Anyone who has kids will be familiar with appeals for volunteers. Sporting organisations and groups like Scouts or Brownies just wouldn’t run without an army of volunteer help. Recently though, there have been claims that it’s getting harder than ever to recruit helpers. And the worry is that this difficulty is in large part down to CRB checks. Designed to keep children safe, could checks actually be deterring parents from stepping forward to help?
What are CRB Checks?
CRB is actually an outdated term which stands for Criminal Records Bureau. The body which does police checks is now called the Disclosure and Barring Service, or DBS. This is the government organisation which checks the backgrounds of people who are working with children or vulnerable adults. There are other occupations in which you could be asked to apply for a DBS check too. The idea behind the system is to stop people with long criminal records abusing their position in some way. There are three different levels of checking. People wanting to work with children or vulnerable adults have the most detailed levels of check.
What’s the problem with checking?
The main problem with checking up on people is that schools are being accused of being over-cautious. Parents are very aware of the whole child protection issue, and want to make sure that the school is doing everything they can. Although the school only legally has to check people who are regular, weekly volunteers, they often decide just to check everyone. Schools which adopt this policy can find it almost impossible to recruit people to help out on trips or at events, unless they give three months’ notice or more.
A further issue is that many schools feel that running a CRB check on every parent who volunteers as a helper creates an atmosphere of mistrust and suspicion. Parents may be well known to the school, and have had many years of going into school to help out. They are understandably reluctant to suddenly have to go through the DBS application process, which can be time consuming. Bearing in mind that around 11 million people in the UK have a criminal record, there’s a fair chance that some of the parents coming forward as volunteers have minor offences in their past. Parents understandably don’t want the people teaching their kids to know all the details of their past.
Getting CRB Checks
If your child’s school tells you that you need a police check, then you might feel you have no option but to comply. The good news is that as a volunteer, you won’t pay for your check. You’ll need to complete the application form. Then show a selection of identity documents to the nominated person in the school, usually the headteacher. The paperwork then goes to the DBS and local police, who search the records. Finally, the DBS prints off a certificate and sends it to your home address in the post. Each school will have their own rules about how often checks are renewed. Usually, it’s every two or three years.