PassQ

Stop chasing references.
Start placing candidates.

PassQ handles the compliance admin. You make the placements.

Free setup call with Dan · 20 minutes · No commitment

KCSIE compliantREC guidelinesDfE standards

PassQ AI

Live call · Oakwood Primary

PASSQ AI

“Can you confirm whether there are any safeguarding concerns regarding this candidate?”

SARAH MITCHELL

“No concerns at all — she was outstanding throughout her time here.”

Safeguarding — clear
Domain verified — oakwood.sch.uk
94

Trust Score

Reference verified

The problem

Someone in your agency spends hours chasing references. Every week.

Emails go unanswered. Headteachers are too busy. Your consultants are stuck chasing instead of placing.

3–5 hrs

Per consultant, per week

Spent chasing references — emails, calls, follow-ups, headteachers who never reply.

2–3 wks

Average turnaround

Every day a reference stalls is a day your candidate isn't placed and you're not billing.

£0

Revenue while you wait

Candidates can't start without verified references. Delayed references mean delayed revenue.

How it works

Three steps. That's it.

Invite your candidates, and PassQ handles the rest. References that used to take weeks come back in days.

01

Invite candidates

Send your teachers and support staff a link. They provide their referee contacts through a mobile-friendly form.

Recent invites3 pending
ER

Emma Richards

Year 2 Teacher

Submitted 2 referees
DO

David Osei

Teaching Assistant

Link sent
LC

Lucy Chen

Cover Supervisor

Submitted 2 referees
02

PassQ chases

AI reaches out by email, follows up by SMS, and if needed, calls the referee directly with an AI voice agent.

Chasing Sarah Thompson's referees

Email · j.harris@oakwood.sch.uk

2 days ago

Sent
💬

SMS · +44 7700 ••••82

1 day ago

Delivered
📞

AI Call · Mrs Harris, Oakwood Primary

Today 2pm

Scheduled
03

Deliver

Vetting documents generated automatically, ready to send to the school.

Sarah Thompson — vetting pack

Ready to send to school

Reference 1 — Mrs J HarrisVerified
Reference 2 — Mr P KhanVerified
DBS checkCurrent
Right to workConfirmed

AI voice agent

References completed over the phone.
By AI.

Headteachers are busy. They don't fill in forms. PassQ's AI agent calls them, introduces itself as an AI assistant, has a natural conversation, and sends a verified reference report.

Natural conversation

PassQ's AI agent calls the referee and has a professional, human-sounding conversation.

Referee confirms

Answers are captured live, then confirmed via email or SMS so the reference is fully verifiable.

Report delivered instantly

Complete reference report with Trust Score, safeguarding flags, and full transcript.

Live call
04:32
SM

Sarah Mitchell

Head of Year 4 · Oakwood Primary

PASSQ

“Can you confirm whether there are any safeguarding concerns we should be aware of?”

SARAH MITCHELL

“No concerns at all — she was outstanding throughout.”

RecordingSafeguarding ✓

Trust score

Know if a reference is genuine. Instantly.

Every reference gets a Trust Score. AI verifies the referee's identity, analyses language patterns, and flags anything suspicious before you place.

Domain verification

Referee email matched against known school and trust domains in real time.

Tone analysis

Language patterns checked for consistency, specificity, and professional markers.

Fraud detection

Copied text, suspicious timing, and known fabrication patterns flagged automatically.

94

Verified
Domain
98%
Tone
92%
Fraud
91%

We used to lose two or three days every week just chasing references. PassQ picked up 40 outstanding references in the first week and most came back within 48 hours. It's completely changed how we operate.

RH

Ricky Sheridan

Director, SRS People

Why PassQ

We ran an education recruitment agency for seven years.

We built the tool we needed. PassQ isn't a tech company that discovered a market.

Built for education

KCSIE, DfE, REC — we know the regulations because we lived them. Every workflow is compliant by default.

Not a generic HR tool adapted for schools.

Compliance is the foundation

Safeguarding questions, red flag detection, audit trails. The system that protects you at inspection.

Not a bolt-on afterthought.

Set up in a day

No migration, no IT project. We handle onboarding, import your candidates, and you're live the same day.

Your team barely notices the switch.

Questions

Questions & answers

How quickly can I get a reference back?
It depends on the referee, but PassQ chases automatically across email, SMS, and AI voice call so nothing stalls. References that used to take weeks often come back in days.
Is PassQ compliant with KCSIE?
Yes. Purpose-built for education. All workflows meet KCSIE requirements including supply teacher questions. Every reference is timestamped and audit-ready.
How does the AI voice call work?
PassQ's AI agent calls the referee and asks all the required reference and safeguarding questions in a natural conversation. Afterwards, it sends a summary to the referee for confirmation via email or SMS. That confirmation is what makes it a valid, verifiable reference.
How do I know a reference is genuine?
Every reference gets a Trust Score. AI verifies email domain against school databases, analyses language patterns, and checks for fraud indicators like copied text or suspicious timing.
What safeguarding checks are included?
Vetting questions that cover what safeguarding requires. Red flags show up immediately so your team can act before a placement goes ahead.
What happens if a referee doesn’t respond?
PassQ escalates automatically. It starts with email, follows up with SMS, and if needed, an AI voice agent calls the referee directly. Your team never has to chase.
Can referees complete references on mobile?
Yes. The form is mobile-optimised. Referees can also complete via AI voice call — ideal for headteachers who are too busy to sit at a computer.

Get started

Try 5 references free.
See what your coworker can do.

No commitment, no credit card. Book a 20-minute demo and we'll set you up with 5 free reference checks.

No commitment · 20-minute demo · You'll talk to Dan