The Ofsted-Ready Single Central Record Checklist

1. Children's homes: the records you must hold for every worker

Under the Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015 (Regulation 32 and Schedule 2), you must obtain and keep the following before a person begins work. Tick each off per staff member.

• Proof of identity, including a recent photograph.
• Enhanced DBS certificate including a check of the children's barred list (children's home work is regulated activity). Record the certificate number and issue date.
• Two written references, including one from the person's most recent employer.
• Verification of why a previous role ended (so far as reasonably practicable) where the person previously worked with children or vulnerable adults.
• Documentary evidence of relevant qualifications.
• A full employment history, with a satisfactory written explanation of any gaps.

Related legal requirements to record alongside Schedule 2

• Right to work in the UK (Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006).
• Mental and physical fitness for the role (Regulation 32).
• Overseas checks: a certificate of good conduct / additional checks where the person has lived or worked outside the UK.
• Professional registration where relevant to the role (e.g. Social Work England for social workers).

2. Residential special schools & colleges: the KCSIE single central record

If your setting is a school or college (including residential special schools), Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) requires a single central record. For each person, record whether the check was done, the date it was completed, and who completed it:

• Identity check
• Barred list check
• Enhanced DBS check (certificate number & date)
• Prohibition from teaching check (for those in teaching roles)
• Section 128 direction check (management roles in independent schools, academies and free schools)
• Right to work in the UK
• Further checks for anyone who has lived or worked outside the UK
• Check of professional qualifications where required (e.g. QTS)

3. For every entry, make sure you can show

• The date each check was completed and who carried it out.
• The DBS certificate number and issue date, plus your position on DBS currency (update service, or a risk assessment where a certificate pre-dates employment).
• That the record is a single, up-to-date document, not scattered across individual staff files.

4. Who must be on the record

• All staff working with children.
• Agency, supply and contractor staff engaged in regulated activity (a common inspection gap).
• Volunteers, as appropriate to their role.
• The registered manager and responsible individual, and directors/trustees where they engage in regulated activity.

5. Common reasons an SCR gets flagged at inspection

• Missing "date completed" or "checked by" against entries.
• Agency, supply or contractor staff omitted from the record.
• References not verified, not from the most recent employer, or open "to whom it may concern" references accepted.
• Gaps in employment history not explored or explained.
• Overseas checks missing for staff who have lived or worked abroad.
• Right-to-work evidence missing.
• No oversight of DBS currency and no renewal/risk-assessment policy.
• The record not kept up to date between inspections.

Sources & further reading

• Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015, Schedule 2 (and Regulation 32, fitness of workers)
• Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations including the quality standards
• Keeping Children Safe in Education (statutory guidance)
• Ofsted: Social Care Common Inspection Framework (SCCIF), children's homes
• Fostering agencies: Fostering Services (England) Regulations 2011, Schedule 1 sets out equivalent checks.