A school in Leicester banned a father from watching his son’s egg and spoon because he didn’t have a CRB check – http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/leicester/10558648.stm An extreme case, perhaps, but not alone – we’ve had reports of demands for CRB checks for parents going on the rugby bus, or attending the school disco as helpers. In many cases these regulations are coming from Ofsted and other bodies. We need to expose the general climate, and official regulations, that lead to schools acting in this way, rather than to blame particular headteachers.

In our volunteering report we documented the harmful effect of vetting on volunteering. There is also a large nearly-voluntary sector – where people work with children for very little money, and yet because on paper they are ’employed’ would have to finance their own CRBs. I remember my piano teacher charged £2.50 an hour – a token amount really. This email comes from a trampoline coach who falls into this category – she calculated that it would take her 6 weeks to pay back the costs of CRB checks and other fees. We have already reported on the case of Peter Bulmer,…

The Society of Authors just sent us this statement in support of our vetting campaign: ‘The Society of Authors supports the Manifesto Club’s campaign against the over-cautious and over-complicated procedures for vetting and barring of those working with young people. The current CRB system is clearly unworkable, with many of our members who work on a regular part time or voluntary basis with young or vulnerable people reporting the need to obtain multiple clearances for each site they visit or each group with whom they have contact. Despite statements from the Department for Education that CRB checks should not apply to authors,…

I just received this excellent document from James Underwood, Vice President NASUWT Cambridge Branch, listing his concerns with the ISA’s decision making process – including the fact that the ISA does not have to prove that an event took place in order to bar somebody, and that somebody could be barred for the actions of their friends or associates. The full document is here…

Tom Addiscott, a Church of England Reader, has just sent the following email to the church authorities who were asking for him to be CRB checked. More and more volunteers are taking this stand; if enough of us do it we will be strong enough to turn this thing around. Tom’s email reads: ‘I am sorry to be awkward but I object strongly to the CRB process, which I consider insulting and humiliating. I have no criminal record but if the parish wants to regard me as a potential child molester that is their problem. CRB was a knee-jerk reaction to the…

This email from a junior golf coordinator puts the case for informal club vetting of volunteers, rather than relying on CRBs and other box-ticking. It should be adults’ responsibility to look out for children in their club. It’s a good case, very well made… ‘My arguments have always been about the effect the current CRB-checking and the proposed Vetting and Barring (V & B) schemes are having on the retention of experienced Club-based volunteers, and the recruitment of suitable new volunteers. Most sport is Club-based in this and, indeed, most countries. Within those Clubs there have always been people who levitate towards…

A survey today showed that many private tutors will refuse to register on the vetting database. Three quarters of the tutors interviewed by the website thetutorpages.com said that they wouldn’t register: many said that they didn’t think it would stop paedophiles, and resented the implication that they were ‘assumed guilty until proven innocent’. Henry Fagg, director of www.thetutorpages.com, made the excellent point that tutors have close relationships with the parent of the child; they often go into the family home to give their lessons. ‘This scheme is in danger of undermining that bond of trust as it breeds the suspicion that every…

This is an outrageous case: a woman disciplined for helping a young boy down from a tree. Apparently she went against the school’s (Ofsted-approved) child protection guidelines, which recommended that teachers observe children when they are stuck in trees. This shows that child protection rules are all about ticking boxes, observing rules, and nothing to do with actually caring for children and helping when they are in trouble. In fact – these policies are actually about the re-education of adults’ decent and caring instincts, into something quite cold and distant. (Incidentally this woman was disciplined by a CSO, who clearly have the…

I just received this email from a Scout leader, who was asked to CRB a serving police officer. A worrying story for the times, showing how old forms of authority (police, politicians) are being replaced with new (child protection coordinators, health and safety advisers). ‘I have just been asked to do a CRB check on a serving police officer so that he can help in his son’s cub scout pack. I thought this had to be an over enthusiastic misinterpretation of the rules, so I queried it with the Scout Association. Amazingly, they have confirmed that indeed they do NOT trust the…

The Independent Safeguarding Authority requires the registration of anybody who works in a school for four days a month – even if they are fixing the radiators or installing wind turbines on the roof. Businesses are rightly angry about what they see as a hidden tax. The fact that they have no contact with children cuts no ice, as this email we just received from a renewable energy business outlines: ‘We install renewable energy systems for example wind turbines and solar photovoltaic (electricity generation) systems to both residential and commercial customers. Many of our larger customers are schools and they are starting…

I’ve just received this email from Richard Ellam, a popular science presenter, who makes the important point about the lack of evidence for the efficacy of the CRB system. Indeed, I’ve repeatedly asked officials what evidence they have that this vetting database does any good – but they steadfastly ignored the question. ‘As a strong supporter of civil liberties of all sorts I have been following your campaign against the Child Protection Mafia with interest for some time. This issue affects me directly, as I am a freelance writer and presenter of science shows who regularly visits schools and other places to…

Media Release: EMBARGO: 00.01 MONDAY 14 DECEMBER 2009 New data released under a Freedom of Information request to the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) reveals a huge increase in the number of children undergoing vetting, before being licensed to volunteer with other children. CRB checks are routinely being carried out on children who are 13-years old or younger. · Over 3,000 children who were 13 or under have undergone CRB checks since 2002. 433 children 13 and under were CRB checked in the year 2007/8. · Since 2002, a total of 43,000 under-16s have undergone CRB checks. By law, under-16s are considered to…