Crb Help

[hammerman]

I work as a head gardener for a local authority and i use free labour in the form of volunteers, community payback and work experience.

However, the subject of a CRB check has cropped up. I work with payback men and women on a daily basis but in a few weeks, i'm due to be working with one or two year 11 students on work experience from the school.

Should i be CRB checked ? if so, who's responsible for it....the school or my employers ?

Also, my wife works in a care home so she knows about CRB checks and i asked her about working with vulnerable adults.....to which she replied "everybody over 18 is now considered vulnerable"

Does that mean every employee should be CRB checked ?

Confused dot com

[woofgang]

I think you need to ask your employer what THEIR policy is about CRB checks and work experience students. You wife is wrong that everyone over age 18 is considered vulnerable.

[EDDIE51]

^^ if under 16 s are children and therefor 'Vulnerable' and over 18s are vulnerable that only leaves the 15 and 16 year olds!!

[EDDIE51]

Sorry only leaves the 17 year olds

[Buenchico]

CRB checks have now been replaced by DBS checks.

>>>to which she replied "everybody over 18 is now considered vulnerable"

WRONG! No employer (or voluntary organisation) can carry out a DBS check on an employee unless the work (or voluntary activity) falls within one of the categories listed within the Annex to this document:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/409805/DBS_guide_eligibility_v7.pdf
(In Scotland a more basic level of check, which doesn't show spent convictions, is available to ALL employers but, as you're in the south of England, it's not relevant here).

While the Secretary of State for Education places a requirement upon schools to carry out DBS checks on all school staff who have regular contact with children, it's accepted that it would not be practical for schools to have DBS checks carried out on all adults that young people might encounter during work experience programmes. (As someone who's spent hundreds of hours trying to persuade employers to take school students on work experience, I can tell you that such schemes simply couldn't exist if an extra strand of red tape was applied to them). Schools simply have to take 'reasonable measures' to ensure the safety and well-being of their pupils on work experience schemes.

So you do NOT require a DBS check.

[ummmm]

He clearly just typed it wrong and meant 'under 18'

[New Judge]

Yes and to add to 'chico's excellent and comprehensive answer, the policy of the organisation concerned is irrelevant. DBS checks can only be requested if the position is listed in the guidance. Just coming into contact with children from time to time does not make the position eligible for a check. (For example, a worker in a sweet shop often deals with children, but would not needd a DBS check).

[Xeronema]

NJ: Am I correct in saying that a DBS certificate is only require if that person is require to hold a level of responsibility for a child or someone who is deemed 'at risk' (mental health etc)?

[Xeronema]

Once again I've typo'd *required and *required.

[New Judge]

I think the document Buenchico provided explains all, Xeronema.

[hammerman]

Chris, New judge....absolute stars as usual.

Thank you

[cassa333]

DBS is used, within my organisation, when people have unsupervised access to children and vulnerable people.

So it would depend on the company policy and the access available. Year 11 should perhaps be chaperoned by a tutor? However there should also be a school policy for work placements.

[Canary42]

Off topic, but still relevant, isn't it about time Answerbank software allowed upper case characters in the question title to be reproduced accurately - only cosmetic I know, but why change them in the first place ?