Disclosure and Barring Service
What is it?
The Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) and the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) have merged into the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). CRB checks are now called DBS checks. The Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) has been in operation since March 2002 and helps organisations that deal with children, vulnerable adults or the elderly, make safer recruitment decisions. Being an Executive Agency of the Home Office, it helps provide employers with information of any criminal offences a potential employee could have. This process is called ‘Disclosure’, and has become invaluable to organisations whose staff has ‘substantial unsupervised access’ to children. Disclosure allows access to information held by the Department of Health (DH) and the Department for Education and Skills (DfES).
The results of Disclosure checks are provided in a certificate, which can be included in a C.V. or application for employment. These checks are crucial in protecting people in a vulnerable position and determining those unsuitable for such positions.
Types of Disclosure
There are two types of Disclosure, ‘Standard’ and ‘Enhanced’. Successful applicants can be asked by their employers to apply for either of these. The type of checks will depend on the nature of the position.
- Standard Disclosure checks are reserved from those who will be in regular contact with children or vulnerable adults. They contain information on all convictions including those that are ‘spent’. Any cautions, reprimands, or final warnings are also included in this type of check.
- Enhanced Disclosures are used for those in prolonged contact with children, vulnerable adults or the elderly. These positions include Doctors, Social Workers etc. Any work that involves caring, training, supervising or being in sole charge of such people is also included. Enhanced Disclosure checks include all of the above, but with an added search into local Police force records.
How We Use It
We employ a range of personnel, from qualified teachers to A-level students, to work with us. While our teachers are fully checked, our classroom assistants (being A-level students) are not. The teachers that work with us are employed as assessors and teachers in our classrooms. They are present in assessments and normal teaching times to supervise and monitor the teaching assistants at all times. Even though we do not do background checks on our classroom assistants, we are always careful to have at least one qualified teacher in the teaching rooms at all times.