www.safenetwork.org.uk safeguarding & disclosure and barring workshop medway 11 th september...

www.safenetwork.org.uk

Safeguarding & Disclosure and Barring Workshop

Medway

11th September 2011


1. To help colleagues understand the changes introduced by Protection of Freedom Act.

2. To introduce you to Safe Network’s National Core Safeguarding Standards, online self assessment toolkit and other resources that have specifically been developed to the support the VCS

Session objectives

What is Safe Network?

• A partnership between Children England and the NSPCC and CAPT

• Funded by the Department for Education

• Launched June 2009

• Information, advice and guidance for the voluntary and community sector on:

Child protection

Safer recruitment

Anti-bullying

Reducing avoidable accidents

Website: www.safenetwork.org.uk

Disclosure & Barring Scheme

• To give a broad outline of the first phase of measures arising from the Protection of Freedoms Act that may impact on you in September 2012

• To help you understand how this may affect your organisation and the organisations you support.

Looking Back

• Coalition Government stated its intention in May 2010 to scale back regimes to more proportionate and “common sense” levels

• Government halted the delivery of the VBS, commissioned an internal review into the scheme and also an independent review of the Criminal Records Regime. Why? Because….

• VBS would have meant 9m people needed to register, as their work would fall within the definition of regulated activity

• However the Duty to Refer remained.

ADD VISUAL

Disclosure & Barring Services: The New Vision

Key principles:

– A proportionate balance between civil liberties and safeguarding vulnerable groups including children

– Rebalancing the role of the employer and the state; reinforcing disclosure and barring as one part of the wider recruitment and employment process

– Reducing bureaucracy (e.g., through the introduction of portable certificates , making it efficient, quicker and less costly)

– Trusting employers to make rounded decisions about who they employ, such as checking references and ongoing management

ADD VISUAL


Changes from September 2012

– a new definition of regulated activity

– repeal of registration & monitoring; controlled activity; and additional information

– Introduction of a minimum age (16) at which someone can apply for a CRB check

– More rigorous relevancy test for locally held and released police information on an enhanced CRB check , and a new right of review available for applicants


Differences between old & new

Regulated Activity – NEW DEFINITION Regulated Activity – OLD DEFINITION

Regulated Activity- definition for children: 1.) Unsupervised activities: teach, train, instruct, care for or supervise children, or provide advise / guidance on well-being, or drive a vehicle only for children.

Specified nature (e.g. Teaching, training, care, supervision, advice, treatment and transportation) that involves contact with children frequently, intensively and/or overnight.

2.) Work in a limited range of establishments (‘specified places’) with opportunity for contact: schools, children’s homes, childcare premises. NOT work by supervised Volunteers.

in a specified place (e.g. schools, care homes, etc) department, on a frequent or intensive basis.

Work under points 1 or 2 is REGULATED ACTIVITY IF DONE REGULARLY AND IS UNSUPERVISED.

Regular means carried out by the same person frequently (once a week or more often), or on 4 or more days in a 30-day period (or in some cases, overnight 2am-6am).

fostering and childcare or a defined position of responsibility (e.g. school governor, director of social care, trustees of certain charities). Making decisions which will have an impact on lives of groups of vulnerable adults or childrenFrequent activity (once a month or more) or intensive (takes place on 3 or more days in 30 day period.)


Rehabilitation of Offenders

Act (Exceptions

Order)

Police Act 1997

New Definition of Regulated Activity


Changes from Sept (cont)

-Provision of statutory guidance on supervision of children. DfE have just completed a consultation on this.

-Most people will be barred only if they have engaged, are engaging or might in the future engage in Regulated Activity (Autobars without representations will continue to be barred irrespective of whether the person has a link to RA)

– Greater powers for the ISA to review a person’s inclusion on a barred list


What is not changing?

• Continue to make appropriate referrals to the ISA / DBS

• You must not employ in regulated activity someone whom you know has been barred by the ISA / DBS

• Individuals who previously fell under the definition of Regulated Activity remain eligible for Enhanced Checks, and this can be with or without a barred list check


Scope of Regulated Activity - Children

Specified nature:

1. Unsupervised activities: teaching, training, instruction, care for or supervise children, or provide advice / guidance on well-being, or drive a vehicle only for children.


Scope of Regulated Activity – Children (cont)

• Specified Place

2. Work for a limited range of establishments (‘specified places’), with opportunity for contact, for example schools, children's homes, childcare premises (but not work by supervised volunteers).



• Frequency

Work under (1) or (2) is Regulated Activity only if done regularly.

Regular means carried out by the same person frequently (once a week or more often), or on 4 or more days in a 30-day period (or in some cases, overnight 2am-6am).



3. Relevant personal care, for example washing or dressing; or health care by or supervised by a professional, even if done once.

4. Registered childminding; and foster-carers


Not Regulated ActivityActivities

• Activity supervised at reasonable level• Health care not by (or directed or supervised by)

a health care professional.• Legal advice• “treatment/ therapy” (instead “health care”)• family arrangements;• personal, non-commercial arrangements.


