Last updated 13 October 2026 · Version 2026-10-13
What changed
These standards changed on 13 October 2026.
- 13 October 2026 · We record the result of our certified digital ID check through Quicker DBS on the Identity check: passed, failed or could not read the document, with the day, and the printable result where there is one. Every candidate still has our ten-minute ID interview. If you hold APSCo Compliance+ and our digital check could not be used, we tell you once the candidate is cleared to work to ask your school to see their original photographic identity document on their first day. We never contact the school.
- 12 October 2026 · We ask for each referee's work email first. A reference from a personal email address now counts only once the referee's organisation has confirmed in writing that they work or worked there and that the address is theirs, and that proof is on the file, where you can open it from the reference row. The same applies to a work address that does not look like the organisation's own. It is never accepted automatically. The prohibition from teaching re-check every 12 weeks and the Right to Work follow-up now run on every file that can still be placed, whether or not you keep it up to date with us, at no extra charge. An overseas police check is now asked for after any unbroken six months abroad, from every country in that time, as well as for each country lived or worked in for six months or more. Our ten-minute ID interview is an identity check. Your agency holds the registration interview itself and records it on the candidate's record. It never holds up our clearance. We see a photograph of the Enhanced DBS with children's barred list certificate and record it as a photograph. An agency that holds APSCo Compliance+ has a new application started for any certificate not applied for it, and sees the paper certificate itself if it chooses to. For every other agency, a certificate from elsewhere is accepted on a clear Update Service status check while it is Enhanced, for the child workforce with the children's barred list, and its subscription is current. You choose when you can work a candidate: once they are cleared to work, when every check the law and Keeping Children Safe in Education require is done, or only when every check on our standard is done. We keep finishing the rest of our standard either way, and a pack sent at cleared to work lists the statutory checks alone, each with its date and evidence.
- 10 October 2026 · Our checking standards were written down in one place for the first time, with the source and strength of every rule.
How to read them
Each rule says what it asks in plain words, then what we do about it. Under it is how strong it is and where it comes from. The checks are the set for schools in England. We do not cover Wales or Scotland.
- Law · An Act of Parliament or regulations made under one. Not meeting it can be an offence or bring a penalty.
- Statutory guidance, must · Guidance the law requires schools and agencies to follow, written as must.
- Statutory guidance, should · Guidance the law requires schools and agencies to have regard to, written as should. Departing from it needs a good reason, recorded.
- APSCo standard, will or must · APSCo's audited standard, written as will or must. A file that misses it loses marks at an APSCo audit.
- APSCo standard, should · APSCo's standard, written as should. We do it as best effort: we ask, record the reason when it cannot be done, and tell you where APSCo says so.
We follow Keeping Children Safe in Education 2026, statutory guidance in force from 1 September 2026. The final 2026 text has not yet been read from source. Where a rule quotes it, the wording is from the consultation draft and commentary, and no paragraph numbers are given.
We follow APSCo Compliance+ Education version 14 of October 2025. APSCo published a newer version on 8 October 2026. Until it has been read, these standards follow version 14.
A rule marked for compliance review is one whose source text we have not yet confirmed. Do not rely on it alone.
These are Staffroom24's checking standards and where each rule comes from. They are not legal advice. How a rule applies to a particular candidate, and whether to place them, is the agency's decision, with its own adviser.
Identity and right to work
Who the candidate is, and whether they may work in the United Kingdom. Both are settled before anything else is relied on.
Before a candidate is put forward, the agency confirms who they are, that they have the experience, training and qualifications the role needs and any authorisation the law requires, and that they are willing to do the work.
We confirm the candidate's identity, record their qualifications and right to work, and ask on their form which type of work they will take.
Law · Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003, regulation 19
Before a candidate is placed, the agency holds a registration interview with them, face to face or by good-quality video, checks their original documents for legitimacy, and keeps dated notes signed and dated by the interviewer and the candidate, or the candidate's email approval of the notes, or the recording of the interview.
Our ten-minute ID interview is an identity check, not a registration interview: the candidate holds their photographic identity document to the camera and we check it against the copy they sent. Your agency holds the registration interview itself, and records on the candidate's record the day, who held it, how it was held and how the candidate approved the notes, with the signed document or the approval if you attach it. It never holds up our clearance, and on a cleared file it is shown as yours to do until it is recorded.
