Verification standards

What each SYNKii teacher badge means

Verification badges describe a specific check completed at a particular time. They are not endorsements, employment checks, guarantees of lesson quality, guarantees of safety, or promises about future conduct.

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Badge standardsDBS wordingSensitive dataRemoval and appealsReport a concern
Read the exact wording. “Email verified”, “Government ID verified” and “DBS evidence reviewed” are different checks. SYNKii does not combine them into one vague badge.

Public badge standards

Teacher profiles show the check name, review date and any review-due status. They do not expose document numbers, dates of birth, home addresses or unnecessary evidence.

Public wording
Minimum check
What it does not mean
Status cycle
Email verified
Email ownership confirmed through a one-time link or code.
It does not verify the person’s legal identity, qualifications or suitability.
Recheck after email change.
Phone verified
Control of a phone number confirmed through a one-time code.
It does not verify a government identity document or background check.
Recheck after number change or risk event.
Government ID verified
A valid photo identity document was checked by an approved provider or trained reviewer and matched to the account holder’s name.
It does not confirm qualifications, safeguarding suitability, address or teaching quality.
Review again when evidence expires, details change or fraud risk is identified.
Live identity match completed
Where used, a selfie or liveness process compared the account holder with the identity evidence.
It is not a continuous identity or behaviour check and may involve biometric processing.
One-off check unless risk or material details change.
Qualification evidence reviewed
SYNKii reviewed submitted evidence for consistency, name match, issuer and award details.
It does not mean the issuing institution independently confirmed it unless the profile says so.
Recheck if disputed, withdrawn or replaced.
Qualification issuer confirmed
The named issuer or an authorised verification service independently confirmed the credential.
It does not guarantee teaching ability, current membership or results.
Review if the issuer changes or the credential is time-limited.
DBS evidence reviewed
SYNKii reviewed evidence of the DBS certificate type, workforce, issue date and identity match. The profile states whether the reviewed evidence was Basic, Standard, Enhanced or Enhanced with Barred List information, where lawful and relevant.
It is a point-in-time record. It does not guarantee suitability, current status or future conduct.
Show certificate issue month/year and SYNKii review date.
DBS Update Service status checked
With the certificate holder’s permission and where eligible, SYNKii checked whether the registered certificate remained current on the DBS Update Service.
It does not disclose new information or replace safeguarding judgement.
Show the most recent status-check date and set a recheck schedule.

DBS wording and safeguarding limits

DBS certificates do not have an official expiry date.

A DBS certificate records information available when it was issued. SYNKii therefore displays the issue date and review date, not a fictional expiry date. Where available and authorised, an Update Service check can show whether the registered certificate remains current.

GOV.UK DBS guidance
Do not label a DBS badge “Safeguarding checked”.

Safeguarding includes conduct, boundaries, reporting, training, supervision and ongoing judgement. A DBS review is one input only, so the public badge must use the narrower wording “DBS evidence reviewed”.

Eligibility matters. Enhanced and barred-list checks are available only for eligible roles and lawful application routes. SYNKii does not describe a teacher as holding a level of check they are not entitled to obtain, and country-equivalent evidence is labelled precisely.

How verification evidence is handled

Identity and biometric checks

Where possible, an approved specialist provider performs document and liveness checks. SYNKii stores the outcome, provider reference, verified name, country and dates rather than retaining full identity images. Any facial comparison must be covered by a DPIA and an appropriate lawful basis and special-category condition.

DBS and criminal-offence data

SYNKii limits access to authorised reviewers, records the applicable lawful basis and DPA 2018 Schedule 1 condition, and maintains an Appropriate Policy Document where required. Full certificates are deleted after review unless a documented legal or dispute reason requires temporary retention.

Public profile minimisation

Profiles show only the badge, evidence type, issue or review month/year and review-due status. Certificate numbers, document images, dates of birth, addresses and raw biometric templates are never public.

Badge refusal, removal and appeal

When a badge may be refused or paused

Evidence is incomplete, inconsistent, altered, out of scope, cannot be matched to the account holder, is no longer current, is disputed, or cannot lawfully be processed.

When a badge may be removed

The teacher changes material details, does not complete a required recheck, gives false information, loses entitlement to display the credential, or creates a safety or integrity risk.

How to challenge a decision

The teacher may request the reason, correct inaccurate information and submit fresh evidence. A reviewer who was not responsible for the original decision considers the appeal where reasonably practicable.

Appeal a badge decision
Profile status is separate from verification. “Profile complete”, “accepting enquiries”, “uses SYNKii teaching tools” and “subscription active” are commercial or availability statuses. They must not use the same visual treatment as identity, qualification or DBS evidence badges.

See a badge that looks wrong?

Report suspected impersonation, altered documents, misleading credentials or an unsafe profile.

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