To not CRB check my friends

[julybutterfly]

It's DD's birthday in a few weeks. We're doing the whole hall hire, bouncy castle etc party. DD wanted a facepainter. the prices were ridiculous so I've asked a few artistic friends to do it. But I've had a couple of other parents ask me if my friends have been CRB checked! AIBU to think they're being OTT?

"Having said that, one of the other parents on the Out of School Care Board that dh used to be one, refused to come to a Board Meeting (that didn't need to be public) at our house 'cos I hadn't been CRB checked."

You should have told her to fuck off and irritate a different committee.

Jesus. Mental.

We've got parents to face-paint at PTA fetes etc and no one has ever mentioned CRBs. The parents will not be alone with the child - there is no need.

We do CRB Father Christmas however, but then there's all the lap-sitting involved .

you do need a CRB check in schools even if you are not left alone with the kids (thats why Philip Pullman and co got angry about it while ago). The "reasoning" is that if they subsequently approached a child, said child would think they were ok cos they'd seen them in school. It is ridiculous and in some instances people are missing out on things because they are too worried about getting caught out.

Pullman was objecting to being told to get vetting and barring clearance, and the requirements were loosened such that it requires regular visits to the same school to trigger the threshold. B.5 in the the guidance.

The whole V&B scheme is likely to follow ID Cards, the NHS Records Scheme and other examples of the IT trade selling crap to a gullible government keen to "do something" into the great recycling bin in the sky. From the website:

"In its recent document ?The Coalition: Our programme for government?, the Government set out its aim to ?review the criminal records and vetting and barring regime and scale it back to common sense levels?.
In order to deliver this promise and carry out the remodelling, the Vetting and Barring Scheme will be halted. The first phase of registration was due to commence on 26 July 2010."

Why dont you ask those parents to get themselves crb checked before the party. After all you cant be too careful and you cant have adults coming to a children's party without the correct documentation.

They might see things a bit differently if you put it like that?

And don't forget to point out that it costs the sponsor £60 and that they have to have one for each establishment they visit - as a peripatetic teacher, each school I go to has to have a separate check for me. Of course, it has nothing to do with them making money AT ALL!!!

blimey, that is bonkers. YANBU.

whatever happened to common sense? if a parent knew someone had a crb check but didn't like them/the way they treated children would they let them look after their kids?

would be interested on the figures of how many people have been denied job ad therefore access to vunerable people/kids with a dodgy crb ie does the system actually protect children? sadly in most cases where children who are abused or harmed it is their family, so do crb checks help?

Just tell them -NO-they will have to rely on common sense and trust. They are way OTT.

We should just be done with it and have everybody CRB checked then have the results tattooed to our foreheads so we know where we stand.

People...Snobear is kidding... it scares me that people believe it!

Anyway, you can only get CRB checked under the umbrella of an organisation, ie school, brownies, sports club etc.

I am a self employed children's entertainer and thoroughly checked the website recently. Despite the fact that I work with children I CANNOT apply for a CRB check myself. I did have one 7 years ago as I used to help with my sons cubs but is a bit out of date!

So therefore you cannot get these friends CRB checked anyway!

It's all madness, anyway, they just prove someone hasn't been CAUGHT doing anything!

CRB check for the self employed

YANBU that is ridiculous! PS Face painting isn't as easy as it looks... and you get what you pay for...

kim- the schools in my authority without exception demand a CRB for anyone working in school, it is LEA policy.

i would tell your friends that at no point will your other friends - the facepaiters- be taking children to the toilet or be left alone with them.

fucking nutjobs

of course they are over the top, tell them if they are that concerned they can stay and do the face painting themselves instead!

Are you kidding me?

This is a good example of how sometimes noble intentions can just run amok.

The idea of a CRB check was noble. Let's protect the kids, vulnerable adults and general undesirables away from trusted jobs.

However, over the years the govt have allowed political correctness to run amok, to the point where even plumbers get themselves CRB checked.

I remember reading about a case where a child was regularly taken to school by taxi. No problems, the taxi driver was CRB checked. However, one day the child's mother joined them. Oh no....she wasn't CRB checked. Not allowed, sorry! Bonkers!

If the CRB check morphed out of control then the V&B system was a disaster in the making. Can you imagine the results of a system where unproven allegations are used to make decisions. Oh we had the "assurances" that it would be fair.

Can you imagine the impact on teachers? One allegation and their job was effectively over. Doesn't matter how bonkers the claim was. It would have been held on record and taken into consideration. Now if you were a headmaster, would you employ someone with allegations of sexual abuse from a child?

Anyway, coming back to OP's point. I sincerely hope you told them to grow up and not to bother to come if that's how stupid they are being.

YANBU

As someone said, CRB checks only work if someone has already been caught fiddling. If they're a first time fiddler then all the CRB checks in the world cannot predict or prevent it - it's not like the film Minority Report. Muppets

Are these parents mad??? When they take their kids to the hairdresser, are they CRB checked? What about people they walk past every day? Neighbours? Postman?

I bet these same parents are ones that moan about the Nanny State yet cannot make the connection between that and blardy CRB checks.

FFS - please tell them to take their self-righteous PC poker out of their behinds and get a life!

I blame the last labour gov for creating this stupid climate of mistrust! I'm not a big Tory fan, but hopefully one thing they will do is introduce a sense of proportion in this regard!!

Weirdos!!! YANBU

wow, i thought this was a joke thread - for real?

YANBU.

Well the OP didn't come back did she? Journalist, I suspect