Perth-based educational technology company Schrole is partnering with US company First Advantage to launch a new product that it says enables international schools and teachers to easily conduct employee background checks.
The ASX-listed Schrole (ASX:SCL) says the partnership with Atlanta-based First Advantage – a global provider of background screening solutions - allows it to perform the checks, helping to protect international students.
Schrole says its Verify solution links seamlessly with its Connect Software-as-as-Service (SaaS) platform created to assist international schools in the recruitment process.
Schrole is offering Verify to schools and teaching candidates with fees charged for each check orders and says schools already using Schrole Connect will be able to order checks easily from within the system.
{loadposition peter}According to Schrole, the issue of background checks is a critical one for international schools and, although some international schools exist in jurisdictions where there are social institutions and laws in place to support schools facing the issue of student safety, others are in places that lack this framework.
Schrole points to the International Task Force on Child Protection (ITFCP) formed in 2014 to assist international school communities address the issue of child protection in their schools and says, according to the ITFCP, it now has a collation of over 90 volunteers including leaders of international education organisations, school leaders, counsellors and teachers working to improve child safety.
Schrole notes that one of the recommendations of the ITCP is to include a series of screening and assessment practices for international school recruitment including checks on candidate credentials, criminal records, internet history and a review of sex offender registries.
Schrole Managing Director and founder Rob Graham, a former school principal, says the launch of Schrole Verify and partnership with First Advantage represents a global opportunity for Schrole to expand its business and help students worldwide.
Under the proposed agreement, Schrole has been appointed as exclusive agent for the marketing and sale of background screening services to schools and school candidates in the Asia Pacific region and has preferential rights for the rest of the world.
“First Advantage has a global presence and a highly scalable technological solution and conducts these checks efficiently and effectively,” Graham says.
“We are excited to be the first company in international schools offering a total global solution to this critical issue.”