Why we made these changes
As part of migrating Employer Access users to the new service, we heard from the TRA support team that some users:
- did not know what the new service checks for
- were unclear about why some features from Employer Access were missing
- needed help accessing the service
To address these issues, we worked with the DfE Digital Communications team to update the guidance.
What we changed
Who the service checks for
Some users were unsure if they could only use the service to search for teachers:
“Are the below checks only available for qualified teachers or can we check other people within education too, eg teaching assistants, tutors, cover supervisors etc?”
So we updated the content to clarify that the service checks the record of anyone with a teacher reference number (TRN), including:
- teachers
- former teachers
- teaching assistants
- higher-level teaching assistants
Section 128 list
Users wanted to know why they could no longer download the list of people prohibited from managing or governing schools (the section 128 list):
"I am no longer able to access 128 checks and checks for ‘prohibited from profession check’ for Non teachers”
“With the new changes, how do you complete a section 128 check now please?”
This information is already available on GOV.UK, so it was not included as part of Check a teacher's record.
We updated the guidance to explain this and added a link to the relevant page.
Signing in to the service
Some users asked the support team what they needed to access the service:
“I am looking to please obtain a log in for the DfE sign in system so that we can continue to carry out these important checks. Please can you help me?”
So we added a section telling users they need a DfE Sign-in account to access the service, explaining:
- how to get one
- how to check a teacher’s record while they’re waiting for one
Checking the children's barred list
Employer Access allowed users to check the Disclosure and Barring Service’s (DBS) children’s barred list.
However, this feature was removed from Check a teacher’s record as users could see every record with a relevant alert in Employer Access. This risked breaching data privacy regulations.
Some users were confused by this:
“We’ve been using the Beta service before it’s gone live and we like it and have given our testing feedback as well. Of course we still used employer access to check the barred list. However employer access has now ceased and every other route that I’ve tried won’t give us access to the barred list”
We now say that people cannot use the service to check the children’s barred list, and that they should use the standalone service instead.
We also added information about when someone should use the service.
Checking multiple teacher records
Having added bulk search functionality to the service last year, we now tell users they will need the dates of birth and teacher reference numbers for every person whose record they want to check.
Claiming and disowning teachers
Users used to be able to add (‘claim’) or remove (‘disown’) teachers to their organisation in Employer Access, with some thinking it was a legal obligation.
“Normally, the Employer Access allowed us to 'Claim' a teacher once they started their employment with our school. Following the change, I can't see where this option is. Is this no longer a requirement to do or has it been placed somewhere different?”
However, employers are not required to do this as part of their safeguarding obligations, so this capability was not included in Check a teacher’s record.
We now explain that users cannot do this in the new service as there is no need to.
Adding contact details
We’ve added the support team’s contact details to the bottom of the page if users have questions about the service.
What next
We’ll monitor whether these updates improve users’ understanding of the service by tracking the volume of queries to the support team.
If these issues persist, we’ll explore updating the content within the service.
Screenshots
Previous guidance
Updated guidance
