Transcript VETTING AND BARRING SCHEME

VETTING AND BARRING SCHEME
ROAD SHOW
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PROGRAM
1. Introduction to the scheme – context, scope and
process
2. How it applies in practice – some exercises
3. Refreshments break
4. Roles, Decisions and Appeals
5. Sanctions and where to get help
6. Concluding remarks and questions
7. Action planning – what to do next
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CONTEXT
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Bichard Inquiry commissioned in 2002 to examine ways employers recruit
people to work with children and vulnerable adults
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The Inquiry led to the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006
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The Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) along with the CRB was
created to fulfil this role across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
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The Vetting and Barring Scheme (VBS) was set up to provide a register of
individuals eligible to work with children and vulnerable adults
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Those who have caused or are at risk of causing harm to children and
vulnerable adults will be barred from working with them by the ISA
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Replaces List 99, POCA and POVA lists with the Children’s Barred List and
Vulnerable Adult’s Barred list
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WHO IS COVERED?
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Children and young people under 18 years of age
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Any vulnerable adult- aged 18 or over:
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In residential care or support accommodation;
Receiving domiciliary care in own home or health care,
Detained in lawful custody (Prison, remand centre etc)
Under supervision of the probation service
In receipt of a welfare service
In receipt of service or participating in an activity for people
with needs due to age or disability
– Who is an expectant or nursing mother living in care
– receiving direct payments from a local authority or health or
social care trust
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WHO IS AFFECTED?
• All faith bodies and faith-based organisations in England and
Wales including:
– Christian Denominations
– independent churches; and
– Christian based organisations
• Individual employees or volunteers working with children
and/or vulnerable adults in regulated/controlled activities
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WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOUR CHURCH
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All faith-based organisations in England and Wales including churches and
Christian organisations must comply with the SVG Act 2006 and VBS
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Individual employees or volunteers working with children and/or vulnerable
adults in regulated activities must be registered with the VBS in order to
work
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Work involving frequent contact with children or vulnerable adults is
classified as regulated activity by the ISA and is covered by VBS registration
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Individuals on either the Children’s or Vulnerable Adults barred lists are
barred from working in regulated activities and must not be employed or
allowed to volunteer to undertake such activities
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An Enhanced CRB check is still required along with ISA registration for
anyone working in regulated activity or intending to do so
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There are sanctions for not complying with the requirements of the VBS
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WHAT IS REGULATED ACTIVITY?
• Activity of a specified nature involving contact with
children or vulnerable adults frequently (i.e. once a
week or more), intensively and/or overnight (i.e. 4
times in a 30 day period)
or
• Activity that allows contact with children or
vulnerable adults frequently or intensively in a
specified place
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EXAMPLES OF REGULATED ACTIVITY
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Moderating an online chat room
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Driving a vehicle for the purpose of conveying children or vulnerable adults
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Teaching a children’s Sunday school or children’s service
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Official pastoral/befriending visits (on behalf of church) to children or vulnerable adults in
their own home or in hospital, care home, prison or remand centre
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Leading children and/or vulnerable adults on a day trip organised by the church
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Providing advice or guidance to children or vulnerable adults as part of a church organised
activity
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Running a day care facility for children or vulnerable adults
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Supervising sporting activities for children or vulnerable adults
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Providing teaching, training or instruction to children or vulnerable adults
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WHAT ISN’T REGULATED ACTIVITY?
Activities carried out in the course of family or
personal relationships such as:
• Looking after an elderly relative or friend’s child
• Personal visits to a child’s ward or a vulnerable
adult in a care home
• Driving a group of children home where this has
been agreed between their parents
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WHO IS A REGULATED ACTIVITY PROVIDER
(RAP)?
