Crb Checks (again)

[Guest Praesus Infelix]

Hi,

 

I know there have been other threads on this but I'd like to know if the situation has changed lately. The most recent advice we got from ofsted (on the phone, as per usual) was that anyone helping in the classroom needed a CRB check. Since we now need to pay for volunteers this is going to be very expensive. Does anyone have anything recent in writing? Does the "visitor" approach still work?

 

In confusion...

[Guest Praesus Infelix]

Oops, wrong place - can someone move to correct home?

[Guest]

Oh I don't know - I would still say no - I just cannot believe that every person who comes into the nursery will need a CRB check - all my parents help at some stage over the term - do I have to get 50 CRB checks every year... cannot be right. Will they not be allowed to bring their children in and settle them in accordance with out settling in procedures, or will they be allowed to bring them in at all. Perhaps I will have to tell them they are just not to be trusted and they are to hand over their children at the front door jsut in case they might come into contact with another child that is not theirs in the building, perhaps I will have to get starting gates so they can all wait separately. Sorry but the world has gone mad if this is the case - what about people wandering around supermarkets when there are children around, or at the beach or at the cinema or on the bus or wherever children might be - sorry I know I am being sarcastic but honestly its the sort of answer they deserve. All this money going into CRB's - so how much is actually being spent? Ii know you cannot put a child's life/emotional security into how much it might cost but as they are only really valid for the day they are written on - Just how much are all these companies making from this. We all have better ways of ensuring that nothing untoward happens to the children on our premises - a piece of paper is not going to stop abuse.

Nikki

[Running Bunny]

I would assume that the same rules apply in schools as it does in other daycare settings in that anyone who is going to have unsupervised contact with the children must have a CRB check. For example - the nursery nurse, dinner ladies, learning mentor/teaching assistant etc.

 

Parent helpers/volunteers are okay if they are not left unsupervised (with a CRB checked member of staff) with a group of children i.e. in the playground, library, hall etc...

 

I'm sure a school-based person will clarify this for you though!

[Susan]

Where do you want this moved to?

[Magenta]

In our LA we have to have CRB checks for all parent volunteers, even parents helping on school trips have to have them! We have had to get a group of parents that usually help checked.

[Rea]

I signed a petition against CRB's some time ago, purely because of this sort of thing. We will get to a point where the whole population have a CRB so will that mean we are all considered 'safe'? If they are worthless the day they are printed then surely making them more commonplace will make them even more so. If they were kept for those with real unsupervised access they were have more impact and value.

The finance lady at the local PLA office, who never has contact with children has got to have one just incase she see's a child's name.

I thought things had changed so that the registered person and the manager/playleader had to have a CRB but that it was at the discretion of them as to wether others did also. I could be mixed up on this but it should say something in the standards.

 

I agree with you Nikki, it's a world gone mad.

[Marion]

We are getting a Children's Centre and they have suggested we get ALL parents CRB checked so they can come into the shared entrance!

[Inge]

and if a parent 'fails' this check or refuses,

do you refuse the child entry to the setting....

 

worlds going mad

 

Inge

[hali]

tricky one!!!!!!

[Rea]

The Charities Commission site which you can access here has a load of information.

 

What is the CRB’s definition of a “Volunteer”?

The CRB will issue a Disclosure “free of charge” if the person for whom a Disclosure is required satisfies the following criteria:

 

‘ a volunteer is person who is engaged in any activity which involves spending time, unpaid (except for travelling and other approved out-of-pocket expenses), doing something which aims to benefit someone (individuals or groups) other than or in addition to close relatives’.

 

More from the CRB site here

 

And this one made me wonder...

Do pub landlords need to get a CRB check?

No, not until such time as Basic Disclosures become available from the CRB. For advice on how to obtain confirmation of any unspent conviction details as required with your application, you should contact your Licensing Authority.

[Rea]

What about volunteers?

Not all volunteers need to be CRB checked, for example, those volunteering for one-off trips, as we would not expect them to be left unsupervised in charge of children. We would expect CRB checks for those volunteers who work at the school on a regular basis. More information about volunteers can be found here.

 

Teachernet site

 

 

http://www.childcarelink.gov.uk/pdf/ofsted/Module1.pdf

1.3 The registered person ensures that any person who has not been vetted

is never left alone with children.

 

I've been looking all morning but cant find anything that states CRB's are mandatory except for in schools. I dont think there is actual legislation on it, so long as the registered person is checked. It would be interesting if we all phoned our relevent eydcp's local ofsteds and PLA asking the same question 'who needs, by law, a CRB within a childcare setting?'

[Sue R]

When I was in a playgroup we had to have our Committee checked, as they were first recourse in case of staff shortages (sickness etc). My own checks date back that way. Of course, way back then it was through Social Services! We once had a Committee member's come back as unsuitable, but because it had taken so long, her child had already gone to school and she'd left! I have no idea how we'd have handled it if she'd still been active!

[Marion]

and if a parent 'fails' this check or refuses,

do you refuse the child entry to the setting....

 

worlds going mad

 

Inge

 

Exactly!! Many of our parents would fail a CRB check.

[Inge]

At our Ofsted a year ago she asked to see ecords of CRB checks done on members of staff, not the forms or letters but a record of dates, names when sent when returned, decision on suitable for employment and a record of the form number sent.....we had none since the change in regulations all had been ofsted checked but she did ask for them. and how we dealt with them after we had seen them.

 

so would some of ours Marion

 

Inge

Edited April 21, 2007 by Inge

[Guest]

We were told by Ofsted that all of our pre-school committee required CRB checks, regardless of their position on the committee, or if they would come into contact with children, as the committee were responsible for the appointment of staff. For this reason a number of parents which refused to be checked had to resign their position on the committee.