APSCo standard, will or must · APSCo Compliance+ Education version 14, requirement 3
Identity is verified before an Enhanced DBS with children's barred list application goes in, by one of the routes in the Disclosure and Barring Service's identity checking guidelines. Digital identity through a certified provider is encouraged, and where the digital check fails the identity is checked by hand instead.
We confirm identity online through a certified identity service provider where we can, or on a video call against the documents the candidate sent, or from the originals in person. The person who checks is never the candidate.
Statutory guidance, must · Disclosure and Barring Service identity checking guidelines of 22 April 2025, under the code of practice issued under section 122 of the Police Act 1997
For compliance review: Whether the later change to address checking took effect in October 2025 or October 2026 is unresolved.
Original photographic identity, such as a passport or a driving licence photocard, is seen, and the copy is validated, signed and dated by whoever checked it. Identity technology is accepted where the provider is government certified and gives a plain pass or fail.
We record the certified digital ID check through Quicker DBS: whether it passed, failed or could not read the document, the day, and Quicker DBS's reference and printable result where there are any. Every candidate also has our ten-minute ID interview, where we check them against their photographic identity document. For an agency that holds APSCo Compliance+, where the digital check could not be used, we tell the agency once the candidate is cleared to work to have the original photographic identity document seen on their first day, by asking its school. We never contact the school. Every copy on the file carries the name of the person who checked it and the date. A photo of a photo is never accepted.
APSCo standard, will or must · APSCo Compliance+ Education version 14, requirement 6
Two proofs of address from the Disclosure and Barring Service's document lists 2a and 2b, both at the same address. One is enough only where two are not possible, and never the document already used for identity.
We ask for two proofs of address, and take one only with the candidate's reason written on the file.
APSCo standard, will or must · APSCo Compliance+ Education version 14, requirement 7
The right to work is checked before work starts, by one of three routes: a manual check of the original document held in the hand, a Home Office online check by share code, or a check through a Right to Work digital verification service provider for a British or Irish passport. On every route somebody confirms the person is the one in the document.
A British or Irish passport is checked through a certified provider where we can, or seen in person. A share code is checked by one of us on the Home Office online service. Everybody else has their original documents checked in person. The route is recorded on the file.
Law · Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006, with the Home Office Employer's guide to right to work checks of 1 October 2026
For compliance review: The Home Office guide of 1 October 2026 was read only for its title and date. Its lists of documents and its retention period need reading from source.
The agency, as the employment business that engages the candidate, holds the statutory excuse against a civil penalty for illegal working. Another organisation can carry out the check for it.
We carry out and record the right to work check to the prescribed standard for you. The statutory excuse stays with your agency.
Law · Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006, with the Home Office Employer's guide to right to work checks of 1 October 2026
For compliance review: The Home Office guide's wording on delegating checks, as clarified for 1 October 2026, has not been read. Until it has, nothing here should be read as Staffroom24 taking on the agency's liability.
The agency sees the original right to work documents or uses a certified provider, and the copy is validated, signed and dated.
The right to work evidence is held on the file with the route, the date and who checked it.
APSCo standard, will or must · APSCo Compliance+ Education version 14, requirement 8
The Enhanced DBS with children's barred list and the Update Service
The criminal record check from the Disclosure and Barring Service that every school role needs, and the Update Service status checks that keep it current. This is where you choose what happens when a candidate brings a certificate we did not apply for.
A candidate is not placed in a school role until the children's barred list result is on file.
A file cannot be marked cleared without the Enhanced DBS with children's barred list on it.
Statutory guidance, must · Keeping Children Safe in Education 2026, statutory guidance in force from 1 September 2026. Also in Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006
Paid work in a school, done often and with the chance of contact with children, is regulated activity, so an Enhanced certificate with the children's barred list may be asked for. The application names the Enhanced level, the child workforce, the children's barred list and the actual position.
Every application is for the Enhanced level with the children's barred list, for the child workforce. A certificate for the adult workforce, or one without the children's barred list, is never treated as a substitute.
Law · Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006. Also in Police Act 1997; Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 Exceptions Order 1975
For compliance review: The legal chain from Schedule 4 of the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 through the Exceptions Order to the Police Act 1997 comes from recollection and has not been re-read.
A status check on the Update Service needs the organisation to be entitled to the check and to have the candidate's consent.
The candidate gives consent on their form to the status being checked now and every 12 weeks while they are registered. Every check is recorded with the date, who ran it and the result. A result of no longer current is never shown as cleared: a person applies again.
Statutory guidance, must · Disclosure and Barring Service Update Service guidance
For compliance review: Whether one consent can stand for repeated status checks, and what changed in the employer guide on 5 October 2026, have not been confirmed.