• An organisation or individual responsible for
management or control of regulated activity
and
• An employer or those within a voluntary
organisation who recruit and manage volunteers
or paid staff
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VETTING AND BARRING SCHEME (VBS)
• The VBS aims to ensure that anyone who presents a known risk to
vulnerable groups is prevented from working with them
• VBS is a partnership of the Independent Safeguarding Authority
(ISA), Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) and Access Northern Ireland.
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The ISA is responsible for decision making and maintenance of two
new barred lists for England and Wales and Northern Ireland
• The CRB is responsible for the application and monitoring elements
of the VBS and will run it alongside CRB checks
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WHAT VBS INVOLVES
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Creates 2 new Lists for those barred from working with children and
vulnerable adults – Children’s Barred List and Vulnerable Adults’ Barred
list from existing lists
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Provides a register of individuals allowed to work with vulnerable groups
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Duty to refer someone who has been removed from employment for
allegedly causing harm or who poses a risk of harm to vulnerable groups
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Provides a robust investigation, risk assessment and appeals process
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Ensures portability of registration from one employer to the other
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Operates alongside CRB checks
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CHURCH ROLES COVERED BY VBS REGISTRATION
• Clergy/Ministers in active service – whether paid or
voluntary
• Youth and children’s workers/ youth pastors , family
workers - paid or voluntary who work with children
and young people
• Lay volunteers and employees – who either regularly
work with children or vulnerable adults, or those who
work in schools, hospitals or prisons.
• Those who appoint, manage, train or supervise those
who do the above work
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EXEMPTIONS FROM VBS REGISTRATION
• Under 16s in employment settings
• 16/17 year olds in mixed age sport and leisure
• 16/17 year olds in Further/Higher Education
• Under 16s when they are undertaking regulated activity but
never solely responsible for children or vulnerable adults
• Peer group exemption – within groups with a fixed
membership, including mixed ages.
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ORGANISATIONS IMPLEMENTING VBS
• Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA)
• Criminal Records Bureau (CRB)
• Home Office (HO)
• Dept for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF)
• Department of Health (DoH)
• The Welsh Assembly Government
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KEY DATES
• Starting from 12 October 2009 – Duty to refer to ISA and only
ENHANCED CRB checks available
• 26 July 2010 - new entrants to work with vulnerable groups can
register with the ISA
• 1 November 2010 - new entrants must register with the ISA before
starting work
• 1 April 2011 - existing workers start to ISA-register
• 1 January 2014 – Date from which those working in controlled
activity should apply for ISA registration
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GROUP WORK: TASK
Discuss in 3s or 4s the examples given and
decide whether they should be:
A.
B.
C.
D.
CRB checked
ISA registered
CRB checked and ISA registered
None of the above
Record your decisions on the sheets provided
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GROUP WORK: EXAMPLES
• Example 1 - A church caretaker has responsibility for ensuring the security
of the church grounds. The caretaker welcomes people as they enter the
church and has responsibility for checking the toilets and communal areas,
where they can meet children unsupervised. Do they need to ISA register?
• Example 2 – A church has an agreement whereby they hire out the church
hall for one evening a week to an unaffiliated local group that organises
dance classes for children. Is it the Church committee’s responsibility to
ensure the organisers of the dance class are ISA registered?
• Example 3 - Once every six weeks, the church organises a children’s trip to
a local swimming pool and asks parents to transport the children. Do the
volunteers driving the children need to ISA register?
• Example 4 - A church organises a mixed age choir: the choir consists of
boys and girls under the age of 18 as well as other members of the church
congregation. Does every adult in the choir need to ISA register?
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VETTING & BARRING PROCESS
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ISA REGISTRATION PROCESS
• Similar process to current procedure for applying for a
CRB disclosure.
