Topic: CRB check,anyone know?

[elvis2003]

hi folks,Ive recently completed a short training course that taught us how to teach gardening to community groups/schools. the idea for the course came about as so many allotment sites now have communal plots/raised bed plots for community groups..not all of whom know how to garden..so myself and a few other plotholders were invited on the course so we can now teach at our own and other sites.....
BUT what about CRB checks...do we need one if working as a volunteer,if so,who pays for it?
how long do they take? are they transferrable,if one group on site A paid for one for me,could i then take it to work with a completely different group on site B? Do I need one if Im not left alone with a group of children/vulnerable adults? sorry for so many questions but I feel its important to get this right
ta
R
x

[landimad]

elvis2003

Sorry to say but anyone working with children has to have a CRB check done on them. Cost is about £50 ouch :o but that is it for the time you are doing the volunteer work with that group only. It will take approx 6 weeks to do it and have them get back to you with the completed check. It will cover you for all work with the vulnerable in society. They are not transferable but stay with you until you leave that job and move to another then the whole process starts again. Again if you do not work alone with these people then all persons working with them have to be CRB checked.
Any other questions then feel free to ask as the wife used to work in schools and junior clubs as well as a leader for the St. John Ambulance brigade.
Good luck with the new venture and hope it all sorts itself out.

[SMP1704]

Elvis

Take a look at this guidance

http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/media/cabinetoffice/third_sector/assets/crb%20final.pdf

[elvis2003]

thanks both so much for the useful replies,i shall have a good long look at all the info provided in the link.
landimad,in short,would you say if i worked for say 4 different sites,i would need 4 separate checks?
ta again!

[Tin Shed]

I have just had an enhanced CRB check done and it and it took just over 7 weeks. Despite working with the same hospital trust and doing the job on the bank I still needed to get new CRB check done for the new job.
I also work on the bank as at another hospital and need to have a separate CRB check for them.
Each disclosure has the job title and the organisation on it so it means that they are not transfrerable.

[Jill]

OH is a teacher and has just been redone CRB-wise.  This time around they issued him with a certificate which he was told was transferable which seems logical.  Surely a CRB check is about the individual, regardless of where he/she is working? If Tin Shed is right, then the system is an ass!

[Larkshall]

If Tin Shed is right, then the system is an ass!

It always was an ass. All it proves is that the individual does not have a criminal record ------ yet.

[redimp]

CRB checks for volunteers were always free - don't know whether that has changed.

[Jeannine]

I looked after the volunteers in our school, the cost as of 2009 was 36 pounds sterling and in our case the school paid it, We would accept one from an earlier school if it was less than 1 year old,it was taking almost 3 months for one to come through at that time, this was for the enhanced one that is needed to be in a shool.

Hint... when you fill in the paperwork DO NOT miss anything off it and please do it in black ink, I have had them returned for just using blue!! Read the information guide before you put pen to paper.

XX Jeannine

[PurpleHeather]

There are separate checks for working with different areas apparently. I had one done and was cleared to work with vulnerable people. I got a copy so did the employer. It stated on it that another check would be needed if I wanted to be 'cleared' to work with children.

Some one told me that the check for working with children costs more because it is more thorough.

[Digeroo]

The whole system is a nonsense.  Because we fail to monitor the whereabouts of those on the sex offenders register we have to constantly monitor everyone else at great expense and great inconvenience.  

In some jobs they have to employ agency staff at great expense and disruption while they wait for a check on a new employee, who often comes from a job where there was one in place already.  But the agency staff are not fully trained and often can only do part of the job.

What I fail to understand it why it takes so long, why is costs so much, why it does not included a fingerprint check and why within reason it is not transferable.   It should become like a driving licence which can then be taken away.

The definition of a volunteer seems a bit vague  

[wraith]

I'm a coach driver and transport kiddies to and from school and hence: needed a CRB check done...

As I live on the border of Norfolk and Suffolk and work in both counties I needed one done by both counties..?

They took about a month to come back and were payed fo by the employer...

I also had to have one done as I am th treasurer of the PTA at my childrens school...

Because being on the PTA is a voluntary and unpaid thing the CRB for that is free...

wraith

[elvis2003]

thanks so much everyone for your replies,ill spend some time looking into this. Im a bit worried that i have already done some work with kids,putting make up on them for a local community drama group,and they never ever mentioned a CRB,and i didnt think of it,oops!

[markp2511]

I'm an athletics coach and have a crb check through UK athletics.  I also do coaching in schools, but my UK:A crb covers me for this, as I'm not being employed by the schools; they are effectively 'buying me in' as a subcontractor. 

It sounds like this would be a similar situation elvis, so you'd just need the one check done, and renewed every 3 years.  Cost was £36 last time I looked, and should be free for volunteers.  I'd check with the people you did the course with, as they would likely be the 'umbrella body' you would be getting the check done through.  If they aren't, they should be able to advise who is.  It may well need to be done through the local council.

Usually, crb checks are not transferable between organisations - if I took a job as a teacher, then the school would need to crb check me for that job.  If I then started fostering children, I'd need another one done.  I do understand that there are moves to change this though, so that one check stays with you, but I don't know if this has been implemented yet.