Background
Due to the data sharing agreement between DfE and the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), we cannot show DBS alerts on a teacher’s record. We can only show prohibitions or restrictions handed down by the TRA.
We wanted to make this clear to users and tell them what to do if they want to check for DBS alerts.
Initial explorations
Adding content to the search page
We considered adding a details component or inset text to the search page saying that:
- the service can only show certain restrictions on a teacher
- the service will not show whether someone is potentially on the children’s barred list
- schools and colleges should use Check the children’s barred list to check for a potential match
Details component
Inset text
Adding an interruption page
We also looked at adding an interruption card after a user signs in showing the same information as above.
In both cases, we felt that the message was not in the right place and too wordy, and too jarring in the case of the interruption card.
Adding a new message to the record page
We worked with policy and project team colleagues to arrive at the following message, which will replace the inset text at the bottom of each record page:
We only show prohibitions and restrictions handed down by the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA). In certain cases, schools and colleges can use the Check the children's barred list service to check for possible matches with the DBS' children's barred list.
The existing inset text says this:
You should review the terms and conditions before printing this page. You should dispose of the offline records you maintain once they have served their purpose.
The latter went through no content design process before it was published. Plus, there is no mention of printing records or disposing of them securely in the terms and conditions, so it is inaccurate.
We also thought that having the message at the top of the page (as we do when someone has a restriction) would feel too prominent, and that users might ignore the following content.
So the message will appear at the bottom of every teacher's record.
A new summary tag
We’re also adding a new summary tag saying ‘No TRA restrictions’ if someone has a DBS alert but no TRA restrictions.
