On CRB checks i had one about 2 years ago, do you need to do them regularly or do they last for x amount of time.
CRB checks are valid for three years.
My friend is a trainee Mental Health Nurse, and they had to have the CRB checks done before they went on placement.
Her tutor said that even cautions show up, to which my friend argued that its a lie, and they dont.
When my friend was challenged on how she knew she went "I got cautioned by the police, have all the relevant paperwork, and I think you'll find its not on my CRB"
Lol
Cautions should show up but it depends on when and where the offence happened. I have CRB checks regularly because of the work I do. I also have a caution from 1983 that never comes back on the paperwork. I always put it down because (a) I know had a caution (b) because prior to the CRB system being introduced it showed up on the Police Checks I used to have and I had to be interviewed every time about the offence (c) The minute I don't put it down it will come back on a CRB and I will have to explain.
i have worked with children with special needs since i was 14. and have subsequently had a crb check done every year. you cant give a fake date of birth as your driving licence or passport have to be seen when you send off your paperwork. i also know of people who have not been allowed to work with children when they wanted to because they had done some disgusting things in their pasts. so to say its common sense gone mad is a bit of an ignorant comment in my opinion.
you do not need a crb check if you will not be in direct cotact with the children, but as said above parentl consent would be good. get the club to write up a disclaimer form for partens to sign so you can cover our back.
I also have to undertake CRB checks on people as well as a variety of other checks / investigations. I agree with you. Some of the offences that I come across where people have attempted to access children / young people would surprise 'Joe Public' who generally get most of their information in relation to child protection from certain sections of the media. People also have very short memories. Remember the reason the CRB / checking system was tightened up. Ian Huntley had slipped through and was working as a caretaker at a school! Ask the people involved in that case or any of the victims families whether they think checks are a waste of time!
If you really want to stop child abuse then get all parents and family members checked as they commit most offences.
Victoria Climbie
Baby P
Shannon Mathews
I do agree with jolsterj , exclude children from events whose parents object to photos of school sports days or plays and so-on.
Unfortunately it is a sad fact of life that most abuse towards children happens within the home and by family members. It is also a fact that the minute any professional tries to 'meddle' in family lives they are castigated for being over zealous. When something goes wrong they are castigated for not doing enough.
It is interesting that the three cases mentioned above are deemed to be newsworthy. There are hundreds of children that lose their lives every year in this country at the hands of abusive adults that do not make the headlines for a variety of reasons. They are anonymous to most, but not to the people that are involved in these cases.
CRB checks are one form of trying to make a safer society for our children. But until everyone accepts that as a society in the UK today we fail children regularly and we all begin to take collective responsibility we will always have debates like these about something as low level as a CRB check.
The debate about Baby P will go on because it is topical and everyone has a view on it. Eventually a
full report will be published and recommendations made as there always are and most of these will not be put into place because the Government will not provide the monies. I often hear 'Joe Public' talk about the Victoria Climbie case. How many people have actually read the full report and understand what happened?
If anyone is that interested I will post it out to them at my own expense. I have lots of full reports from lots of tragic cases if anyone is interested in getting to the facts.
For now I would just be happy to have people accept that there are occasions when people working with children need to have a CRB in place. For those that think this is beaurocracy gone mad, have a look at the level of beaurocracy that people working within the child protection services have to deal with on a daily basis, scared of making a mistake, and also having to deal with attitudes that are contradictory in nature from Joe Public.
Chris
