & regulated activity

What Else Do We Need to Have in Place?

Organisations should have in place the following to prevent opportunities to abuse children:

• Good induction and ongoing training in safeguarding.
• Clear safe working practice guidance and/or codes of conduct
• Clear policies, including whistleblowing – NY practice-guidance-and-one-minute-guides/whistleblowing
• Appropriate supervision.

Organisations should have clear guidance for reporting concerns and procedures for managing low-level concerns and allegations against staff or volunteers. Guidance for Managing Allegations Against Staff and Volunteers is available from:

NY Practice Guidance for managing-allegations-against-those-who-work-or-volunteer-with-children

Accredited Safer Recruitment training is available from the NYES website: Training & Events | NYES Info

Maintain a high level of vigilance – believe it could always happen in your organisation.

Last reviewed: September 2025