Keep children safe and secure with early childhood care and education background checking tools, while spending less time on manual admin.
Trusted with over 25,000 candidates in childcare and education
No-cost integrations with 20+ ATSs and HRISs
Average candidate satisfaction score of 9.2/10
Zinc’s user-friendly, mobile-first platform makes it simple for candidates to input their details on the go. Faster results for you, less stress for your candidates.
Safeguarding is serious. With Zinc, you get accurate, fast results while keeping candidate data safe and secure so you can feel confident that you’re keeping children in your care safe.
Whether it's access to live chat when candidates have questions, or an email to your dedicated account manager, you and your candidates always have a direct line to us when you need it.
Comprehensive checks, seamless integrations, and deep industry expertise.
Whether you’re hiring nursery workers or teachers, our team of experts understands the regulatory requirements you need to comply with, alongside industry best practice. We're used to questions like what to do about imposter checks on day one, or how to document them properly. If you're not sure, just ask. We're just a live chat or a virtual meeting away.
You’ve got enough on your plate, and chasing references shouldn’t take over your email inbox. Zinc integrates directly with HMRC to make sure that you get UK employment verification results in seconds. Zinc’s automated platform follows up for you, chases referees, and goes back to candidates directly if it doesn’t get a response.
When your workforce is on the go, you need a system that moves with them. Zinc integrates for free with most ATSs and HRISs to make sure you can send checks without leaving the platform. Most integrations can be set up in minutes, and don’t require any technical support (but we’re always here if you need us).
3
days
Average turnaround time.
90
minutes
Saved per candidate.
9.2
/10
Average candidate rating.
From national nursery groups to independent tutors, here's how education teams run their background checks.
"I recommend anyone completing background checks give Zinc a try. We saw the difference first-hand through vastly speedier checks and a better user experience. The results speak for themselves and stand out from other providers we've used."
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"Hiring managers are genuinely excited about the move to Zinc. It’s already transforming the way they work, making processes simpler and more efficient. Very few IT systems at Busy Bees have landed so smoothly — iCIMS and now Zinc stand out as real success stories."
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"You can't cut corners on recruitment in education. If you can't do the safeguarding at recruitment, then you're letting unsafe people into the organisation. I needed something that I could depend on, and I’m 100% confident Zinc is it."
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Recommended checks
KCSIE and Ofsted-aligned checks for teaching staff, leadership roles, and early years settings.
Required by all employers in the UK
Required by Ofsted
Recommended by Zinc
Talk to our team to find out how Zinc is transforming background checking across education and organisations in early years settings.
Everything you need to know about safeguarding checks with Zinc.
What types of safeguarding checks can Zinc perform?
Zinc handles everything from Enhanced DBS checks to automated referee chasing to ensure comprehensive safeguarding standards.
Most education and early years providers run DBS checks, education checks, and professional references as standard as standard, but Zinc also supports a higher level of screening with checks like adverse media, social media, and financial checks.
How does Zinc improve candidate experience for nursery workers and teachers?
Zinc’s platform is mobile-first, allowing busy educators to complete their details on the go. If they have questions, our London-based support team is available via live chat with an average 90-second response time.
At Busy Bees Nurseries, Zinc helped hiring teams automatically move successful candidates straight into background checks directly from iCIMS. From ID verification to RTW, candidates can get results in minutes, meaning faster start times and stronger safeguarding. Read the full Busy Bees case study.
Learn more about candidate experience
Can Zinc verify employment history quickly?
Yes, Zinc verifies employment history quicker than industry averages thanks to a tech-first approach. Our direct integration with HMRC gives you employment verification in seconds, and we automatically chase referees up to five times to ensure you’re getting the results you need to make a confident hire.
See check turnaround times
How does Zinc support Ofsted and KCSIE compliance?
Zinc’s expert-led platform is built to align with Ofsted and Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) regulatory requirements, because regulatory requirements for dually regulated companies are rarely black and white. Our team is used to working through the nuances with you, not just pointing you to a checklist.
Our customisable check packages let you select exactly what checks you need to send to keep your safeguarding standards high, and return results fast so you can get staff in where you need them the most.
Don’t want to customise? No problem – we also offer pre-built packages designed to take the guesswork out of your compliance process.
All results are stored centrally and available as a downloadable Single Central Record (SCR), the format your inspectors will expect to see. Plus, our legal and compliance experts are always on hand to answer questions about regulatory responsibilities or relevant legislation.
One thing worth knowing: imposter checks, where you confirm a candidate's identity in person on day one, are still carried out by your hiring manager. Zinc supports this by letting you log a timestamped note directly on the candidate's report once it's done, so it's part of the central record.
Learn more about Zinc for Ofsted and KCSIE
