Security and safeguarding

Bringing people into your premises is always a stressful activity. Especially when cleaning teams are often an ‘unseen service’, arriving out of hours to perform their role. It can be hard to trust the security of your property, information and even the whole building to somebody unknown. Add in the complexity of a school environment and the whole topic of security and safeguarding becomes highly charged.

One of the benefits of hiring a contractor should be that they undertake the necessary work to supply trusted individuals, but how do you know for sure that the right people are in your environment?

As a systems-led company, we ensure we have effective procedures in place for how we do things. Security vetting is no exception.

We ensure that all our staff, from directors to cleaners, and whether recruited by us or taken over on a contract, have the legal entitlement to work in the UK.

Our starting point for checks is to ensure that all applicants provide photographic ID with a machine readable zone (MRZ). Our most basic check, therefore, is to visually match the photo with the applicant. As obvious as this sounds, a surprising number of employers do not insist on this basic level of inspection. We have to be certain of who we are employing in order to protect your business.

Once the candidate has successfully passed our initial verification, we require them, where applicable, to complete a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) Enhanced Disclosure Application.

We will review the application examine this and submit an online DBS request to check the candidate against the Police National Computer, local police records and several other government databases.

This express service ensures a rapid turnaround, minimising the length of time the individual – having passed our initial vetting – could work on-site under close supervision, while awaiting their DBS certificate.

In addition, each employee is issued a copy of our safeguarding policy and instructions upon joining. At induction, attention is drawn to the policy and guidance given on how it will affect their working role.

Employees working within schools and educational settings receive safeguarding awareness training aligned with the principles of Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE). This training helps staff understand their safeguarding responsibilities, recognise potential concerns, maintain appropriate professional boundaries and follow the correct reporting procedures where necessary.

In school and other sensitive environments, our safeguarding measures are designed to minimise risk and support the welfare of pupils and vulnerable adults. Depending on the nature of the contract, these measures may include avoiding unnecessary contact with pupils, supervised access where appropriate, adherence to a professional code of conduct, agreed working hours, the wearing of company identification and uniform, and the completion of enhanced DBS checks.

In this way, we ensure that each employee is fully checked for their identity, eligibility and suitability to work, and is fully aware of their safeguarding obligations and responsibilities. Combined with our safeguarding training, operational controls and ongoing supervision, this helps create a safe, secure and compliant environment for pupils, staff, visitors and clients across every contract we manage, with the highest standards of protection and security applied at all times.