AIBU to think anyone involved in teaching children should be BDS checked?

[requestingsunshine]

This is a childs sports club. Not volunteers but a paid for club and not linked to school or anything.

Am I right in thinking that anyone involved in the coaching of the DC, especially when they are left in sole charge of the DC should be DBS checked?

For a dance show adults need to be licensed local authority chaperones (used to be called matrons) it was dbs, online safeguarding course and an interview when I did it. LA do spot checks. Was same requirement if just helping in a local dance show or professional west end.

Yes it does make a difference - supervised volunteers engaged in regulated activity do not have to be DBS checked providing they are supervised by someone with a DBS check.

This is interesting. They have entered other competitions, in this genre of dance. It was only one they had to cancel, which was because they had to provide certain paperwork - of the qualification apparantly - which they couldn't provide.

100% they need to be DBS checked. Staff and volunteers if they are to be left in sole charge of the children.

Where parents are staying this can be grey area (eg parent and child groups).

I would be asking for their DBS registration information, checking their safeguarding policies ad reporting the fuck out of them to the main organisation, local authority, ofsted (assuming they are registered, which it sounds doubtful) and pulling my kid out ASAP.

This sort of thing is what horror stories are made of - even from adults who do have DBS. Don't risk it op.

@2greenroses is correct.

It is not a legal requirement to carry out a DBS check - however - an employer or volunteer manager is breaking the law if they knowingly employ someone in a regulated activity with a group from which they are barred from working.

And a barred person is breaking the law if they seek, offer or engage in regulated activity with a group from which they are barred from working.

Were all the competitions run by the same governing body? Sometimes you can have different governing bodies for the same dance type. An explanation of the two different governing bodies in Irish dance

Is there a particular reason for your concern?

Does your child wish to continue with dancing? Are they doing it competitively or just for fun?

OP I'm still not sure why you can't go through the proper channels to find this information out as you're just going to get half the people sating yes and the other half saying no and will still have no definitive answer. A couple of phone calls and some Google research should give you the answers you need.
As an aside, if you have grave concerns about these kids' safety with certain people, then it's your responsibility to report your concerns.

Yes I suppose I just didn't want to over react. I don't think for example that any children are in danger. But then thats famous last words isn't it.

However, if procedures, which have been introduced to safeguard children as much as is possible, are not followed that's not to say they won't be in the future.

Just think Barry Bennell. If DBS for ANYONE coaching children did not become compulsory, it should have. Just ask the questions and report if they're not adhering to guidelines

Well it’s obvious if you knowledge employ someone who’s banned it’s illegal. That’s because they’re banned!
The DBS throws up if that’s the case or not.

None of that makes sense. How would a prospective employer know they were banned unless they did a DBS? The applicant is not going to declare their paedophilia tendencies on the application form, are they?

If you have concerns that you cannot raise with the company directly or through a registered body, you can go through the council LADO.

But not by law. Paid or voluntary makes no difference but whether you are ever likely to be alone with a child or in sole charge does, as does the frequency of contact with children. I work with groups of school children maybe once per year, a teacher is always present so I am not dbs checked. Colleagues who work regularly with children are.

When I was treasurer for my ds scout group I had to be dbs checked even though I had nothing to do w the children. Those were the rules for scouting.

I know for a fact that one has nothing bad in their background and are not a risk to children at all. I am fairly sure also that others are also not a risk to children. I do not think any children are at immediate risk from the cash in hand workers.

But this does not mean that someone coming along in the future won't be. And if checks are not being done, this won't be highlighted.

But I do have a few concerns about the actual owner, who does teach children on his own also. These gut feelings may well be unfounded. And I hope they are.

Thought they already were? I'd be surprised if there were exceptions.

I reported via email to LADO as suggested by a PP. And got an auto email response which says:

Please note that the criteria for meeting the LADO threshold is allegations against adults who work or volunteer with children who have

• behaved in a way that has harmed a child, or may have harmed a child;

• possibly committed a criminal offence against or related to a child;

• behaved towards a child or children in a way which indicates they may pose a risk of harm to children (and therefore may be unsuitable to work with children); or

• behaved in a way that indicates they may not be suitable to work with children. (Therefore, consider transferable risk: This can be in relation to actions in their private life where they have behaved in a way which indicates they may not be suitable to work / volunteer with children.)

Well, its none of these, nothing has actually happened as described above, so no idea who I would bring this up with to be honest.

OP, with the kindest of intentions, I'm not sure what your vested interest is in this dance school, what your concerns are or what you hope to achieve?

Why are you trying to make a complaint?

Why won't you give any details?

I assumed this was a legal requirement? DH is a volunteer coach for DS football team and he had to have one so I just assumed it was a legal requirement.

Your child doesn't attend the class, so why are you concerned? What is your concern?

If I was to guess, this is an ex husband who has a dance school and earns more than he declares, so he doesn't pay child maintenance or something?

Am I right?

Report him to the tax man if that's the case.

It's just that I'm failing to see why you're so intent on checking their DBS.

If you were just upfront with us, we might be better able to assist you (or tell you that you're being unreasonable lol).

Anyone that has regular access to the same children has to have DBS at our sports clubs.

I believe I have been upfront. if my child was attending I would want to know if the person they were left with had not been properly checked.

And as I know they are not, should I turn a blind eye and say its none of my business.

And no it is nothing to do with an ex, they are completely unrelated to me. I do not even know the owners full name.

My child did attend this dance school. They no longer do. I just think that when businesses involving children are not following safeguarding which has been put in place for a very good reason, I would wonder why.

I am perhaps the only person, save for the people working there cash in hand, who knows this. So should I just ignore it?

I have emailed the LADO. I have not given the name of the dance school, I have just explained what I know and whether this would be concerning, who do I contact about it.

Nothing has happened, as far as I know. But I don't want to learn in 2 years time that something HAS happened and I was in a position to report that something may be amiss and didn't bother.

@Doodadoo Do you run a dance school? That employs cash in hand coaches with no DBS checks by any chance? You seem a bit invested in telling me to drop it.

The issue with dance, unlike most sports and other extra curricular activities such as scouting is that there is no national governing body. Anyone can set up a dance school. There's no legal requirement to hold any qualifications or to belong to any kind of governing body. In order to enter pupils for exams and certain competitions a teacher does need to be registered with the awarding organisation and what those bodies expect from their registered teachers varies considerably. If this school enters pupils for exams you could try raising concerns with the exam board - though to be honest I think a lot of them can be a bit wooly, teachers are "advised" or "recommended" to do things like have a Safeguarding policy rather than it being mandatory. But it's possibly worth trying. Another option would be to call the NSPCC for some advice.
My adult DD is a dance teacher. She trained professionally then did additional teacher training and now runs her own school. Motivated partly by some negative experiences of her own, she takes her pupils well being and Safeguarding very seriously and everyone involved with her school is DBS checked and she has done adfitional Safeguarding training herself, as well as being fully insured, a qualified first aider and so on. But she knows of many other schools where that isn't the case - some of whom she unfortunately loses pupils to because they charge less and parents don't stop to wonder why that might be.
I would advise anyone looking for dance tuition for their children to look very carefully, ask lots of questions and vote with your feet if you're not satisfied.