Transcript Child Protection – The Facts

Good Practice
Safeguarding Children and
Young People in the Church
Child Protection – The Facts
• There are at least 110,000 convicted
child sex offenders living in the UK
(URC attendance is 120,000)
• At least 1 child a week dies
following abuse and neglect
• 26% of all recorded rape victims
were children
• 350,000 – 400,000 children live in families
which are consistently
low in warmth and high in criticism
Child Protection – The Facts
• 32% of those reporting sexual abuse
reported it as being from someone
known to the caller
• 59% reported that it came from
someone in the callers family
• 9% reported it as someone unknown to
the caller
Childline March 2000
Child Protection – The Facts
• About 33% of girls and over 20% of boys
said that, at least sometimes, they were
afraid to go to school because of bullying
• Up to two thirds of voluntary youth
organisations do not report on staff
suspected or proven to have offended
against children
Good Practice
Safeguarding Children and
Young People in the Church
Where are we now?
A Bit of History
• Children Act 1989
• Safe From Harm 1993
– 13 Principles for voluntary sector
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Denominational Guidelines circa 1994
Time for Action – CTBI 2002
Criminal Records Bureau 2002
Every Child Matters 2006
Vetting and Barring Scheme 2008
halted by Coalition Government 2010
• Protection of Freedoms Act May 2012
16/07/2015
Independent Safeguarding Agency
• Introduced in 2009
• CRB Enhanced Disclosure for all volunteers
• Criminal offence for someone barred to apply
for work with children and young people
• Criminal offence for an employer to employ a
barred person in this role
16/07/2015
ALL of the above still applies!
New changes introduced in
September 2012
Disclosure and Barring Service
comes into Force December 2012
Disclosure and Barring Service
• CRB and ISA merge on 1st December
2012 and become Disclosure and
Barring Service (DBS)
• New information and online services
2013, including a new “Update Service”,
still to be finalised.
Regulated Activity
• Regulated Activity definitions have
changes
• No longer any “Controlled” Activities
• CRB checks must be carried out where
regulated activity takes place. (2013-14
no barred worker should be working
within a regulated activity)
Regulated Activity - Adults
• Adult – anyone aged 18 or over
• The word “vulnerable” no longer applies
• Refers to the services required,
not where they take place
• Frequency test has been removed –
working in regulated activity just once
requires checks to be undertaken.
Regulated Activity with Adults involves:
• Any healthcare provision
or supervision of such
• Personal care requiring hands-on physical
assistance – toileting, washing, feeding,
dressing, or prompting someone the need to do
any of the above, or supervising anyone
undertaking such activities
• Any social work activity with an adult
undertaken by health or social services
• Assisting an adult with their own affairs under
a formal appointment
Regulated Activity with Adults involves:
Conveying adults for reason of age,
illness or disability, to, from or between places,
where they receive healthcare, personal care
or social work arranged by a third party”.
If you are conveying an adult for the
reasons above on behalf of a local church
you are undertaking a regulated activity.
Regulated Activity - Children
• Child – Anyone aged under 18
• New definitions of frequency
• Includes all volunteers working
“regularly” with children
or supervising such volunteers
• May still includes school governors and
children’s charity trustees, subject to
Charity Commissioner’s Guidance
Regulated Activity with Children
- Frequency
An activity with children becomes a
regulated activity depending on the
frequency or “regularity” of the activity.
Regular = Once a week or more often;
or on 4 or more days in a 30 day period;
or any overnight activity (2am – 6am)
Regulated activities with
Children
Includes all healthcare, personal care
and social work activities included with
adults, even if only undertaken once (no
frequency test).
Regulated Activity with Children
Places of work such as schools,
children’s hospitals, children’s detention
centres and children’s homes are
automatically covered in the Act.
A regulated activity in a church would be
defined as unsupervised activities with
children being undertaken on a regular
basis
Regulated Activity with Children
- Volunteers
Volunteers undertaking “regular”
activities with a group of children in a
youth group, uniformed organisation,
junior church, Christian group, music
group, choir, etc are seen as
unsupervised workers and are therefore
undertaking regulated activities.
Supervised Activity with
Children - Volunteers
• “Supervised” volunteers no longer
require a CRB check.
• Supervision = always in the care of a
paid employee with CRB checks
or undertaking non-regular activity
in the care of other volunteers with CRB
checks
Disclosure and Barring Service
• Established from 1st December 2012
• Plans to introduce “Update Service”
which will negate the requirement for
renewing CRB disclosures.
