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Tel: 0044 (0)208 392 1658 Fax: 0044 (0)208 392 2386 email: sarah@aegisnannies.co.uk The latest on Police Checks home page childcare types salary scale external links contact us The Criminal Records Bureau for Families in the UK Establishing the validity of a disclosure certificate The Criminal Records Bureau for Childcarers in the UK The Criminal Records Bureau for Families in the UK Adults working with children are now required by Law to be police checked. A numbered, dated, certificate is issued for presentation to prospective employers. It is the responsibility of the employer to check that the certificate is valid. Police checks for people in contact with children in their work are now conducted through the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB). Enhanced Disclosure. This is suitable for child carers who are in sole charge e.g. nannies. The cost including administrative costs and VAT is typically between £50-00 and £70-00. This differs from standard disclosure in that a List 99 check is carried out and more detailed information is provided. A child carer can now only obtain a valid Police Check (one carried out through CRB) by approaching an organisation such as a childcare agency which is authorised to act, usually through an umbrella organisation. The 'Disclosure' is sent to the agency and also to the childcarer. Families have to accept the word of the agency. i.e. currently families cannot apply direct to the CRB. The Government in the future are planning to make it possible for childcarers to obtain their own clearance without the help of an intermediary (to be called a 'BASIC DISCLOSURE'), but this is some way off. How to tell if a disclosure certificate is genuine Points to look for: Disclosure number. 12 digits long starting with 00 Date of issue. Check that this is sensible Name of Employer. Check that this is consistent with what the applicant has told you Disclosure copy. Note who else received a copy of the certificate. You could contact them if doubts persist Type of disclosure. Check that this is consistent with the level of contact with your children (see preceeding paragraphs) Appearance of the certificate. Check for watermarks Photocopy. Ask to see the original document Contacting the CRB. As a last resort you can appeal to the CRB directly on 0870 90 90 811. Because of the Data Protection Act, this can only be carried out in the presence of the applicant. The applicant firstly speaks to the CRB to identifies him/herself. Once the CRB are satisfied that they are speaking to the owner of the disclosure certificate they can speak with the prospective employer to provide authentication. Bear in mind that the certificate only validates the applicant up to the issue date shown on the certificate. It is not unreasonable to ask for a new CRB check to be carried out at the start of a new post. The applicant will need to approach a suitable organisation to have this done, such as a nanny agency. It is in the interest of all childcarers that they have an up-to-date disclosure certificate Is the recorded information on a CRB certificate the full story? Organisations such as nanny agencies that obtain CRB certificates for nannies receive a duplicate copy of the certificate, however this can contain additional information. For example, if a nanny is undergoing investigation for possible criminal activity this will not appear on the nannies certificate, but the agency is alerted to the fact (called a 'positive disclosure'). Therefore, before a new nanny is accepted onto an agencies books the nanny should be CRB checked or re-checked by the agency at that time. The Criminal Records Bureau for Childcarers in the UK Childcarers should read the section above for families which covers most of what they need to know. Until the new system ('BASIC DISCLOSURE') becomes available childcarers have no choice but to get their Police Check carried out through an authorised Agency, such as a nanny agency. The nanny agency arranges for the CRB check to be carried out through its umbrella organisation. Childcarers need to bear in mind the fact that processing of an application through CRB can take 3 to 4 weeks. For more information about the role of the CRB visit their web site: www.crb.gov.uk/ Aegis Nannies, Ltd. Aegis Nannies, Ltd., 12 Treen Avenue, Barnes, London, SW13 0JT Tel - 0208 3921658 Fax - 0208 3922386 Monday to Friday: 7:30am - 8:00pm sarah@aegisnannies.co.uk ©2000-2008, Aegis Nannies Applications - All rights reserved