A new Enhanced DBS with children's barred list for every candidate, with the original certificate seen. Where the certificate is not from a new application, an Update Service check is made as well.
We apply for a new certificate unless the candidate holds one that is the right level, workforce and barred list and is on the Update Service. Then its status is checked instead and nothing is applied for or charged. We see a photograph of the certificate, both pages, and record it as a photograph, never as the original. An agency that holds APSCo Compliance+ sees the original paper certificate itself before the first placement, not over video, if it chooses to, and records on the candidate's record the day and who saw it, or that it chose not to check it.
APSCo standard, will or must · APSCo Compliance+ Education version 14, requirement 13.1 and 13.3
Where a candidate brings a certificate another organisation applied for, APSCo asks the agency to see the physical original, tell the school before placing them, and start a new Enhanced DBS with children's barred list application at once. A copy seen over video is not enough.
An agency that holds APSCo Compliance+ starts a new application at once for every certificate not applied for for it, one we applied for a different agency included, and that stays on while it holds APSCo Compliance+. It sees the paper certificate itself if it chooses to. For every other agency, whether a new application is started at once is its setting. Left off, the certificate is accepted on a photograph of it and a clear Update Service status check, while it is Enhanced, for the child workforce with the children's barred list, and its Update Service subscription is current. Either way you are told so you can tell your school.
APSCo standard, will or must · APSCo Compliance+ Education version 14, requirement 13.2. Also in Disclosure and Barring Service Update Service guidance
Where the candidate is on the Update Service, their status is checked regularly, such as every 12 weeks, and each check is recorded with the date and who made it. This is APSCo's standard, not the law.
We run the status check every 12 weeks on every file that can be placed, whether or not you keep the file up to date with us. Nothing is charged for it.
APSCo standard, should · APSCo Compliance+ Education version 14, requirement 13.3
A certificate whose holder is not on the Update Service may be relied on for 12 months, then a new check is started.
The file shows the 12 months running and falls due for a new application at the end of them.
APSCo standard, will or must · APSCo Compliance+ Education version 14, requirement 13.3
Anybody who has lived or worked outside the United Kingdom has the same checks as everybody else, the Enhanced DBS with children's barred list included, and any further checks the school considers appropriate. The guidance leaves the threshold for those further checks to judgement.
We apply APSCo's threshold, below, as our own standard, never as the law.
Statutory guidance, must · Keeping Children Safe in Education 2026, statutory guidance in force from 1 September 2026
A candidate who has lived or worked overseas for six months or more in the last five years, while aged 18 or over, has an overseas police check, verified as original, with the copy signed and dated. Where one cannot be obtained, a full professional reference may be accepted instead, with full disclosure to the school.
We work out from the employment history which countries need a check: each country lived or worked in for six months or more in the last five years since the age of 18, and every country in any unbroken time abroad that long. Each certificate is recorded with when it was issued, whether it is in English or translated, and how it was checked.
APSCo standard, will or must · APSCo Compliance+ Education version 14, requirement 14
Anything learned about a candidate's Disclosure and Barring Service status is acted on, and if it arrives after they have started, the school is told at once of any change to their suitability.
You are told, in words you can forward to your school. Telling the school is yours.
APSCo standard, will or must · APSCo Compliance+ Education version 14, requirement 13.4
When a rule cannot be met in full
- A certificate we did not apply for: your settingOff, the default: a certificate somebody else applied for is accepted after a clear Update Service status check, on a photograph of it, where it is Enhanced, for the child workforce with the children's barred list, and its Update Service subscription is current, and you are told so you can tell your school. A lapsed subscription means a new application. On: a new Enhanced DBS with children's barred list application is started at once, at the standard fee, charged when the application is made. An agency that holds APSCo Compliance+ has it on, and it stays on while the agency holds it, counting a certificate we applied for a different agency as a third party's too. You choose it on the walk-through and change it in Settings, Checks.
- An overseas police check that cannot be obtainedWhere a country's police check cannot be obtained, we write down what was tried and what was done instead, normally a full professional reference, and an Admin signs it off. You are told in words you can forward, because APSCo accepts a professional reference in its place only with full disclosure to your school.
References and work history
Two written references from people who are not relatives, a full work history with every long gap explained, and what happens when a reference cannot be obtained.
Two references from people who are not relatives of the candidate, who have agreed their reference may be shown to the school, with copies of the candidate's relevant qualifications, and copies of both offered to the school.
