The Education (Miscellaneous Amendments relating to Safeguarding Children) (Wales) Regulations 2009

These Regulations make amendments to various sets of regulations made under the Education Act 1996 (c. 56), the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 (c. 38), and the Education Act 2002 (c. 32) to reflect changes that will arise as a result of the commencement (on 12 October 2009) of the barring provisions in the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 (c. 47) (“the SVGA”) and the commencement of new provisions (inserted by the SVGA) in the Police Act 1997 (c. 50).

Until 12 October 2009, information as to whether a person is barred from working with children is available with a standard or an enhanced criminal record certificate. The barred information included in a criminal record certificate currently does not include information as to whether a person is on the children’s barred list established under section 2 of the SVGA. The children’s barred list is established and maintained by the Independent Safeguarding Authority (“ISA”); the ISA is referred to in the SVGA as the Independent Barring Board (or IBB) but this is likely to be amended in the near future by primary legislation and substituted by a reference to the ISA.

In some of the regulations being amended, the amendments made by these Regulations add a reference to whether a person is barred from working with children under the SVGA to the references to the barring provisions pre-dating the SVGA. In addition, the amendments to regulations 2(2) and 3(2) add a reference to whether a person is subject to a direction under section 142 of the Education Act 2002 to the references to the barring provisions pre-dating the SVGA, as there may be persons subject to such a direction in respect of whom it has not been determined to add them to the list of people barred from working with children under the SVGA.

These Regulations also align provisions in the regulations being amended (which relate to barred checks) with new provisions in the Police Act 1997 (inserted by the SVGA) which will apply from 12 October 2009. For example, amendments have been made to remove references to “children’s suitability statement” and to update the amended regulations, where necessary, with references to “suitability information relating to children” within the meaning of section 113BA(2) of the Police Act 1997.

From 12 October 2009, information as to whether a person is barred from working with children will only be provided with an enhanced criminal record certificate in cases prescribed under section 113BA of the Police Act 1997. Amendments to some of the regulations have been included to reflect this to ensure that where information as to whether a person is barred is currently obtained, it will continue to be available from 12 October 2009.

From 12 October 2009, a certificate which states that someone is barred from working with children will mean that the person is either on one of the current barred lists or is barred from working with children under the new SVGA scheme. A check in relation to both the current lists and the new children’s barred list under the SVGA will continue to be required for a period of time from 12 October 2009 until the ISA has made a decision whether to transfer an individual to the children’s barred list in relation to all relevant cases. Relevant cases are where an individual is still on one of the existing lists or where a case is still being determined after 12 October 2009 (for limited purposes) under the old regime.