Supply teacher compliance, finished before the first day of term
GettingDocs takes the chasing out of supply teacher compliance for education recruitment agencies placing teachers, cover supervisors, teaching assistants and SEN staff into schools. Amy asks each candidate for the certificates, references and declarations they still owe, over WhatsApp or email, checks every file and saves it to their record in your ATS. Your compliance team starts its safer recruitment checks on a complete file, and the school gets its written confirmation before the booking starts.
Thanks, Amy · Quillmere Education
A September maternity cover, and the overseas paperwork is still in her inbox.
A primary school has booked a long-term supply teacher for Year 3 from the first day of term. The teacher you have found spent four years teaching in Spain, so her file needs a criminal record certificate and a letter of professional standing from there, on top of her Enhanced DBS certificate, references and safeguarding training. The school will not let her start until you confirm the checks in writing. Here is the same fortnight, twice.
- Mid-August
The booking is confirmed. A consultant emails the candidate a checklist, the DBS application link and a request for two referees.
- Late August
The DBS certificate turns up. The Spanish certificate and the ministry letter are “somewhere in my emails” and nobody asks again.
- Bank holiday week
Her last head teacher is on holiday, so the reference sits unanswered. Nobody has asked her for a second referee.
- Training day
The school’s business manager asks for written confirmation of the checks for the single central record. You cannot give it.
- First day of term
Year 3 is covered by a teaching assistant. The head rings another agency.
A Year 3 class without its teacher in the first week, and a school that starts trying other agencies.
- Mid-August
The booking goes on her record in your ATS. Amy messages her on WhatsApp with only the items she still owes.
- Late August
Her DBS certificate and the Spanish criminal record certificate come back as photos and are filed on her record the same day.
- Bank holiday week
A scan of the ministry letter with the signature cut off is sent back with the reason. The full page arrives that evening.
- Training day
Your compliance team runs its checks on a complete file and sends the school written confirmation for its single central record.
- First day of term
She meets Year 3 at the door, and the school books you for the spring term as well.
Checks done, confirmation sent and the teacher in class on day one. Your consultants spent August filling bookings.
Three steps, and nobody chases anybody
When a teacher, cover supervisor or teaching assistant is added to a school booking, Amy messages them on WhatsApp or by email from your own domain with only the items still outstanding. There is no portal, no login and no app.
Each file is filed on arrival, then Amy opens it. A cropped DBS certificate or a reference on the wrong letterhead goes back with the reason, and reminders go out at the time you choose until the file is complete.
Documents are attached to the candidate’s record in Zoho Recruit, Recruit CRM or Crelate, with an optional copy in Google Drive. Your compliance team can run its checks and confirm them to the school without hunting through inboxes.
- QTS or teacher reference number
- Enhanced DBS certificate
- Safeguarding training certificate
- References
- Right to work documents
No portal, no login. Only what is still missing is ever asked for.
The education recruitment compliance checklist Amy collects
Every school and trust has its own list, but supply and permanent placements draw on the same four groups, shaped by Keeping children safe in education 2026. Pick a role to see a typical file, and Amy asks each candidate for those documents only.
QTS, qualifications and teacher registration5 of 5 documents
- QTS certificate or teacher reference number (used for the QTS and prohibition checks on Check a teacher’s record)
- Degree certificate
- Teaching assistant qualification (such as a Level 3 certificate in supporting teaching and learning, where held)
- Early years qualification (such as a Level 3 early years educator qualification)
- GTCS, EWC or GTCNI registration (for placements in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland)
Enhanced DBS and safer recruitment checks6 of 6 documents
- Enhanced DBS certificate (with the children’s barred list; PVG in Scotland, AccessNI in Northern Ireland)
- Overseas criminal record certificate (for each country the candidate has lived or worked in)
- Letter of professional standing (from the teaching regulator in each country taught in abroad)
- References (most recent employer first, with the safeguarding questions answered)
- Employment history with gaps explained
- Childcare disqualification declaration (for reception, nursery and wraparound care for children up to 8)
Safeguarding and Prevent training3 of 3 documents
- Safeguarding training certificate (child protection training, kept up to date)
- Prevent duty training certificate (such as the Home Office Prevent awareness course)
- KCSIE Part one acknowledgement (signed to confirm they have read Part one of the 2026 edition)
Right to work and agency paperwork7 of 7 documents
- Right to work documents (share code or passport)
- Health declaration (for the mental and physical fitness check)
- National Insurance number
- P45 or HMRC starter checklist
- Bank details form
- Key Information Document acknowledgement
- Signed terms of engagement
Choose education when you sign up, or later in Settings, and every document on this list is set up for you. UK accounts also come with Right to Work, DBS Certificate, CV and Driving Licence, and on Pro you can add your own document types, such as a trust’s own safeguarding policy sign-off.
