No 50: Contractors
Contents
Overview
Contractors are visitors who are likely to support, maintain or improve your buildings, grounds or the resources within them.
This may include services like:
- maintenance e.g. plumbing, electrical, roofing
- servicing equipment such as photocopiers
- grounds maintenance including site surveys
These visits are clearly crucial and many have legal or Health and Safety requirements such as play equipment inspection or annual tree surveys.
Contractors will also for some schools include catering, cleaning and caretaking for whom the school is likely to have a contract whereby services are provided on a daily basis – for the purposes of this guidance, such a contract will be referred to as a ‘permanent contractor’.
Regardless of the type of contractor, or the purpose of their visit, within KCSiE 2021 part 3, para 273 states:
“Schools and colleges should ensure that any contractor, or any employee of the contractor, who is to work at the school or college, has been subject to the appropriate level of DBS check”
This guidance aims to clarify how schools can confirm that they adhere to this requirement. For further reference, paragraphs 272 – 277 within KCSiE 2021 should be reviewed. There is no current requirement for schools to seek or see evidence of a contractor’s right to work in UK, recruitment process including references or checks that would be completed for a school employee.
Where visits are one-off, an example being where a contractor visits to enable them to quote for a replacement carpet, or where a contractor has provided no information such as collection of sanitary bins, schools must ensure that these adults are either accompanied by a staff member (an employee) for whom all checks are in place, or the visit takes place at a time when children are not at the school.
Permanent Contractors
Permanent contractors include services such as cleaners, catering staff or caretakers who will likely visit the school on a daily or weekly/ part weekly basis. They can therefore be required to have an enhanced DBS check with Barred list as, due to their level of contact with children will be in regulated activity. KCSiE para 273 “Contractors engaging in regulated activity relating to children will require an enhanced DBS check (including children’s barred list information).”
The ‘company’ providing staff in these roles and circumstance are likely to be able to offer a letter of assurance or similar statement from a CEO/Managing Director or equivalent senior employee to confirm this undertaking and that the company have their own safeguarding policy. Where there is no policy, the senior manager should be given the school’s policy and confirm that all their employees understand the contents and adhere to the requirements within. All staff in such roles (the contractor) should be aware of the school’s procedures for sharing concerns, with whom and requirements such as mobile device use while on the school site.
The names of these ‘permanent’ staff should be listed on the SCR. The first time they arrive at the school, their ID should be checked to confirm their identity. Any employee of the company who then works at the school on a ‘ad-hoc’ basis, to cover sickness leave as an example, can be considered ‘subject’ to the company letter of assurance, but should be made aware of safeguarding reporting process and mobile device use, as would be expected for any visitor. Where a letter of assurance is accepted, there is no requirement to see individual DBS certificates, or list these within the SCR.
It is for schools to decide the relevance and frequency of any safeguarding training with contractors of this nature.
Infrequent visitors (sole traders)
Sole traders are likely to be ‘ad-hoc’, needed due to a possible failure such as a water leak, to replace or renew electrical equipment or periodic (termly) visits and therefore not in regulated activity (RA). Sole traders cannot DBS themselves so schools should either satisfy themselves that a relevant DBS has been completed (this could involve the update service if subscribed to) or the school should complete one at an enhanced level.
The DBS certificate must be seen to confirm the suitability of any sole trader to work in a school.
It is currently illegal to undertake a Barred List check for an adult who is not in Regulated Activity. Regardless of the DBS evidence, the school should record the date they see the DBS within their SCR. Sole traders will also not likely have a safeguarding policy. The school should therefore issue their policy with, we advise, the school’s Code of Conduct and ask the sole trader to sign to confirm they will adhere to these when visiting the school. When visiting for the first time, ID should be checked and confirmed in the SCR and visitor information should be shared as for all visitors.
Infrequent Visitors (companies with multiple employees)
Companies are able to issue a letter of assurance and undertake DBS checks similar to a permanent contractor, though these visits are likely to be ‘ad-hoc’ or periodic (termly) so unlikely to require their employees to be in RA, checks will not include a Barred List check. Such letters should also confirm that DBS certificates for their staff who will visit a school ensure their (the employees) suitability to be in a school environment.
Companies may also have their own safeguarding policies, if so, a copy should be held by the school. If not, the school’s policy should again be issued for a company CEO/Managing director or company secretary who can confirm that the employees who visit the school will adhere to these requirements. Again, any visitor from a company should have their ID checked and have consistent visitor messages confirmed including mobile device use expectations clarified.
Mobile device use
Many contractors (and other visitors) will need their mobile device or similar application to support their purpose of visit. Examples such as heating engineers who need such devices to gain access to technical information via a boiler barcode or an asbestos surveyor who may have site survey maps on such devices as tablets. Schools should therefore confirm such use at visitor sign in and remind contractors about limiting such use to the purpose of their visit and where they can make calls in a safe, away from children place, should they need to do so.
Building work or major projects
Where schools plan more significant projects such as replacing roofs, new classrooms or similar significant structural and internal works, schools should work with their contract/project manager to ensure that as part of any tender process, the requirements of the points above are taken into account with the chosen contractor and assessed and recorded accordingly.