STAT UK Teachers' Annual Criminal Record Check Renewal Declaration

 

Summary:

STAT rules used to require that teaching members had an annually updated DBS check. However, this is no longer the case.

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STAT now only requires that we have a paper certificate that can confirm that we have had a DBS check, no matter how many years ago this was obtained. There is no need ever to update it because, once you have a certificate, thereafter filling in STAT’s annual declaration form will suffice for STAT and for our insurers.

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Only the Basic DBS is required by STAT. If you already have an Enhanced Certificate, that is fine, but STAT does not require it, the Basic is sufficient.

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If you are registered with the Update Service to renew your certificate annually, you do not need to continue to use this for STAT membership as long as you have retained the original paper certificate that was provided when you first applied for the DBS.

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There are some reasons to continue to use the Update Service – for example, if you work in another field (apart from the AT) that requires annual updating, or if you have an Enhanced Certificate and work in an environment where you often work with children or vulnerable adults. Also, since you are no longer permitted to apply for an Enhanced Certificate unless you are that very particular situation, perhaps you would like to keep renewing the Enhanced Certificate that you have, as you may not be able to re-apply for one in the future. Or perhaps you have lost your original paper certificate and do not want to bother to cancel the renewal service and apply (which takes a certain amount of admin work) for a once-only Basic DBS, although this would save you money in the long run. 

However, for the great majority of AT teachers, and unless you think one of the above exceptions applies to you, continuing to use the Update Service is not required.

 

A little more information:

STAT teachers' insurance requires that we possess a basic DBS certificate. The basic DBS confirms that you have no "unspent" criminal convictions. AT teachers are no longer eligible to obtain the "enhanced DBS with barred lists" unless you you can demonstrate that you work regularly with children or vulnerable adults (in which case you will most likely be working at an institution that requires it, and will pay for it on your behalf.)

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I am often asked, “if you possess a DBS Certificate obtained in the past, does it continue to be valid, since in some related professions annual or every three years renewal is required?” The answer is that, so long as you have a paper copy of your DBS which can be shown as proof of a check at some time in the past, this does not have an expiry date. So a renewal or re-application is not required unless one of the bullet points in Section 1 “When do I need to apply for a DBS check?” of STAT’s DBS FAQS applies.

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If a new Teacher already has a DBS check from a previous/current job or charity, etc, STAT can accept this as long as proof is supplied either in the form of a photo or scan of the original certificate.  

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All UK Teachers need to complete the Annual Declaration Jotform every Autumn to confirm they still have a DBS check as well as answer the other questions in the form. Our insurers require that STAT carry out this audit of members prior to them renewing our STAT insurance policy. 

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Note that in parts of the UK outside England, the rules can be a little different, see here.