School compliance for every booking you fill
A day-to-day supply teacher and a nursery practitioner owe different paperwork. Chase rules read your ATS to decide who is chased and for what, so each candidate is asked only for what their placement needs.
Day-to-day supply
A pool of qualified teachers, cleared before term and ready for a call at 7am.
Long-term supply
Maternity cover and vacancies of a term or more, where the school will look hardest at the file.
Teaching assistants, cover supervisors and SEN support
Classroom and one-to-one support staff, including those working with pupils with an EHCP.
Early years and reception
Nursery and reception staff and wraparound care, where the childcare disqualification declaration applies too.
Permanent teacher recruitment
Candidates you introduce for permanent posts, with the qualifications and references a school’s HR team will ask for.
Documents land in the ATS you already use
Education staffing questions
What checks must a supply agency carry out before placing staff in a school?
Under Keeping children safe in education 2026, a school in England must get written notification from the agency that it has carried out the same checks the school would: identity, an Enhanced DBS certificate with the children’s barred list, a prohibition from teaching check, right to work, professional qualifications where needed, further checks for anyone who has lived or worked abroad, and mental and physical fitness. If the DBS certificate discloses anything, the school must get a copy. The school then records your confirmation on its single central record.
Does GettingDocs run DBS, prohibition or right to work checks?
No. GettingDocs does not check the DBS Update Service, Check a teacher’s record or the Home Office right to work service. It collects the certificate, teacher reference number or share code, checks it is the right document and readable, and files it. Your compliance team still runs the checks and signs off the file; it just starts with a complete one.
What goes on a supply teacher compliance checklist?
Usually right to work documents, an Enhanced DBS certificate with the children’s barred list, evidence of QTS or a teacher reference number, a degree certificate, references from the most recent employer, a full employment history with gaps explained, a health declaration, safeguarding and Prevent training certificates, a signed KCSIE Part one acknowledgement and, for anyone who has lived or worked abroad, an overseas criminal record certificate and a letter of professional standing. Add payroll paperwork for supply bookings, and check each school’s own list.
Who needs a childcare disqualification declaration?
Staff working in reception classes, nurseries and other early years provision for children aged 5 and under, and in wraparound care such as breakfast and after-school clubs for children up to 8, under the Childcare Disqualification Regulations 2018. Most secondary and Key Stage 2 classroom staff are outside it. A chase rule can ask only the candidates whose placement needs it.
Does it work for schools in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland?
Yes, though the rules differ. Keeping children safe in education covers England. Teachers in Scotland must be registered with GTC Scotland and be PVG scheme members; in Wales, school teachers and learning support workers must be registered with the Education Workforce Council; in Northern Ireland, teachers in grant-aided schools register with GTCNI and get an AccessNI enhanced check. Amy collects those certificates and registrations the same way.
Which applicant tracking systems does it work with?
Zoho Recruit, Recruit CRM and Crelate today, with Greenhouse coming soon. Amy reads the candidate’s record before she chases, so a document already on file is not asked for again.
Every supply teacher cleared before the bell goes
See Amy collect a safer recruitment file from one of your own candidates on a 15 minute call.
