This check confirms whether or not an individual has been barred from taking up a management role (at an independent school, academy and/or free school), under the terms of a direction made by the Secretary of State for Education.

For further details of this check, please see the following: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/individuals-prohibited-from-managing-or-governing-schools

Here, you can check if a person you are proposing to recruit to a management position is prohibited from undertaking that work under a section 128 direction.

Roles in ‘management’ include but are not limited to:

• Headteacher
• Any teaching positions on the senior leadership team
• Any teaching positions that carry a department headship
• Members of proprietor bodies
• Governors if the governing body is the proprietor body for the school
• And whichever other role you deem within reason as ‘taking part in management’

Your checklist:

1. Establish whether the person requires a Section 128 check, and perform the above check using the TRA or during an enhanced DBS check
2. Record the date of when you performed the check

If your school deems it good practice according to your processes, our Sign In Central Record profile also provides a default field for you to input the details of who did the check.

British Schools Overseas

As of 14 August 2023, the Section 128 requirement has been removed for international schools. 

The check is still in existence however and, as always, safer recruitment exists to go above and beyond to ensure the safety of students. The check is still applicable in other settings. 

For further information please see the following Government guidance: British Schools Overseas: Standards for Schools

Please also ensure you check the Individuals prohibited from managing or governing schools list.