• Plans to introduce portable CRBs
DBS – Update Service
• For a small fee (unestablished) CRB
applicants can check online for updates
to their CRB Disclosure
• This may, in future, negate the need for
renewing CRB checks, but will negate
the need for multiple CRB checks for
different “employers” or agencies.
CRIMINAL RECORDS
BUREAU APPLICATION
PROCESS
CRB Checks
• New age restriction
• New ID regulations
• Validity
CRB Checks – age restrictions
• It is now illegal to apply for a CRB check
before the age of 16
• Anyone countersigning a CRB Check
application must themselves be 18 or over.
CRB Checks – ID Regulations
New guidance has been issued with regard
to how a CRB Applicant is to be identified.
Certain documents MUST be seen to
identify an applicant. If these are not
available applicant must pay a fee for
further checks to be made.
Ministries have sent out information and
new CAS forms to all Churches.
CRB Checks - Validity
CRB checks are now valid indefinitely.
HOWEVER the United Reformed
Church recommends they are renewed
every 3-5 years.
Renewals may be negated by the
proposed “Update Service”
CRB Checks - Volunteers
• All volunteers are eligible for
an Enhanced CRB check
STEP 1
APPLICANT
– ring CRB on 0870 9090 844
and ask for an Enhanced Disclosure form
giving the registered body name
‘Churches Agency for
Safeguarding/Methodist Council’
– and quote registered body number
2062 5600 000
Please Note:
New CRB Application forms came
into effect in 2011.
We are awaiting supplies of a new
form design December 2012/Early
2013 which removes ISA
Application data. No details
available yet.
STEP 1a
Local Churches who wish to be
responsible for 10 or more forms
can apply directly to
the Churches Agency for Safeguarding
(CAS) on 020 7467 5216.
STEP 2
Complete the CRB form (when it arrives
according to the instruction booklet.
STEP 3
Take completed form with suitable
means of identification to church
secretary or notified verifier.
The Role of the Verifier
• The task of the verifier is to act as
the responsible person in the local
situation who affirms the identity
of the applicant.
Why the Church Secretary?
• The verifier is usually the Church
Secretary as they can be accessed
from the CAS database in order
that their own identity can be
verified.
• All verifiers who are not Church
Secretaries MUST notify ministries
so that their details can be added
to the database
What has to be done?
• See the applicant in person.
• Check the applicant’s documents
to provide proof of identity.
STEP 4a
Church secretary completes relevant
sections of CRB form, CAS Documentary
evidence of identity form and the
churches CAS form.
Which documents should be seen
to confirm identity?
Has Applicant signed their consent on CRB Application?
Yes - Routes 1 and 2
Can Applicant produce
any Group 1 document?
Yes
One document
from Group 1 plus
any two others
from Group 1 or 2
(Route 1)
No
Three
documents from
Group 2a and
further two from
group 2b
(Route 2 - £2:50
fee payable)
Yes – Route 3
Can applicant supply
original UK or Channel
Islands Birth Certificate?
Yes
Original UK or
Channel Islands
Birth Certificate
plus 1 document
from Group 2a and
3 from Group 2a or
2b
Document check completed by Verifier
No
Verifier to state
“NO” in Section W
Line 59 and
applicant will be
required to supply
fingerprints
STEP 4b
If applicant is a paid member of staff
enclose cheque for £44, payable to ‘The
Churches Agency for Safeguarding’.
STEP 5
Send forms,
marked ‘Strictly private and confidential’
to Churches Agency for Safeguarding
(NOT CRB) at:
25 Marylebone Road
London
NW1 5JR
STEP 6
Wait – the response will come eventually
and usually within 4-6 weeks.
Only the applicant will be notified. You
should maintain contact with the
applicant and do not allow them to work
in a regulated activity until the
disclosure has been received and shown
to you.
Copy CRB Disclosure
Please note it is the Government’s intention
that copy CRB Disclosures will not be
issued. This is to allow the applicant to
challenge a blemished disclosure if it
contains inaccurate information
Further Government Advice
If you would like to look up any advice of
changes to the Law or procedures, please go
to:
www.homeoffice.gov.uk/agencies-public-bodies/crb
If in doubt please contact
OR
contact Church House on: 020 7916 2020
Good Practice
Safeguarding Children and
Young People in the Church