What role do online searches play in the recruitment process?

Schools have a responsibility to safeguard their students - how can they use online searches to proactively identify unsuitable candidates in their recruitment processes?

The latest version of the statutory guidance for Keeping Children Safe in Education came into effect in September 2022 and introduced a new requirement for schools to consider carrying out online searches for shortlisted candidates. Whilst employers have been checking the online and social media presence of candidates for some time, for many schools this may be an entirely new step in the recruitment process. To get started, schools can use the following guidance.

WHAT SHOULD SCHOOLS LOOK FOR?

Online searches are not a requirement, but they can develop a school’s safeguarding process by identifying incidents, or information posted online, that might indicate a candidate as unsuitable to work with children. This could include:

● Offensive or inappropriate behaviour or language.

● Drug or alcohol misuse.

● Inappropriate images.

● Discriminatory behaviour.

● Any other information that may raise concern as to a candidate’s suitability to work with children.

WHEN SHOULD THE SEARCHES BE COMPLETED AND WHO SHOULD DO THIS?

The guidance states that online searches should only be carried out as part of the shortlisting stage of the recruitment process. It should be completed before an interview in order to identify any information or incidents that need to be raised with the candidate.

The process should be carried by a member of staff not directly involved in the recruitment process to avoid bias. Alternatively, schools can use digital onboarding platforms to carry out these searches.

WHERE SHOULD SCHOOLS LOOK, AND HOW FAR BACK SHOULD THEY GO?

There is no direct guidance for where schools should look and how far back in time they should go, but it is a good idea for schools to look for information that is publicly available online. A starting point could be searching the applicant’s name on a recognised search engine, followed by a review of social media sites.

Schools should develop their own process for online searches, including which sites they search and how far back in time they will go. This could be influenced by the number of previous roles the candidate has had, and how they were employed in those roles. Clearly defined parameters must be set out to ensure a consistent approach is taken for all candidates.

HOW SHOULD THE INFORMATION BE STORED?

The information that is found through online searches should be used in the same way as any other information gathered in the recruitment process. It should be reviewed and explored with the candidate at interview if this is deemed necessary. The information should also be retained on the candidate’s file, along with records of discussions and decisions made in respect to it. Data relating to online search criteria, results of searches and decisions relating to this data should be held securely and confidentially with other data collected during the recruitment process.

Whilst online searches do not have to be recorded on the School Central Record (SCR), schools may choose to include them in the SCR to ensure all the documents used in the recruitment process are in one place.

For candidates where the online searches did not reveal any relevant information, a note of this should be made on the candidate’s file along with the search criteria used, the name of the staff member who carried out the search and the date of that search. It is not necessary to retain any search results in these circumstances.