Safeguarding and Recruitment Policies
St Dunstan’s is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people, and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Applicants will be required to undergo child protection screening appropriate to the post, including checks with past employers and the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). We may carry out online searches on shortlisted applicants and all applicants will be required to provide details of their online profile, including social media accounts, as part of their application.
In view of the fact that all positions within the St Dunstan’s will amount to "regulated positions", all shortlisted candidates for employment must declare all unspent convictions and cautions and all spent convictions and adult cautions (except those which are “protected”* as defined in the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2013 and amended in 2020). A failure to disclose a conviction or caution which you are required to disclose may lead to an application being rejected or, if the failure is discovered after employment has started, may lead to summary dismissal on the grounds of gross misconduct. A failure to disclose a previous conviction may also amount to a criminal offence.
*The amendments to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (2013 and 2020) provides that when applying for certain jobs and activities, certain convictions and cautions are considered ‘protected’. This means that they do not need to be disclosed to employers, and if they are disclosed, employers cannot take them into account. Guidance about whether a conviction or caution should be disclosed can be found on the Ministry of Justice website.