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codehamsters.com

Safeguarding

Safer recruitment policy

The checks every tutor passes before they work with children, and how we keep checking afterwards.

All policies and forms

Code Hamsters (Simple Platform Work Limited)
Version 1.0, approved 13 October 2026 by Mathew Long, Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL). Next review: October 2027, or sooner after any incident or change in the law or guidance.

1. Our aim

We only let people work with children if we are satisfied they are safe and suitable to do so. Safer recruitment is how we deter, identify and turn away people who might harm children, and it applies to everyone who works with children for Code Hamsters, paid or unpaid: tutors, volunteers, contractors and our founder.

At present every session is taught by our founder, Mathew Long, who holds an enhanced DBS certificate that parents and carers are welcome to ask to see. This policy applies in full to every person we take on.

2. Advertising and applying

  • Every advert and role description says that we are committed to safeguarding children, that the role involves working with children, and that an enhanced DBS check with a children’s barred list check is required.
  • Applicants complete an application form, not only a CV. It asks for their full education and work history, with any gaps explained, and for two referees.
  • Teaching children is regulated activity, so the role is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. Shortlisted applicants complete a self-declaration of any convictions, cautions and other information that the law allows us to ask about, and confirm they are not barred from working with children.
  • It is a criminal offence for a person who is barred from working with children to apply for this work.

3. Interview

  • Every shortlisted applicant is interviewed, in person or by video, by the Designated Safeguarding Lead.
  • The interview covers the applicant’s motivation for working with children, their understanding of safeguarding and professional boundaries, and how they would respond to a concern.
  • We ask about gaps in history, changes of job and anything in the self-declaration.
  • The applicant teaches a short sample activity so we can see how they work with a group.
  • We keep notes of the interview and the reasons for our decision.

4. Checks before anyone starts

An offer is conditional. Nobody works with children until every one of these checks is complete:

  • Identity: original photo identification and proof of address.
  • Right to work in the UK.
  • Enhanced DBS check with a children’s barred list check. We see the original certificate. We ask tutors to join the DBS Update Service so that, with their consent, we can check their status at any time.
  • Overseas checks for anyone who has lived or worked outside the UK, in line with government guidance.
  • Two written references that we request ourselves, including the most recent employer and, where there is one, the most recent role working with children. We ask each referee directly whether they know of any reason the person should not work with children, and we follow up anything vague or missing by phone.
  • Qualifications that the role relies on.

If a check brings anything to light, the DSL considers how serious and how recent it is and how it relates to the role, talks to the applicant, and records the decision. A conviction does not automatically rule someone out, but we will never appoint a person who is barred from working with children.

5. Induction and probation

Before their first session with children, every tutor:

New tutors work alongside the DSL at first and have a probationary period, with a review before it ends.

6. Keeping checking

  • We check each tutor’s DBS status through the Update Service at least once a year.
  • Tutors renew their safeguarding training at least every year.
  • Tutors must tell us straight away about any arrest, caution, charge, conviction or investigation involving children.
  • If we stop using someone because they have harmed a child or pose a risk of harm, we refer them to the Disclosure and Barring Service, as the law requires.

7. Volunteers, contractors and visitors

  • Volunteers who help regularly or are ever left in charge of children go through the same checks as tutors.
  • Visitors and anyone who has not been checked are never left alone with children. A checked tutor stays with the group at all times.
  • Parents and carers are welcome at the start and end of sessions but do not stay in the room during them.

8. Records

  • We keep a single record for each person showing which checks were done, the date, and who did them. For DBS checks we record the date, the level, the certificate number and the outcome.
  • We do not keep copies of DBS certificates for longer than six months, and we handle them as the DBS code of practice requires.
  • Applications, interview notes and references for people we appoint are kept on their file. For unsuccessful applicants they are destroyed after six months.
  • Recruitment records are stored securely with access limited to the DSL. See our privacy policy.