Good news for volunteers

[Guest]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-20796686

This has to be good news, and well done this time to the govt. for listening.

I'm occasionally involved in a voluntary kids group, and it was a pain getting all the clearances for everybody. I paid for mine in the end, as I didn't want the group to have to. But I couldn't use the same clearance when I went to my sister's kids' school in another county!

I don't suppose there has ever been a bureaucracy that has said "OK then, if we do it this way we can reduce our costs and staffing levels" - and that's natural enough. But this was a clear case of unnecessary duplication, and the new system seems to be sensible, as far as I can tell. I expect any of us involved in community work will be pleased.

I don't think we will ever remove all risk, as I suppose that someone wanting to molest a kid will, if determined enough, probably find a way - but the report says that 150,000 "unsuitable" people have been prevented from working with kids, so if that's true it's no bad thing.

[amateur51]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-20796686

This has to be good news, and well done this time to the govt. for listening.

I'm occasionally involved in a voluntary kids group, and it was a pain getting all the clearances for everybody. I paid for mine in the end, as I didn't want the group to have to. But I couldn't use the same clearance when I went to my sister's kids' school in another county!

I don't suppose there has ever been a bureaucracy that has said "OK then, if we do it this way we can reduce our costs and staffing levels" - and that's natural enough. But this was a clear case of unnecessary duplication, and the new system seems to be sensible, as far as I can tell. I expect any of us involved in community work will be pleased.

I don't think we will ever remove all risk, as I suppose that someone wanting to molest a kid will, if determined enough, probably find a way - but the report says that 150,000 "unsuitable" people have been prevented from working with kids, so if that's true it's no bad thing.

I doubt that this process would have 'caught' Jimmy Savile, Cyril Smith, or Thomas Hamilton. We know now that local people had had their suspicions about all these men frm decades back but the police failed to take their suspicions seriously or to follow them up.

[Simon]

I don't think one can say. It may have caught some of them.

[Serial_Apologist]

Those of us retired or with the good fortune of spare time can always pitch in with help for charities operating in the gaps unfilled by the state; my problem is that where the state is vacating long established fought for responsibilities in employing properly salaried professionals to run community centres and libraries, for example, demonstrating yet again capitalism to be erratic and unsustainable in providing the basic prerequisites for a civilised, informed society longterm. People of goodwill will be arm-twisted into substituting for those once rightly paid to do such work, providing as it did career pathways, or left feeling unjustifiably guilty for what religion or conscience tells them they should be doing in the name of service to the community. It is probably better to call a halt before matters slide beyond recovery and campaign for all it's worth to stop and reverse cuts which are bringing this sort of situation about the length and breadth of the country right now.

[amateur51]

I don't think one can say. It may have caught some of them.

All three were pillars of society, working for and with charities to both build their reputations as good people and to give them largely unfettered access to vulnerable people. When Hamilton was finally prevented from doing his youth work through a series of nudges and winks, he massacred those young children in Dunblane.

[amateur51]

Those of us retired or with the good fortune of spare time can always pitch in with help for charities operating in the gaps unfilled by the state; my problem is that where the state is vacating long established fought for responsibilities in employing properly salaried professionals to run community centres and libraries, for example, demonstrating yet again capitalism to be erratic and unsustainable in providing the basic prerequisites for a civilised, informed society longterm. People of goodwill will be arm-twisted into substituting for those once rightly paid to do such work, providing as it did career pathways, or left feeling unjustifiably guilty for what religion or conscience tells them they should be doing in the name of service to the community. It is probably better to call a halt before matters slide beyond recovery and campaign for all it's worth to stop and reverse cuts which are bringing this sort of situation about the length and breadth of the country right now.

Spot on, S_A

And just watch this Government and its media chums 'spin' about what a dangerous bunch of lefties these campaigners are

[Flosshilde]

England & Wales trailing behind Scotland again.

[Resurrection Man]

England & Wales trailing behind Scotland again.

I didn't realise the football had started again.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

It is utterly ludicrous that CRB certificates have to be obtained separately (and often paid for by the employee/volunteer) for every agency he/she is registered with.
So this is a move in the right direction.

But I agree that the concept of encouraging volunteering rather than paying people to do the work is unacceptable.

[teamsaint]

It is utterly ludicrous that CRB certificates have to be obtained separately (and often paid for by the employee/volunteer) for every agency he/she is registered with.
So this is a move in the right direction.

But I agree that the concept of encouraging volunteering rather than paying people to do the work is unacceptable.

Its funny how at the top we seem to have to pay ever increasing salaries to get the best "talent",( EG new B of E boss, BBc execs etc) but at the bottom end , getting people to do things for nothing (or if the MUST get paid , on ever diminishing wages) is the government's objective.

Edit : CRB seems to be a money making machine from what I have seen.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Edit : CRB seems to be a money making machine from what I have seen.

Yes!
The agency charges you, takes its cut and then ignores you until the next renewal date.

[Serial_Apologist]

Its funny how at the top we seem to have to pay ever increasing salaries to get the best "talent",( EG new B of E boss, BBc execs etc) but at the bottom end , getting people to do things for nothing (or if the MUST get paid , on ever diminishing wages) is the government's objective.

Ah - see: when it comes to us hoi polloi, there'd never be enough to go around too many to pay what the masters deserve by shouldering the responsibilities of running things and having to carry the can in the end. Like paying more for a rare commodity, innit?

That's how it was always explained to me as a nipper.

Now it someone else's turn to unpick.

[MrGongGong]

Sadly I have no expectation of this working at all
as a freelance musician often working in education I get about 6 CRBs each year
even though its from a national computer database individual schools and institutions are under obligations from insurance companies to insist on new ones all the time and frequently lie about what is or isn't the law (a bit like those who tell you that the Inland Revenue insist on self employed people having a "business account" ).......... IN Scotland a Disclosure Scotland certificate works everywhere (and is A4 so it fits on a scanner !!)........

Much as I feel that children DO need protection the experience of the whole CRB nonsense is that it protects no one apart from the shareholders of insurance companies !

CRB's also have NO expiry date so institutions are able to make it up as they see fit, most say that it's good for 3 years but one I sometimes work for say that it works for 6 months........

What is more than a little worrying is the proposal (some time ago so not sure if it's still in the pipeline ?) to include "soft" information , that means if you are a bit odd or unconventional that this becomes one of the reasons why you are not allowed to work with "vulnerable" people.

[amateur51]

What is more than a little worrying is the proposal (some time ago so not sure if it's still in the pipeline ?) to include "soft" information , that means if you are a bit odd or unconventional that this becomes one of the reasons why you are not allowed to work with "vulnerable" people.

Oh not to worry MrGG. it'll probably innocent stuff like you're on medication for depression or too fat to claim welfare benefits ... Or you've got blue hair, like poor Chris Jefferies ( I wonder how he is these days )

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

CRB's also have NO expiry date so institutions are able to make it up as they see fit, most say that it's good for 3 years but one I sometimes work for say that it works for 6 months........

Mine expires next month