Every file needs two written references before it is cleared, and each referee signs that a school may rely on what they wrote.
Law · Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003, regulation 22
For compliance review: The full text of regulation 22 and Schedule 4 still needs reading from source: the extract the research saw was jumbled.
Where the agency cannot get everything regulation 22 asks for, it may go ahead only as far as it can, and must tell the school that it could not comply in full and what steps it took.
A file is never cleared on a bare one reference only. Where a reference cannot be obtained, the attempts are written on the file and you are told in words you can forward.
Law · Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003, regulation 22, paragraphs 3 and 6
References come directly from the referee, and open references such as a letter to whom it may concern are not relied on.
Each referee answers on their own signed link from us. A testimonial is never accepted as a reference.
Statutory guidance, should · Keeping Children Safe in Education 2026, statutory guidance in force from 1 September 2026
For compliance review: Graded on the consultation draft. The final 2026 text has not been read.
The referee is asked whether they are satisfied the candidate is suitable to work with children, and about substantiated allegations and child safety disciplinary matters. The reference is checked against the application, and one from a personal email address is verified.
The reference form asks about child protection and safeguarding concerns, and about disciplinary procedures or allegations relating to children. A reference that raises anything is read by a person before it counts. We ask for each referee's work email first. One from a personal email address counts only once the referee's organisation has confirmed in writing that they work or worked there and that the address is theirs, and that proof is on the file. It is never accepted automatically.
Statutory guidance, should · Keeping Children Safe in Education 2026, statutory guidance in force from 1 September 2026
For compliance review: These expectations come from earlier editions as researchers recalled them, not from the 2026 text.
At least two written professional references, including the most recent work, covering 24 months of actual work. Time between jobs does not count towards the 24 months.
We count the months each reference covers, and ask for more referees until the written references cover 24 months of work.
APSCo standard, will or must · APSCo Compliance+ Education version 14, requirement 15
Where a candidate starts before the second written reference arrives, one verbal reference is taken before they start, and the written one follows within 15 days of the start.
A reference taken by telephone counts only as that one verbal reference, beside a written one. The written reference is chased with its date on the file.
APSCo standard, will or must · APSCo Compliance+ Education version 14, requirement 15
A reference comes from the referee's organisation, such as a work email address or headed paper, and never a testimonial. It should come from somebody senior, such as a headteacher, or be countersigned by them.
We ask the candidate for each referee's work email first. A reference from a personal email address, or from a work address that does not look like the named organisation's, counts only once the organisation has confirmed in writing, by an email from its own domain, a letter on headed paper or with a stamp and signature, or another document from it, and that proof is on the file for you to open. It is never accepted automatically. Where the referee is not senior, the form asks for the headteacher's countersignature, and where nobody senior can give it the referee says why.
APSCo standard, will or must · APSCo Compliance+ Education version 14, requirement 15
For compliance review: APSCo lists a signature and stamp, headed paper, a fax header, a compliment slip or an email from the referee's organisation. We also take another document from the organisation, which is wider than that list, and the APSCo standard published on 8 October 2026 has not yet been read.
Where the candidate's recent work did not involve children, references are also taken from the last two roles that did.
The candidate names those referees on their form. Each stays open on the file until the reference is in or is closed as could not be obtained.
APSCo standard, will or must · APSCo Compliance+ Education version 14, requirement 15
Where the candidate has never worked with children, more than two references should be sought from organisations in their work history.
The candidate is asked for a third referee.
APSCo standard, should · APSCo Compliance+ Education version 14, requirement 15
In exceptional circumstances, where references cannot be obtained, the agency tells the school and gathers whatever other information it can, with proof of the attempts made.
The attempts are on the chase log, and you are told by email in words you can forward.
APSCo standard, will or must · APSCo Compliance+ Education version 14, requirement 15
A full work history back to the end of compulsory education, on an application form rather than a CV, with every gap of 12 weeks or more explained by the candidate and verified.
The candidate fills in the history on their own form. Every gap is explained, and each of 12 weeks or more is verified.
APSCo standard, will or must · APSCo Compliance+ Education version 14, requirement 4. Also in APSCo Compliance+ Education version 14, requirement 2
Where a gap cannot be verified independently, a personal reference explaining it from a professional who is not related to the candidate and has known them for at least three years.
The candidate can name a professional personal referee for a gap, and the reference form asks how long they have known the candidate.
