Can anyone who works in a private school pref recruiting help.

[Cupofteaandatwirl]

No idea if anyone would be able to help with this but here goes
I don't work in the private sector. A job has come up in a private school that I want to apply for and it is well suited to me.
I dont want to go into the backstory, its long and complicated. My OH has a criminal conviction (last year) and the offence was sexual (not children).
I declared it to my workplace. I had a union rep in with me. My workplace kept me on and my union rep told me I was very lucky that they hadn't dismissed me outright.

My workplace said they wouldn't mention this in a reference if I applied for another job. But they and the union rep said I should declare if I applied to another school.

Would a private school even look at me or am I wasting my time? I am so frustrated that it's affecting me even though I haven't done anything wrong.
I don't really want to bring it all back up again and I don't want to go through the stress of applying if they won't even look at me. I don't know whether I should just wait it out a few more years. It's just that the job is potentially a good move for me.

I’m guessing he’s not your OH anymore given the gravity of it? If not you don’t need to mention it and don’t need to give it another thought.

They will look at you but you will have to disclose it.

Presumably he's an ex now so just leave it

If you've left him then why would you need to declare it? If you haven't left him then why not?

I am assuming that she is still with him.

How are you responsible for another crime? X

If you live with someone be who has a crime that puts others st risk (murder, GBH, sexual etc) and you work with vulnerable people you have to declare it. New law that came in a couple of years ago.

I havent left him.
Like I say it's a complicated story and I don't want to go into it. Obviously there are reasons why I haven't left. I don't need judgement for my decisions: I am not a fool.
MyDcAreMarvel guilt by association, apparently.
Thanks for thoughts. Not sure I can face rehashing it all tbh.

Thanks ABCDE....

at what point do I NOT have to declare it?

You will have to declare it, there's simply no way around it. I'd imagine that if they have lots of suitable candidates this will go against you.

I think you'd probably end up having a nicer life, better career and less sense of shame and isolation (not that you should feel any) if you left him. Sorry, but I couldn't stay with anyone convicted of a sexual offence. There are much nicer men out there.

At what point do I NOT have to declare it?

When you're not married or living together I think.

Yes you’ll have to declare it.

It’ll affect your career long term.

I hope there are good reasons for standing by him.

PotteringAlong even if after 5 years, he doesn't have to declare it to a future employer?

I know I work with vulnerable people but it seems unfair that I should have to declare in those circumstances if he doesn't.

www.atl.org.uk/Images/adv79-disqualification-by-association.pdf

There is union guidance here.

I've just taken on a new teaching job and was asked to sign a declaration that no one in my household had committed any of the crimes mentioned above. It was once is been interviewed and offered the job and was part of the paperwork that came from the local authority (along with health declaration etc). As I signed it, I did wonder what would happen if someone was living with someone who had commuted these crimes.

What age do you teach?

PotteringAlong that is a useful document, thank you. However, the legislation in it does not actually apply in my case as it is regarding those who teach under fives or provide out of school hours care to under 8s, and i teach secondary

Yep, you'll always have to declare it as long as he lives with you.

Personally, I couldn't live with a sex offender regardless of the circumstances but each to their own I guess.

I am a secondary teacher and you have to declare it at my school- offences committed by anyone in your household.
You should have to..... you work with children. I am finding it hard to muster any sympathy to be honest.

“You do what you must do, and pay for it. So in the end all things are simple.”

I love that Ellis Peters quotation. It’s a reminder that we make the choices we make but can’t then expect to avoid the consequences of those choices.

I'm not sure you have to declare it once it is classed as spent. School application forms often say 'including any spent convictions' but I'm reasonably sure that isn't legal. You need proper legal advice.

I think education might be an exception to that law and you DO have to declare spent convictions but, I confess, I've never really paid much attention to that part of the application form because I didn't have anything to declare.

I think your best bet OP is to contact your union and ask for their advice.

Thanks, I was in touch with my union originally but they were a little vague about my position because the legislation is ambiguous in terms of the age group I teach.

I possibly didn't make it clear in my original post, but I wasn't suggesting I wouldn't declare it. I understand that I should do that. Really what I want to know is the likelihood of a (private) school simply automatically binning my application because of it or whether they would still interview/consider me.

In any case I've decided not to apply.

I genuinely don't want to kick you when you are down, but as a parent in a private school I just can't see you being accepted with that sort of past. Our class sizes went up to 14 recently and there was a huge uproar over that, parents just wouldn't accept a teacher who lives with a sex offender, and as such, I can't see the school over looking that unless you were a truly exceptional candidate - it just isn't worth staking their reputation on.