Comments on CONDUCTIVE WORLD: URGENT: UNITED KINGDOM

The CRB website (http://bit.ly/5FSdTr) explains th...

2009-11-27T06:54:44.695Z

The CRB website (http://bit.ly/5FSdTr) explains the difference between CRB and the new ISA checks as follows:
What is the difference between the service offered by the ISA and the CRB?
1. The ISA will prevent the most unsuitable people from working with children and vulnerable adults by making it a legal requirement for everyone who is working with children or the vulnerable to be registered with the ISA.

2. The CRB will continue to support employers by providing them with access to an individual’s full criminal record and other information so that they can assess the individual’s suitability for the particular post or position.

In other words CRB is essentially advisory to employers. ISA's Vetting and Barring scheme will, as it says, "barr" individuals from working with children and young people - on pain of stringent penalties for both individual and employee.

For me, this is a significant new shift in the power of the State - based on no evidence whatsoever that it will achieve the safeguarding of children which is claimed for it.

The URLs noted in my previous Comment need to be c...

2009-11-27T06:42:51.681Z

The URLs noted in my previous Comment need to be copied and pasted. I've just checked - they are OK. Hope that helps.

Dear Norman, It is obvious that Andrew quite wise...

2009-11-27T02:52:13.859Z

Dear Norman,

It is obvious that Andrew quite wisely raised awareness of the new Independent Safeguarding Authority's Vetting and Barring Scheme, which everyone must take notice of and adjust their way of operating within the UK.
I wanted to highlight that it is not something new… it has been introduced, prepared and tested in different regions and probably in different ways within the UK before it became a centralised system management. These things don’t often just come out of the blue, but sometimes they do.
I am also aware of that within Hampshire some projects charged their employees for their CRB checks. My attention was drawn to that when conductors applied for a job with us and told us that they personally had to pay before.
I also hope that ‘Conductive World's’ readers would take careful notice of your valuable previous comments and interpret them wisely for future reference.
Norman the links you put up don’t work. Maybe it is just my computer.
Judit

Andrew is referring to the Independent Safeguardin...

2009-11-26T22:40:20.541Z

Andrew is referring to the Independent Safeguarding Authority's Vetting and Barring Scheme, which is, I'm afraid, both new and additional to the existing CRB checks.
See http://bit.ly/65PplS

How Ofsted interprets its responsibilities for safe-guarding has been causing some "anxieties". I am still seeking a definitive Ofsted statement, but this might help as a starter: http://bit.ly/927ToH

Dear Anonymous, Thank you for the correction as i...

2009-11-26T16:35:32.733Z

Dear Anonymous,

Thank you for the correction as it maybe different in different locations within the UK.
When we got involved with working with children in 1998 the CRB check was compulsory in Hampshire.
When Ofsted took over from Social Services a few years ago we were informed that even childminders working form home or anyone who works with, or takes care of children had to be registered with Ofsted.
Once we paid the Ofsted registration fee the CRB check was and it is still free up to this date.
Also if new staff or volunteers join our centre we have to have a new CRB check for them registered with us, as we are not allowed to accept other places CRB checks and registrations. Until the CRB check came back clear we were not allowed to leave staff unsupervised even if they had a clear previous record.
I hope that this clarifies this issue further and helps people to seek advise accordingly.
Judit Szathmáry conductor

Judit, I have to correct you because the current ...

2009-11-26T09:31:42.931Z

Judit,
I have to correct you because the current CRB is not free.
The standard one is £26.00 and the enhanced check is £32.00.
Also, anybody who is employed to work with vulnerable children and/or adults or works as a volunteer is obliged to have this CRB regardless they registered with OFSTED or not. For example in certain CE establishments Parent and Child services are not registered and inspected by Ofsted, however they still have to have the CRB form.

This is not something new. At the Conductive Educa...

2009-11-26T09:04:45.720Z

This is not something new. At the Conductive Education Support Centre in Brockenhurst UK, all our staff and volunteers have been CRB checked, as it was compulsory since we opened in 1998.

Before Ofsted became compulsory we had to be registered and we were inspected annually by Social Services and a compulsory CRB check applied.

All Ofsted registered centres/projects have to follow the guidelines set out and regularly inspected by Ofsted it includes the compulsory CRB check.

The CRB check is free for all Ofsted registered centres and projects.

Judit Szathmáry conductor

Clarification My original figure of 15,000 was cor...

2009-11-25T22:22:07.842Z

Clarification
My original figure of 15,000 was correct but should have referred not to a year but to the number of complaints (15320) about criminal records checks so far upheld since the CRB was set up in 2002. "It is thought a significant number of these related to people wrongly being accused of criminal offences." http://bit.ly/909z

Correction. An extra zero crept into my figures, w...

2009-11-25T22:13:06.980Z

Correction.
An extra zero crept into my figures, which should have been 1500.

As with DNA, where it would be so much more conven...

2009-11-25T22:08:19.993Z

As with DNA, where it would be so much more convenient for the State if everyone's DNA were stored on a national database, would it not be simpler for the State to compel everyone to carry an identity card encrypted with their ISA registration, and be required to produce this on demand?

Would it not be easier to remove all children and vulnerable adults from society altogether and keep them behind locked doors, attended only by the very few State approved personnel? Much safer.

Yes, Andrew. ISA is with us and everyone must comply or suffer a hefty penalty. But we must not accept this nonsense without raising our voices against the monstrosity at every opportunity.

BTW, a couple of weeks ago it was revealed that around 15,000 mistakes a year were made in vetting by the CRB. 15,000 lives. 15,000 people with friends and relatives and would-be colleagues. However, a CRB spokesperson sought to assure us that this was OK because it was a less than 1% error rate. Fine as long as you are not one of the 15,000 ...

Eventually we must hope that some sort of sanity will prevail.