Woukd you want me as a teacher

[user1494615613]

Hi,
I will try to keep this as brief as possible but hopefully share everything to prevent drip feeding.
I am seriously considering applying for a pgce in primary school education. I meet all of the academic qualifications , am a good parent and have been told I would be a good teacher.
The stumbling block is that I don't have a clear crb check. 19 years ago I was involved in an abusive relationship and unknown to me they were taking things from work ( we worked together) and they were using my id. I have a conviction for theft which will show on their checks.
It has taken me years to rebuild my life and at the grand old age of 42 I think im finally brave enough to try and follow my dream.
If you worked in a school; would you consider me or am I forever screwed?

If it's over twenty years ago then the conviction is spent and won't show up on a basic check, which as far as I know is all that's done for a teaching post in most cases. As a parent I couldn't care less about a twenty year old theft conviction (not that I'd know about it). If only be interested in your teaching ability and pastoral care

It's a spent conviction for a crime that doesn't suggest you'll be a risk to children.

I wouldn't have a problem with it.

I thought it was an enhanced check for teachers? (I left teaching as they came in, so really don’t remember).

I'm a (secondary) school governor and often on interview panels for teachers. If you applied for a position at our school, then by the time you were called for interview, the Head would have already spoken to your referees and have formed a preliminary (private) impression on the strength of your application. As one of the 3-4 panellists I would then see your application form. On there would be a tick in the box for previous convictions, but I wouldn't know anything more and so wouldn't take a particular view. I would judge you on the basis of your application and interview (which for our school would include a lesson observation and a written exercise as well as a panel interview). If you were successful at interview, the headteacher would have a quiet word with you about the tick in the conviction box before deciding whether to offer you the role. This is your opportunity to lay your cards on the table - if you are otherwise a strong candidate, and you are honest about what happened, then my best guess is that it wouldn't be a barrier. At that point, If you were offered the job and accepted, then your DBS certificate would also be checked (though of course it shouldn't contain any surprises by that point).

So, in summary, no, if what you have said is true, and you are otherwise a good teacher, it shouldn't be an issue.

It is an enhanced check for teachers. I don’t know whether that would show up (and in my opinion it shouldn’t) but if it does it’s irrelevant whether people would want you to teach their children. No clean CRB, no teaching job. You need to ask someone who would know - university, maybe?

I mean DBS, not CRB, obvs. Been doing this so long I forget what we are on now...

You would have an enhanced dbs check as a teacher so this would show up. These are taken up after a job offer is made, so you would need to be upfront if you are offered a post and disclose it there. This will give you an opportunity to explain the situation and then it would be at the schools discretion.

Sounds like you have done everything you can to rebuild your life so don’t let this stop you now.

Fine by me. It doesn’t suggest you are a risk to children or currently dishonest. However, I would want a slightly more detailed explanation than you have given here of how you came to be convicted for a theft you didn’t commit.

It’s an enhanced check for teachers, which will show any unspent convictions. Spent convictions also show, except those eligible for filtering which includes theft without violence.

So assuming this covers your case, it shouldn’t show up.

No clean CRB, no teaching job.

This isn’t true. A clean DBS check isn’t required. The HT can use their discretion in cases like these.

Thank you for your replies. It is an enhanced dbs check.
I have contacted local universities and they can only tell me that I would be accepted to do the pgce as it's not related to the harm of children/vulnerable people. The issue for me is I want employment afterwards there is no point in training if i have no hope of using the qualification.

The PGCE will have some time in schools. I’d suggest that if the provider thought it would be an issue, they’d tell you.

But as I said, if it’s a spent convictions for theft with no violence it should not appear on an enhanced DBS.

Although reading your OP again suggests you already have a CRB? And you know it isn’t clear? Is that right?

Please read what smileeachday posted. The rules have changed. Spent convictions will not show unless in specific categories such as violent crimes. Our very old conviction will NOT show even on an enhanced check.

You can even pay (£10 think) to see what would show

I’ve been involved in lots of teaching interviews and the first question has always been “are you still a firm candidate for the role?” (Because by that point you’d have taught a lesson, had a tour, maybe done a practical test or pupil panel, etc)

At that point, one candidate once said “yes I am and I’ve very much enjoyed my time with you today but before we go further I want to tell you about...” and explained a prior conviction. My headteacher simply thanked her for her honesty and said it wouldn’t have an impact on the interview.

So long as it’s not a conviction for drugs / violence I can’t see that it would stop you from getting a job.

Good luck

I’ve just googled about how long convictions stay on your DBS check and this is what I’ve found:-

However, these endorsements will stay on your licence for either 4 or 11 years, depending on the seriousness of the offence of which you were convicted. If you fall within any of the exceptions, then you will be required to disclose all your convictions, both spent and unspent.11 May 2019

You should get a DBS done for your PGCE as you will go into schools so it should flag up quite quickly if there’s a problem. Good luck

Yes, I would want you as a teacher. Because once you've followed your dream and are in the job, you will know how much it means ... as opposed perhaps to someone who has walked into it and takes it for granted.
Good luck

There is a helpful table a little way down that tells you how long before different convictions are spent

I have an enhanced check from about 8 years ago. Obviously, nothing new would have been added from then. I have never seen a newer check. It's literally impossible to check yourself otherwise I would do this.
On my old check the conviction was split into theft and theft from employer. Even though it was one incident. So I'm not sure if it would be removed in this instance. I applied for a freedom of information request to see if it would be there but despite repeated requests I have never heard back.

Schools are desperate for staff so there's a good chance you will be accepted.

This is the current guidance. Is the conviction spent?

Did you get a prison term? A conditional discharge? That’s what affects whether it is spent....

Yes i would want you as a teacher , you are not defined by a previous mistake but by the person you are now. Go for it :)!

Thank you again for all of your replies.
No, prison sentence. I had a fine and community service.
I believe ( thanks to google) that one conviction is removed after a period of time but as mine was split it might still remain.
I believe that the £10 check is only a basic one. And for that it will be spent.

Ok - so do you know exactly what is on your police record? I think you need to start there. If you have been convicted of separate offences it becomes a bit more complicated and you sound a bit unsure about exactly the situation?

You need to go to the police with a subject access request and find out exactly what the conviction/s is/are.