List 99 Checks
On April 1st 2021, List 99 Checks changed – find out what these changes mean to you and your organisation.
What is a List 99 check?
List 99 is a confidential register of both men and women who have been barred against working with children by the Department of Education. It is maintained by the children’s safeguarding unit and contains the names, aliases, dates of birth and national insurance numbers of all those people who are forbidden to work with children in schools, social work and voluntary settings.
Important Information Regarding Changes to the List 99 Service as of 1st April 2021
From the 31st March 2021, the List 99 service offered by TP Online is transferring to the Department for Education (DfE).
There is no legal requirement for employers outside of education settings, for example, recruitment and HR agencies, to check the List 99 status of individuals who are applying for roles in schools, colleges and universities.
The new DfE service is strictly limited to employers of staff in education settings who are responsible for checking the suitability of applicants seeking to engage in regulated activity and as education facilities have the facility to check the barred list, there is no requirement by a third party.
Educational settings are still required to seek notification by suppliers that a pre-employment check has been undertaken if their staff are entering the setting, including whether the individual is barred from working with children. If a supplier to the education sector is asked to provide this confirmation, the employer will then need to obtain an Enhanced DBS certificate with Children’s Barring List included.
Care Check provide organisations from all sectors with Enhanced, Standard and Basic DBS Checks. It’s free to register and most of our checks complete within 24 hours to 5 days.
How does someone get added to the Children’s Barred list?
All additions to the list will be added in discretion by the Secretary of State for Education. There are obvious automatic additions to the list, but also there is a broad range of reasons for barring people from schools and these include stealing and helping students to cheat in exams.
Adults who have committed a serious sexual offence against a child under the age of 16 after 1995 are automatically added onto the list. However, those convicted of possessing indecent images of children can only be automatically barred if convicted after 1st June 2003.
What convictions can lead to someone be added to List 99?
Any adult who is convicted of a serious sexual assault against children under the age of 16 would automatically be placed on the Children’s Barred List.
Additional reasons for inclusion on the list would include sexual or violent behaviour towards children, abuses of trust, drug offences and any violent crime.
Medical conditions such as drug, alcohol abuse and mental illness are grounds for exclusion and, as all additions are made at the discretion of the Secretary of State for Education, individual circumstances would need to be considered before deciding if the person should be added to the list.
