While the title ‘List 99 Check’ is still commonly used here in the UK, the term actually became out of date in 2002 after the list was renamed as the Children’s Barred List.
While the list itself was set up over 80 years ago, it wasn’t until the Education Act of 2002 that the name of the list was changed. The Education Act came in following the UK’s adoption of the Human Rights Act, which introduced the requirement of safeguarding children and young people from neglect or abuse. The new regulations brought about the change of title, from the List 99 check to the Children’s Barred List check.
The Children’s Barred List covers any person who has been known as having relevant convictions or cautions which, when having been assessed by the Disclosure Barring Service, are seen as posing a risk to children. It is therefore against the law for anyone named on this list to be placed in a role that involves working with children.
The list is held under the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act, and maintained by the Disclosure and Barring Service. Once a person is added to this list, they generally remain on there for life.
Why request a Children’s Barred List check?
Essentially if a person is named on the Children’s Barred List then they cannot be employed by any educational establishment. Employers within the teaching and child care profession need to be extra vigilant during any recruitment process to ensure that any potential candidate is not prohibited from working with the young people in their care.
For this reason a List 99 check can give instant peace of mind during the recruitment process. By requesting a search on the Children’s Barred List an employer can gain useful information about whether their potential employee is barred from working with children.
Requests for checks are generally limited to those who are responsible for reviewing the suitability of a person working with children. For example, an education provider or local authority will instigate a check on any new, or existing, staff.
A search of the database should only be carried out for people who will be engaged in regulated activity with children. Children are defined as being ‘a young person below the age of 18’.
Regulated activity is specified as any work or activity that involves close and unsupervised contact with vulnerable groups. Examples of regulated activity include teaching, training, sports coaching or any group where supervising children is required. It is also covers activities performed by individuals carrying out regular care for children, such as health care providers, childminders and foster carers. Driving a vehicle for children and/or vulnerable adults is also counted as regulated activity.
The check itself is not a comprehensive check against the barred list – this would ideally be done via an Enhanced Criminal Record check. However, in cases where time is of the essence and new staff need to be placed quickly, the speed of a Children’s Barred List check means it can be taken in advance of an Enhanced Criminal Record check in order to gain an understanding of whether the potential employee is clear to work with children.
How do you request a Children’s Barred list check?
You can register with us here to create an account for Children’s Barred List checks. The applicants full name and date of birth is required to order the checks. Card payment is requested at the end of the order form.
The standard Children’s Barred List check costs £15.00 inc. VAT. The result is sent out the same day if ordered before 2.30pm Monday to Friday. Orders received after 2.30pm will receive the result the next working day. If you order a Fast Track Children’s Barred List Check the result will be sent out in under one hour and costs £18.00 inc. VAT.
Despite the current situation with Covid-19 affecting many UK businesses, the Children’s Barred List checks haven’t been affected and turnaround times remain as fast as ever.
Is a Prohibition Check the same as a Children’s Barred List check?
While it’s easy to see how these two checks may be confused, the Prohibition of Teaching Check is a separate check of its own, and is usually undertaken as part of a safer recruitment process for teachers and teaching staff, where a number of checks need to be completed for anyone who carries out teaching work.
The Prohibition of Teaching list is one that names teachers, and others, who are prohibited from the teaching profession or General Teaching Council for England, as well as teachers who have failed induction or probation.
As the title suggests, the Prohibition checks are done to ensure the teacher in question in not prohibited from teaching. It is kept and maintained in accordance with the ‘Keeping Children safe in Education’ guidance by the Department for Education.