From 1 April 2021, the Department for Education (DfE) took over the responsibility for hosting the Barred List Checking Service, the replacement system is administered by the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA). The DfE has written to all licence holders and agency bodies to inform them of the changes.

It is important to remind all users that this system should only be used in circumstances where you are not required by law to obtain an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check with barred list information. This includes when the prospective employee has been previously employed in a school in England, in a post which brought them into regular contact with children and ended not more than three months before the person’s appointment.

The service can also be used to undertake a barred list check when, as the employer of a school or college, you are waiting for the return of an Enhanced DBS check and need to engage the individual at short notice.

We appreciate that some schools and colleges may use third party agencies eg HR services and recruitment agencies to undertake pre appointment checks as set out in Part 3 of KCSIE. This arrangement can still happen, but in future because these third parties will no longer have access to the standalone barred list system as they do not fall within the legal requirement, they will need to apply to the DBS for an enhanced certificate with barred list information to determine whether a person is barred, on your behalf.

For full details of the checks that must be carried out on school and college staff, please refer to part three of the DfE’s statutory guidance Keeping children safe in education (This link opens in a new window).

Further information about Disclosure and Barring Service checks can also be viewed on GOV.UK (This link opens in a new window).

If you have any general queries about these changes please contact the DfE at tponline.replacement@education.gov.uk (This link opens in a new window) or if you have any questions about access to the replacement service please contact Employer.Access@education.gov.uk (This link opens in a new window).