APSCo standard, will or must · APSCo Compliance+ Education version 14, requirement 4
When a rule cannot be met in full
- One written reference, signed off by an AdminWhere a second written reference cannot be obtained after the attempts, an Admin at Staffroom24 may sign the file off on one written reference. The steps taken are written down, and you are told in words you can forward, because your school has to be told that the references could not be obtained in full and what was done instead. Whether to place the candidate is your decision.
- A reference that cannot be obtained, with you toldA member of staff can close an extra reference as could not be obtained once the chase log shows at least two attempts, such as the request and a reminder, a call, or the candidate asked for somebody else. The reason and the attempts are written on the file, and you are told by email in words you can forward to your school. A closed reference never counts as one of the two written references or towards the 24 months.
- A third referee, as best effortWhere none of the candidate's work has involved children, APSCo says more than two references should be sought, so the candidate is asked for a third referee. A candidate who cannot name one types a short reason and carries on. It never holds the file once two referees, one of them professional, cover 24 months of work, and the reason is on the References tab for you to read.
Teacher checks
The prohibition from teaching check, qualified teacher status and induction, and the checks that apply only to some roles.
Anybody doing teaching work is checked for a prohibition from teaching before they are placed, on the Department for Education's Check a teacher's record service. A qualified teacher status check does not show a prohibition, so the two are separate.
The check follows the person, not the job title: anybody who holds or has applied for qualified teacher status, or gave a teacher reference number, is checked, and so is every role that does teaching work. The check is dated.
Law · Teacher misconduct, the prohibition of teachers, Teaching Regulation Agency guidance. Also in Keeping Children Safe in Education 2026, statutory guidance in force from 1 September 2026
For compliance review: The research treats a prohibition order as law from the Teaching Regulation Agency's guidance, and does not name the Act behind it. That needs confirming from source.
For every qualified teacher, an online check of qualified teacher status, any restriction or prohibition, and induction, recorded with the date. A teacher qualified since 8 May 1999 has completed induction or is working within the rules for supply.
The record shows qualified teacher status, any restriction and induction separately, with the date of the check.
APSCo standard, will or must · APSCo Compliance+ Education version 14, requirement 11 and 12A
A teacher trained outside the European Economic Area, Switzerland, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States provides a letter of professional standing from the regulator where they worked, and their four-year rule status is recorded. A teacher trained in those countries shows their application for qualified teacher status, and the award within 12 weeks, before a qualified teaching role.
The candidate's form asks where they trained, and the right evidence is asked for from what they say.
APSCo standard, will or must · APSCo Compliance+ Education version 14, requirement 17 and 18
For compliance review: The Department for Education's own wording on letters of professional standing is disputed between sources.
A section 128 direction bars a person from managing an independent school, an academy or a free school. It is checked for management roles such as an interim headteacher.
Checked where the role is a management one. Otherwise the file says not required, with the reason, so the school can see it was considered.
Law · Education and Skills Act 2008, section 128. Also in APSCo Compliance+ Education version 14, requirement 12C
Childcare disqualification applies only to staff in early years provision, including reception, or in wraparound care for children under eight. Disqualification by association no longer applies in schools, so household questions are not asked.
Every candidate answers the childcare disqualification question about themselves on their signed declaration. Nobody is asked about their household.
Law · Childcare Act 2006, with the Childcare Disqualification Regulations 2018. Also in APSCo Compliance+ Education version 14, requirement 12B
For compliance review: The Department for Education's guidance on this dates from 2018, and whether it has been revised since is unknown.
The original qualifications the role legally needs are seen, teaching assistant roles included, and copies are kept.
Certificates are seen and recorded against the requirements of the role. Offering copies to your school is yours, under regulation 22.
APSCo standard, will or must · APSCo Compliance+ Education version 14, requirement 10. Also in Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003, regulation 22
Declarations and health
What the candidate declares about convictions and about their health, and when they are asked.
A self-declaration may ask only about convictions and cautions that would not be filtered from a certificate.
The convictions question asks only about what would not be filtered, in APSCo's words.
Law · Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 Exceptions Order 1975
The candidate signs and dates a yes or no answer to: Do you have any convictions, or any pending convictions, cautions, reprimands or final warnings, which would not be filtered in line with current guidance? A yes is followed up in writing.
Asked in those words on the signed declaration. A yes is read by a person here, who asks for the details in writing.
APSCo standard, will or must · APSCo Compliance+ Education version 14, requirement 5
Teaching, and other work in regular contact with pupils, may be done only by somebody with the health and physical capacity for it.
