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This role sits in the Unregistered Schools Team (UST), which investigates settings operating as schools without registration across England. It is a criminal offence to run an unregistered school, and the children attending these settings are often unsafe and receiving a poor quality of education because there is no external oversight. The team works closely with the DfE, CPS, local authorities, police and other agencies to take action against illegal settings and to protect the children attending them.

As an unregistered schools investigator (USI), you will report to the Unregistered Schools Specialist Inspector with responsibility for line management of the USIs, working with a small team of inspectors, legal and policy staff to help identify, investigate and prosecute unregistered schools. As a USI, you will play a leading role in the investigation of possible illegal schools, identifying new settings, securing evidence and preparing cases for prosecution.

This role as one which will require an enhanced criminal record check via the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) and a SC level check (Security Clearance). This role may not bring you into direct contact with children or vulnerable adults, however it may give you access to material or sensitive information about children or vulnerable adults in the future.

The post holder will be an experienced investigator with a wide range of investigatory skills. The UST is looking to expand on and strengthen its investigatory methods, and the USI will play a leading role in developing a new strategy for this. We are looking for candidates who can use their knowledge and experience as investigators to bring new ideas and insights to the team’s work. They will need to be flexible, confident and show initiative from the beginning. They will be skilled in the use of IT packages, systems and/or databases to fulfil role requirements. They will also need to be able to quickly familiarise themselves with the legislation that underpins the work involved in investigating unregistered schools.

• Working with the SHMI and Specialist Inspectors, to use knowledge and experience as an investigator to strengthen and expand the team's investigatory practice, including introducing new investigatory methods.

• Liaise and work with other investigators, the legal advisor, and specialist inspectors to establish and use appropriate methods for gathering material, and develop procedures to turn material into intelligence or evidence as part of the investigation into unregistered schools.

• Collect and gather material, intelligence and evidence from a range of sources that are appropriate to the investigation, record and retain evidence in a format that is evidentially admissible to support the investigative process. Ensuring compliance with Data Protection Regulations at all times.

• Carry out analysis, assess evidence, and evaluate material to identify unregistered schools. Escalate any concerns in a timely manner to keep children safe.

• Ensure all material, including exhibits generated by the investigation, are examined and retained in accordance with legislation and policy.

• Act as Disclosure Officer, review, examine and assess all material within an investigation including making decisions on the relevancy of such material and scheduling it accordingly; dealing with all aspects of disclosure through to the trial process, ensuring compliance with the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 and other relevant legislation and guidance.

• Assess all aspects of the unused material in the investigation including justification for sensitivity classifications attributed to the material, ensuring suitable handling and classification of all sensitive material is made and complied with.

• Liaise with the CPS in cases where the defence require access to review disclosure material, making suitable arrangements to facilitate this as required in order to progress the case through the judicial system.

• Conduct initial external investigations to addresses suspected of being unregistered to confirm or secure evidence. Accompany specialist inspectors on inspections to act as exhibit officer, ensuring all exhibits are examined and retained in accordance with legislation and policy.

• To take witness statements and conduct interviews of those suspected of operating unregistered schools in accordance to the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984.

• Assist specialist inspectors to draft authorisation applications for directed surveillance in accordance to Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) and Ofsted policy. To conduct surveillance operations as and when required.

• Work with the UST legal advisor to prepare prosecution case files for the CPS and act as a point of contact for the case with the CPS complex case unit.

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Seeing the Big Picture
• Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together
• Managing a Quality Service
• Delivering at Pace

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Track record of being an experienced criminal investigator, with the ability to collate & evaluate intelligence and information from various sources.
• Experience of recording & retaining evidence in a format that is evidentially admissible to support the investigative process.
• Conducting interviews and taking statements in accordance with the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984.

Job contact :

Name :
Talent and Resourcing Team
Email :
[email protected]

Recruitment team

Email :
[email protected]