Career in education

MovingForwards

AskAsk said:

Marcon said:

TCPPC said:

That is harsh, and it puts that candidate in a difficult place now. Stupid policy

It's called child protection. If you think that's a stupid policy, are you sure working in a school is for you?

they don't want to waste time interviewing candidates who can not get a reference, so they ask for the reference first.  most employers will ask for a referee on their application form, but they don't take the reference until you have been offered the job.

to start teaching, i think you also have to get CRB checked, which i assume will be done when you have been offered a job?

OP isn't teaching, but looking to work in a school.

TCPPC

Agree with child protection etc, that’s why you have a thing called conditional offer subject to reference. Imagine in this current climate, no job offer and your employer knows you are looking to leave. Who would they get rid of first? 

AskAsk

MovingForwards said:

AskAsk said:

Marcon said:

TCPPC said:

That is harsh, and it puts that candidate in a difficult place now. Stupid policy

It's called child protection. If you think that's a stupid policy, are you sure working in a school is for you?

they don't want to waste time interviewing candidates who can not get a reference, so they ask for the reference first.  most employers will ask for a referee on their application form, but they don't take the reference until you have been offered the job.

to start teaching, i think you also have to get CRB checked, which i assume will be done when you have been offered a job?

OP isn't teaching, but looking to work in a school.

i believe that anyone working in the school would need to go through the same referencing process whether they are a teacher or a cook.  they are all going to be in contact with the children so i would expect the same scrutiny on all staff at the school?

AskAsk

TCPPC said:

Agree with child protection etc, that’s why you have a thing called conditional offer subject to reference. Imagine in this current climate, no job offer and your employer knows you are looking to leave. Who would they get rid of first? 

yes, in a way it is not the normal process as you are not supposed to alert your existing employer to the fact that you are looking to leave, but i think at the initial stage are they asking for a personal reference rather than an employer reference?

Mrsn

AskAsk said:

MovingForwards said:

AskAsk said:

Marcon said:

TCPPC said:

That is harsh, and it puts that candidate in a difficult place now. Stupid policy

It's called child protection. If you think that's a stupid policy, are you sure working in a school is for you?

they don't want to waste time interviewing candidates who can not get a reference, so they ask for the reference first.  most employers will ask for a referee on their application form, but they don't take the reference until you have been offered the job.

to start teaching, i think you also have to get CRB checked, which i assume will be done when you have been offered a job?

OP isn't teaching, but looking to work in a school.

i believe that anyone working in the school would need to go through the same referencing process whether they are a teacher or a cook.  they are all going to be in contact with the children so i would expect the same scrutiny on all staff at the school?

This is correct. Even those who volunteer at schools are still subject to the same process.

AskAsk

Mrsn said:

AskAsk said:

MovingForwards said:

AskAsk said:

Marcon said:

TCPPC said:

That is harsh, and it puts that candidate in a difficult place now. Stupid policy

It's called child protection. If you think that's a stupid policy, are you sure working in a school is for you?

they don't want to waste time interviewing candidates who can not get a reference, so they ask for the reference first.  most employers will ask for a referee on their application form, but they don't take the reference until you have been offered the job.

to start teaching, i think you also have to get CRB checked, which i assume will be done when you have been offered a job?

OP isn't teaching, but looking to work in a school.

i believe that anyone working in the school would need to go through the same referencing process whether they are a teacher or a cook.  they are all going to be in contact with the children so i would expect the same scrutiny on all staff at the school?

This is correct. Even those who volunteer at schools are still subject to the same process.

it would make sense that anyone who works at the school and can have contact and influence on the children should be vetted in the same way.

jackieblack

TCPPC said:

Agree with child protection etc, that’s why you have a thing called conditional offer subject to reference. Imagine in this current climate, no job offer and your employer knows you are looking to leave. Who would they get rid of first? 

It would appear that you don’t understand standard procedures in the industry you’ve applied to work in.  It’s part of Safer Recruitment, which schools are legally required to abide by.

I know that the application forms for the Local Authority where I work and the neighbouring county both state that it is normal practice for references to be applied for prior to interview and there is a box to tick to say that you agree to this. I would be surprised if others were not the same.

sammyjammy

AskAsk said:

Marcon said:

TCPPC said:

That is harsh, and it puts that candidate in a difficult place now. Stupid policy

It's called child protection. If you think that's a stupid policy, are you sure working in a school is for you?

they don't want to waste time interviewing candidates who can not get a reference, so they ask for the reference first.  most employers will ask for a referee on their application form, but they don't take the reference until you have been offered the job.

to start teaching, i think you also have to get CRB checked, which i assume will be done when you have been offered a job?

Teachers generally attend interview etc for a whole day and the relevant candidate is offered the job at the end of the day so they have no choice but to request references in advance.

I would say working in a school office doing admin is hard work, they are probably under resourced due to limited funds and the ethos and dynamic will probably depend entirely on who the head is and how they work.