• Submit a suitably verified application form to the
Registered Body (e.g. CAS / the diocese/ CCPAS)
• Registered Body processes and sends form to CRB
• CRB sends acknowledgement and registration number
within 7 working days of receipt of application to
applicant if no barring information found
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HANDLING PROCESS
• CRB packages all known information on the applicant and sends to ISA
• ISA scrutinises information plus information from previous employers
• If barring decision is made, ISA will inform ‘those who have registered an
interest’ and applicant in writing
• Registered Body will inform applicant and church of barring decision
• Church/organisation must stop applicant from working in regulated
activity and from maintaining contact with children/young people or
vulnerable adults
• Applicant should be offered support and advice including right to appeal
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COST OF ISA REGISTRATION
• ISA registration only = £64
• ISA registration and enhanced CRB check = £64
• CRB disclosure checks free for volunteers
• ISA registration number is portable and the individual
can use it in any subsequent paid or voluntary roles
• An ‘Enhanced’ CRB disclosure is issued when an
individual initially registers with ISA
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Refreshments Break
15 minutes
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WHAT HAPPENS AFTER REGISTRATION
• Once an individual has been registered and
appointed the Registered Activity Provider (RAP) i.e.
the employer or Registered Body will:
– carry out a free, online check of their registration status
– Register an interest in the individual in order to receive
status change updates
– The umbrella/registered body will inform church and
individual if registration status changes
– Where someone no longer works for the church the RAP
will need to unsubscribe interest in that individual.
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DECISIONS TO BAR
The structured judgement process is run by ISA and by
their highly trained case work staff according to a
series of criteria and thresholds based on the
information concerning relevant conduct including:
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Convictions and cautions
Police information
Regulators information - referrals
Employers information - referrals
Other information – referrals
(these are listed in order of credibility, but are all part of an
essential jigsaw puzzle)
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MAKING REPRESENTATIONS
• An individual included on either or both ISA barred lists has a right
to make representations
• Representations can only be made on the grounds of an ISA error,
point of law or fact
• The tribunal will direct ISA to review the case if it finds there has
been a mistake on a point of law or fact
• Individual will be removed from the relevant barred list until ISA has
made a new decision
• If ISA decision is positive the individual will be reinstated or they
will remain barred if negative
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REVIEW OF BARRING DECISION
• A barred individual can ask for a review of their
case
• ISA must be satisfied that the individual’s
circumstances have changed to warrant review
• Minimum periods for review are:
– 1 year for those aged under 18 when barred
– 5 years for those aged 18-24 when barred
– 10 years for those aged 25 or over when barred
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OBLIGATIONS AND SANCTIONS
From 12 October 2009
• Individual - Imprisonment or fine for engaging in a regulated or controlled
activity while barred
• Employer - Up to 5 years imprisonment or £5,000 fine (or both) for
knowingly allowing a barred person to engage in regulated activity
• Employer - Duty to refer an individual in employment (or who has left
while being investigated) to the ISA for consideration for barring if they
believe that relevant conduct has occurred – i.e. an individual has harmed
or poses a risk of harm to a child or vulnerable adult (this may include
persistent negligence or recklessness over safeguarding procedures).
• Referral forms can be downloaded from the ISA website www.isagov.org.uk There are different forms for the adult list and children’s list
N.B.
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REFERRALS AND WHERE TO GET HELP
Where you/ a local church/ voluntary organisation
believe that relevant conduct has occurred:
– There should be a disciplinary process (where the
person resigns, information should still be gathered and
referral is still made)
– Who will help? Your safeguarding adviser or Registered
Body
– The Officer dealing with Allegations for the Local
Safeguarding Children’s Board; in England called the
Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO)
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SAFER RECRUITMENT POLICY
A ‘Safer Recruitment’ Policy is an essential part of
safeguarding, therefore your policy must ensure:
– Application forms include a ‘self-declaration’ section for
convictions/cautions
– Appropriate references are sought
– Candidates are interviewed effectively to determine attitude
and disposition to safeguarding vulnerable groups
– Satisfactory probationary period and effective supervision,
training and development
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QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
&
ACTION PLANNING
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VETTING AND BARRING SCHEME
ROAD SHOW
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