Online search checks for schools and MATs

Safer recruitment,
made safer.

A fully automated super-fast
social media check for schools.

Get a comprehensive online search report in under 30 minutes, without relying on manual searching or a “Google-and-hope” process.

No card details. No obligation. Report in your inbox within the hour.

For

School Business Managers

Designed to support a GDPR-compliant, consent-led, and proportionate process you can document and show to governors or Ofsted.

For

HR teams

One consistent fast online search check approach across staff and candidates, designed to reduce bias.

For

DSLs

Clearer handling when something raises a safeguarding concern.

For

Headteachers

Confidence that the school is meeting its commitment to its values and safeguarding culture.

“Your reputation could be threatened or damaged, potentially taking years of time and effort to rebuilt. Undergoing a Social Media Check provides protection from reputational harm and ensures values and cultures are maintained.”

Dr Danny DoyleCEO, Cardinal Newman Trust

Ensuring candidate suitability

Online checks are part of safer recruitment. But the process is often anything but safe.

School staff are under pressure to recruit safely, protect pupils, support staff, and maintain a defensible safer recruitment process.

If you do KCSIE’s recommended online search by hand you can create problems:

  • It wastes time that’s better spent on your todo list
  • It can introduce unconscious bias (everyone has biases)
  • It is difficult to apply consistently
  • You can only see what’s publicly available

“With multiple schools in our Trust, we needed a quick, cost effective, and compliant procedure to conduct online checks of candidates. Social Media Check’s automated solution has been very effective. It is quicker and more comprehensive than a manual check, with results often delivered in under an hour.”

Debbie DugganOperational Resources Director, The Two Counties Trust

How it works

Super fast, secure,
and school-friendly
by design

Say goodbye to manually checking candidates.

Our search is automated, helping schools apply the same process consistently to every person checked.

With Social Media Check you can start the process at 9am, and have a comprehensive, GDPR-compliant, consent-led report by first break.

If you are happy with the report, you file it. If there’s anything in there that concerns you, you have a conversation.

1Invite

Send the person being checked a secure email invitation.

9:00 am

2Consent

They provide consent through the Social Media Check platform.

9:05 am

3Check

Our secure software carries out an automated online search.

Automated

4Review

You and the person being checked receive the report and certificate.

By first break

“Social Media Check has been a lifesaver and has helped us to ensure our Safer Recruitment processes are fully compliant.”

Andrea SweeneyHR & Recruitment Manager, Corpus Christi Catholic Academy Trust

Fully automated

No people involved in the search process (deliberately!)

Some companies that offer an online search service do it by hand, outsource it to an agency, or with a mix of AI and human verification.

We don’t think people should be involved in the “search” part of a social media check. At all.

  • How can a stranger, even a teacher, possibly understand your school’s culture and values?
  • How can they look through multiple feeds and 1000s of posts and comments?
  • How can you be sure their own unconscious biases aren’t effecting their analysis?

Involving people in the search process also sloooows things down.

While you’re sat on your hands all week waiting for a report, that candidate you’re excited about might secure a placement at a different school.

But not if you have Social Media Check.

Our highly structured, intensely tested automated process does what software does best: look across huge data sets securely, very quickly, and without bias.

With Social Media Check you can get your comprehensive online search report within the hour, so you can get on with what’s important: making the decision.

Less biasNo third party is interpreting a candidate through their own personal judgement.
More consistencyEvery check follows exactly the same structured process as the last.
Much fasterReports can be returned within the hour rather than several working days.

< 1 hr

Report turnaround, not 3–5 days

10

Risk categories analysed

9

Platforms checked

24 hrs

Set-up, no IT integration

Built for the people who own the policy

Designed around safer recruitment in schools

Every school runs a safer recruitment policy. Most also rely on someone in the office running an informal Google on shortlisted candidates. Things get missed, it varies from candidate to candidate, and it opens schools up to fairness and GDPR risks.

Social Media Check replaces that informal step with a consistent, documented, automated online check.

And all turned around in less than an hour, not 3-5 working days.

What does a check look like in practice?

Talk to us about your setup →

Social Media Checks are purchased as “tokens”. One token = One check. Our customers commonly buy batches of tokens, enabling them to do things like…

Same-day checks

You are recruiting and need the check today

Start the process in the morning, even on multiple candidates, and have the social media check report before lunchtime.

Handling a concern

Something flags in a report

A super quick turnaround allows you to have an informed conversation with a candidate as soon as possible, reducing the risk of losing a good hire.

Multi-academy trust

You manage recruitment across several schools

Social Media Check is incredibly easy to scale. You can apply the same process across every candidate, staff member, and school.

Self check

A member of staff wants to understand how their own social media might look

Give every adult working in your school community peace of mind – from trustees to TAs to senior leaders – with access to a self check.

In their words

“First Federation Trust have been using the social media check package for the past 18 months and we are very happy with the service. It has been an invaluable tool in our recruitment process, in line with keeping children safe in education. The portal is easy to navigate, and the comprehensive reports come back very quickly. We would highly recommend Social Media Check to other schools.”

Gemma ThomasRecruitment & Training Officer, First Federation Trust

“At the Link Academy Trust, we have used the services of Social Media Check for almost two years now and have found them to be super efficient with the turnaround time for checks. Reports are informative and we feel it does exactly what is required in line with KCSIE best practice.”

Sue HowardHR Operations Manager, Link Academy Trust

Curious what SMC actually finds? Start with you.

Run a free check on yourself and see the type of report your school would receive.

Managing recruitment across multiple schools? Talk to us about a trust-wide approach.

  • Report and certificate in under an hour
  • GDPR compliant — the individual gives consent
  • UK-based team, UK-based systems

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