This Policy, and the associated procedures noted below, has been prepared in compliance with relevant legislation, in particular, the Equality Act 2010. This Policy and associated procedures are also designed to ensure that Outreach Rescue is compliant with the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) UK Quality Code for Higher Education – Chapter B2: Recruitment, selection and admission to higher education.

Applicants with Criminal Conviction & Protection of Vulnerable Groups

A prior criminal conviction will not necessarily preclude a candidate from being offered a place on an an Outreach Rescue course. However, Outreach Rescue may be required to assess such applications on a case-by-case basis to ensure that neither the applicant, the staff, patients nor students of Outreach Rescue will be put at risk should the applicant become a student of Outreach Rescue.

All students on professional courses are required to supply evidence of one of the following criminal record checks, dependent upon their employment location;

Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scotland- “enhanced disclosure”
Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) England & Wales- “enhanced with lists check”
AccessNI Northern Ireland- “enhanced check”

It is the responsibility of the student to provide up-to-date evidence of this check once a conditional offer of a place on the course has been made and before the offer is confirmed.

If the student already holds an Enhanced Disclosure that they have from the DBS Update Service then they may be able to re-use it. If it covers them for the relevant workforce then Outreach will run a status check on it. In this case, they will only be required to obtain a new Disclosure of the information contained therein doesn’t remain current and further information has been identified since its issue

Any student who has lived abroad for more than 13 weeks in the same place in the last 5 years of the course commencement date will also have to provide clearance from the country they were resident in; it is the student’s responsibility to source the required information for submission.

At the commencement of each subsequent academic year, students on professional courses will be required to provide evidence of their PVG/DBS/AccessNI status and to immediately inform Outreach Rescue of any changes at any other time during the study.

The fees associated with these checks will be borne by the student.

The prospective student must be fully aware that Outreach Rescue will decide on an applicant’s suitability for study with Outreach Rescue, not on his/her suitability for employment or for registration with the HCPC or any other registrant body.
Outreach Rescue does not take responsibility for decisions made by HCPC regarding the application for registration as a Paramedic with the HCPC after studies with Outreach Rescue.
Any change in a student’s PVG/DBS/AccessNI status during the course of studies will result in a review of suitability and may result in removal from studies, regardless of the initial decision made, if Outreach Rescue considers that the student, the staff, patients or students of Outreach Rescue will be put at risk.

Disclosing convictions or cautions on application

If you have a conviction or caution, you should tell us at interview or by sending a written disclosure with your application. NACRO provide advice on how to do this on their webpage (follow this link). Scroll down to the section ‘How should I disclose my criminal record?’ and follow their advice on preparing written disclosure statements.

Feedback to Unsuccessful Applicants

Outreach Rescue is committed to providing feedback, when requested, to any applicant whose application has been unsuccessful or where they feel that the conditions placed in their offer are unexpected. Feedback will be given to enable applicants to reflect on their progress through the application process and does not constitute a reconsideration of an application or a challenge to Outreach Rescue’s decision on an application.

Appeals and Complaints

Outreach Rescue aims to consider all applications fairly, effectively and in line with current policies and procedures. If an applicant is dissatisfied with the outcome or treatment of their application, they should follow the appeal or complaint procedure as appropriate. There is no right of appeal against a decision to reject an application based on the applicant’s prior convictions or cautions.

Appeals

Appeals: If an applicant is dissatisfied with the outcome of their application and any subsequent feedback received, they are required to submit a formal appeal.

Complaints

Complaints: If an applicant is dissatisfied with the handling of their application, they should in the first instance, contact the Outreach Rescue Clinical Administration Team. A formal complaint may then be submitted. Further details of how to complain are in Policy E8: Complaints Procedure