Not Regulated ActivityEstablishments:

• Occasional or temporary services, e.g. maintenance (not teaching etc.)

• Volunteers supervised at reasonable level.

• Office holders (England):

• All “positions” removed, e.g. governors;

• Inspectorates removed.


Repeal of processes in previous VBS

• Registration and Monitoring aspects of the VBS

• Controlled activity

• Additional information (or “brown envelope material”) will no longer be passed by the police through the disclosure process.


NEW: Minimum Age

Introduction of a minimum age requirement for criminal records checks.

Countersigning officers will no longer be able to sign an application for someone under 16.

ADD VISUAL


NEW: Relevancy• Statutory guidance will be issued to all Chief

Police Officers that must be referred to in making relevancy decisions; to promote a consistent approach across forces

• Introduction of a more rigorous test for relevancy from ‘might be relevant’ to ‘ reasonably believes it to be relevant’

• Right of review to an Independent Monitor who can review decisions to include material on certificates

• Development and use of a common template to ensure a consistent level of information is disclosed to the individual with clearly set out reasons for that decision


The Future• The functions of the ISA & CRB will be merged to form

a single new body in December 2012

• The new body will be called the Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS)

• Single Certificate

• A new Update Service providing portability will be introduced early in 2013


Further information

• E-mail to [email protected]

• Home Office website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/disclosure-and-barring

• CRB website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/crb • ISA website at http://www.isa.homeoffice.gov.uk • Business Link: www.businesslink.gov.uk• DirectGov: www.direct.gov.uk


National Context Setting:

• Munro Review....

• Working Together to Safeguard Children Guidance (2012)

• Existing version (2010) sets out the responsibilities for all agencies, including the Voluntary and private sector to make arrangements for Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of C&YP with whom they work.


Local Safeguarding Arrangements

• Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCBs) were established by the Children Act 2004 which gives a statutory responsibility to each locality to have this mechanism in place.

• (a) To co-ordinate what is done by each person or body represented on the Board for the purposes of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children in the area of the authority by which it is established; and

• (b) To ensure the effectiveness of what is done by each such person or body for those purpose

• LSCBs will likely have self assessment audit tools in place to ascertain compliance in meeting safeguarding standards for the organisations listed under Section 11 of the Children Act 2004. For voluntary and community sector organisations commissioned to undertake pieces of work for partner organisations of the LSCB, section 11 audits are also required.


The Safe Network StandardsCore standards and guidance for the voluntary and community sector for keeping children and young people safe

Who are they for?

Voluntary and community sector organisations who work with children and young people

What is the aim? To help organisations ensure that the work they do is:•as safe as possible •enjoyable and rewarding for all involved •compliant with legislation.


What’s in the Safe Network standards?

• The standards document itself

• The self-assessment tool

• The resource toolboxes


What areas do the standards cover?

• Safer staff and volunteers – recruitment, induction and supervision

• Child protection

• Preventing and responding to bullying

• Avoiding accidents and running safe activities and events


The standards document

• Clear statement of each standard

• Why it’s important

• Essential elements

• Additional elements

• Involving children, young people and families

• Further support


Bullying

• Almost one third of children experience some form of bullying by their peers.

• Bullying has been consistently reported by children and young people as their top safety concern and this includes cyberbullying. Surveys report that 30-50% of bullying takes place outside school.

Source: HM Government (2007) Staying Safe: a consultation document


Causes of deaths, under 5sEngland and Wales, 2009

Cause N %

Accidents 94 12.3

Assault and neglect 15 2.0


Leading causes of deaths, 1-14 yearsEngland and Wales, 2010

Cause N %

Accidents 147 13.1

Assault and neglect 20 1.8


The self-assessmenttool

•Interactive•On line•Can be completed section by section•Can be saved for return visits•Links directly to the toolbox resources•Offers links to additional sources of support•Provides advice on how to put missing elements in place

Where Am I?


I’ve done my assessment – what then?

• The tool provides a summary and generates an action plan to help you address the elements that need attention

• The action plan can be printed off

• The action plan links to the tools and resources


Summary of results


Action Plan• The action plan is generated

automatically for you by the self assessment tool

• It shows your progress against the standards, and indicates how many of the elements you have in place

• It provides advice on what you can do to address the missing elements

• It is dated, so that you can take snap-shots of your progress at different stages


The Standards toolboxes

•A toolbox for each standard•71 toolbox resources altogether•Resources can be accessed directly from the self-assessment tool or downloaded from the website•Toolbox resources include examples of policies, procedures, guidance, templates for forms, standard letters, information about useful posters and leaflets


Supporting organisations to use the standardsSafe Network website and core team

Regional Development Managers

‘Safe Organisations, SafeChildren’

Other Safe Network products

National and local champions

www.safenetwork.org.uk safeguarding & disclosure and barring workshop medway 11 th september...

Documents

visual slide

controlled activity

safeguarding disclosure

children england

new right of review

new vision key principles

police information

independent review