Everyone in education recruitment knows references are required. Ask most agency directors why, and they'll say "because of KCSiE." Ask what KCSiE actually says about references, and the answers get a lot vaguer.
I ran an education recruitment agency for seven years. The number of people I met who had genuinely read the reference section of Keeping Children Safe in Education was tiny. Everyone was broadly doing the right things, but the specifics were fuzzy. Fuzzy is a problem in a sector where getting this wrong is a safeguarding failure, not just an admin one.
Here's what KCSiE actually requires. No paraphrasing that adds confusion, just the rules and what they mean in practice.
What KCSiE is and who it applies to
Keeping Children Safe in Education is statutory guidance from the Department for Education. Schools and colleges in England are legally required to follow it. It covers the full safer recruitment process: references, DBS checks, right to work, qualifications verification, prohibition checks.
It's updated every year, usually in September. The 2025 version is current.
If your agency places candidates in schools, you're inside this framework whether you think of it that way or not. Schools are ultimately responsible for appointments, but agencies are responsible for their own safer recruitment checks, references included, before presenting a candidate. That responsibility doesn't transfer to the school.
What the guidance actually says about references
The key requirements in the 2025 guidance:
At least one reference must be obtained before appointment. Not during the onboarding process. Before.
It must come from the most recent employer. Not a previous employer the candidate would prefer — the most recent one, where possible.
If their most recent employer wasn't a school or education setting, seek a second reference from their most recent role working with children. The guidance explicitly prefers school-based references.
References should be obtained before interview where possible, so the panel can explore anything concerning on the day. Most agencies don't do this (interview dates don't wait) but it's worth knowing that's what the guidance recommends.
And references must be scrutinised, not just filed. Someone needs to read them, consider whether anything needs following up, and document that they've done so. Receiving a reference and filing it unopened doesn't meet this requirement.
What a compliant reference actually looks like
A letter saying "X is a great candidate, I'd recommend them" doesn't cut it on its own.
A compliant reference needs to cover the dates of employment, the role held, whether the candidate is suitable for work with children, and whether there are any outstanding or concluded disciplinary investigations involving children. That last one is the most commonly missed. KCSiE is explicit: the reference must address whether a candidate has been subject to formal disciplinary procedures related to children. Most freeform letters won't include this unless they're prompted.
This is why a structured reference form matters. A blank email almost never produces all the required information. A form designed around KCSiE requirements does, and it gives you a consistent record you can actually rely on. It's also easier for the referee. They fill in fields rather than staring at a blank page wondering what you want.
Whose responsibility is it — yours or the school's?
Both, but differently.
Schools cannot appoint someone without references in place. That sits with the school, and Ofsted checks for it.
But agencies aren't just passing candidates along. When you place someone, your obligation is to have completed your safer recruitment checks before that candidate is presented to the school. The school shouldn't be starting from scratch on references for someone you've placed. Your checks are part of the chain of assurance they're building their appointment on.
If a placement proceeds without compliant checks and something goes wrong, the liability sits with the agency. School contracts and professional indemnity policies often reference this directly. Most agencies are aware of this, even if they don't always think of it in those terms.
Where the process breaks down
In seven years of running an agency, these were the patterns I saw most often:
References come in and get filed without anyone reading them. The candidate gets marked as referenced, but the scrutiny requirement isn't met. This happens most often when consultants are busy and the reference arrives at an awkward time.
The reference form hasn't been updated since 2018. KCSiE has changed several times since then. If your form was built against an older version, it may not prompt for everything the current guidance requires, particularly around disciplinary history.
Chasing gets done over the phone with no written follow-up. Calling a referee is fine. But the written reference still needs to come. A phone conversation you can't produce if asked isn't an audit trail.
The form doesn't ask about suitability for working with children, so the referee doesn't mention it. This isn't the referee's fault. They're answering the question they were asked. If the form doesn't ask, the answer won't be there.
And then there's the placement that starts before references are back. Understandable. Schools call needing someone urgently, and the commercial pressure is real. But this is where the risk sits.
Making it work consistently
The agencies that do this well don't have superhuman consultants. They have a process that works the same way whether it's a quiet Tuesday or a frantic Friday afternoon.
A structured reference form tied to the current KCSiE requirements. Reviewed every September when the guidance updates. A named person who actually reads references before a placement is confirmed, not just files them. And a clear audit trail: when the request went out, when it was chased, when it came back, who reviewed it.
That audit trail matters beyond compliance. It's also what you'd show if a school, an insurer, or Ofsted ever asked you to walk them through your safer recruitment process.
The other thing worth building in from the start: chasing. References take 3-7 days on average, and non-response is the most common cause of placement delays in education recruitment. If the first chase goes out on day five, you've already lost a week.
PassQ handles the sending, the chasing, and the audit trail automatically. If you're curious what that looks like in practice, book a demo.
The short version
KCSiE requires at least one reference, from the most recent employer, before appointment, covering suitability for working with children, reviewed before filing. That's the core of it.
Most agencies are doing broadly the right things. The gaps that create risk are usually in how consistently the process runs and how well it's documented. Both are fixable.
If you'd like to talk about what a more automated reference process might look like for your agency, get in touch.
Frequently asked questions
What does KCSiE require for references in education recruitment? At least one reference, from the most recent employer, before appointment. Not during onboarding. Before. It must address whether the candidate is suitable to work with children and whether there's any disciplinary history involving children.
How many references does KCSiE require? At least one. If the most recent employer wasn't a school, the guidance recommends a second reference from the candidate's most recent role working with children. Most agencies collect two as standard. If something ever goes wrong, you want two.
Is taking references the agency's responsibility or the school's? Both, but differently. Schools can't appoint without references in place. Agencies have to complete their own safer recruitment checks, including references, before presenting a candidate. Your checks don't replace the school's and theirs don't replace yours.
What must a KCSiE-compliant reference include? Dates of employment, role held, suitability for working with children, and whether the candidate has been through any formal disciplinary process involving children. That last one is what most freeform letters miss. Referees won't raise it unless the form asks. A structured form asks.
Can a placement start before references are received? No. References must be in place before appointment. The pressure to get someone in school on Monday is real. So is the liability if something goes wrong and the reference wasn't there.
What happens if a referee doesn't respond? KCSiE allows an alternative referee when the most recent employer genuinely can't be reached, but you have to show you tried. Three documented attempts over two weeks is defensible. That record is what you'd hand to a school, an insurer, or Ofsted.
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