The candidate declares their capacity for the work on their signed declaration. A yes is read by a person here.
Law · Education Health Standards England Regulations 2003, regulation 6. Also in Keeping Children Safe in Education 2026, statutory guidance in force from 1 September 2026
Health questions wait until after an offer. For an agency, that is once the candidate is accepted onto its books, not before.
The health declaration is part of the declaration signed after the candidate is on your books, and asks only about capacity for the role.
Law · Equality Act 2010, section 60
A signed declaration of physical and health capacity to work, every year.
The candidate signs it with their declaration, and is asked to sign again every year while registered.
APSCo standard, will or must · APSCo Compliance+ Education version 14, requirement 16
Training
The safeguarding training every candidate holds before a placement, and the courses that sit beside it.
Every candidate has done safeguarding training within the 12 months before a placement, and the certificate is seen.
A candidate without a current certificate takes our safeguarding course, valid for 12 months, and the renewal is tracked on the file.
APSCo standard, will or must · APSCo Compliance+ Education version 14, requirement 26A
Candidates on assignment know their safeguarding obligations, the duty to report female genital mutilation, and the Prevent duty. APSCo adds that, as best practice, Prevent and female genital mutilation training should be done every 12 months.
The Prevent duty course is open to every candidate on their own pages. The safeguarding course covers safeguarding obligations.
APSCo standard, will or must · APSCo Compliance+ Education version 14, requirement 26B
For compliance review: Whether our safeguarding course covers the duty to report female genital mutilation in the depth APSCo expects has not been checked.
Schools must have an allergy safety policy, and the Department for Education's guidance expects all staff to be trained. The duty sits with the school. For agency staff it is expected by statutory guidance, not a legal requirement on the agency.
A candidate without a certificate takes our allergy and anaphylaxis awareness course, and the date is on the file so your school can count them in its all staff training.
Statutory guidance, should · Allergy safety in schools, Department for Education statutory guidance of 6 July 2026. Also in Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, section 34
For compliance review: Sources disagree on whether training and spare adrenaline auto-injectors are already legal duties or wait for regulations.
Keeping files current
What happens after a file is cleared: the checks that fall due again, the breaks that start checks over, and what your school is told.
A school must have written notification from the agency that the checks it would otherwise make have been made. For supply staff the school's Single Central Record notes that confirmation, the date it arrived and whether an Enhanced DBS with children's barred list certificate was provided.
You may work a candidate once every statutory check is done, or choose to wait until every check on our standard is done. We keep finishing the rest of our standard either way. The pack you send is your written notification: it lists the statutory checks, each with its date and the evidence held, and the candidate's photograph for the school's own arrival check. A pack sent before the rest of our standard is finished lists those checks alone. You send it to your school. Staffroom24 never sends anything to a school.
Statutory guidance, must · Keeping Children Safe in Education 2026, statutory guidance in force from 1 September 2026
For compliance review: Graded on the consultation draft. The final 2026 wording has not been read.
After a break of more than 12 weeks since the candidate last worked through the agency, a new Enhanced DBS with children's barred list application is started at once and the registration details are confirmed as still valid.
You record the last day the candidate worked for you. More than 12 weeks after that and the clearance, the file falls due for a new application, and the candidate confirms their registration.
APSCo standard, will or must · APSCo Compliance+ Education version 14, requirement 2 and 13.3
Every 12 months the agency reviews the candidate's registration details and renews anything that needs it.
The 12-month registration review falls due on every file that can be placed. The candidate confirms their details and a person here records what was looked at.
APSCo standard, should · APSCo Compliance+ Education version 14, requirement 2
The agency can show there are no active restrictions or prohibitions against a teacher throughout the placement.
On every file that can still be placed, the prohibition from teaching check is run again every 12 weeks, whether or not you keep the file up to date with us. It costs nothing extra.
APSCo standard, will or must · APSCo Compliance+ Education version 14, requirement 12A
Where the candidate's permission to work runs out on a date, a follow-up check is made before it does.
On every file that can still be placed, the follow-up date is set from the day permission ends and we recheck the right to work before then, whether or not you keep the file up to date with us. It costs nothing extra.
Statutory guidance, must · Home Office Employer's guide to right to work checks of 1 October 2026. Also in APSCo Compliance+ Education version 14, requirement 8
Where an agency comes to a reasonable belief that a candidate is unsuitable, it tells the school and ends the assignment without delay.
Anything we learn that bears on suitability is passed to you. Telling the school and ending the assignment is yours.
Law · Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003, regulation 20