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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think the scouts should mind their own bloody business!!!!!!

37 replies

fizzledizzle · 21/05/2008 18:14

am totally fuming!! have been ask by local scouts admin to supply a covering letter with my crb form to explain why i didn't change my name when i married and to confirm i am married to my husband they say it is becouse i want to use my marriage certificate as a form of id but have used it for crb before and have never been asked to do this! so aibu to be so annoyed at this?

OP posts:
Original poster
fizzledizzle · 21/05/2008 18:16

also they have refused to use the birth certificate i have becouse it was issued more than 10 years after my birth! even though i used it to get my passport (which my dh has managed to lose!)

OP posts:
OverMyDeadBody · 21/05/2008 18:17

It all sounds ridiculous if you ask me. Is this all needed because you want to volunteer?

YANBU, asking to write a covering letter would be enough to make me leave tbh.

Original poster
fizzledizzle · 21/05/2008 18:20

no am not volunteering am just going away with my ds's and some other families to a family camp in wales. but we leave on saturday so its not even going to be at the crb office by then!

OP posts:
Doodle2U · 21/05/2008 18:21

Scouts are as tight as a drum when it comes to CRB's, fizzle. They have to be. Every time there's a news story about another child sex attack, the bloody Scouts get dragged in to give a quote etc.

Really, they are taking extra precautions because the stakes are high and they cannot afford to screw up on this issue.

Annoying but please just go along with it. It's a pain for them to admin. too.

clumsymum · 21/05/2008 18:21

but the scouts probably need this letter to get a CRB check.

And everyone on here is red hot on making sure that everyone has proper checks.

I agree it's annoying, but I doubt it is the scouts fault that the letter is needed.

Doodle2U · 21/05/2008 18:23

Ahh, just read what it is for. Will you please tell your scout troop that CRB checks for parents on family camp are NOT required, according to POR. The dipsticks who answer the phone at Scout Association HQ have, once again, quoted guidelines as fact - wankers. They are not a very joined up bunch.

POR (scout rules and laws) DOES NOT require parent helpers to be CRB checked for family camps.

Original poster
fizzledizzle · 21/05/2008 18:27

i have had 2 previous crbs for voluntary work and have always used my marriage certificate and have never been asked to write a covering letter before. i totally understand about the need for the crb checks, its just that i know the crb dont actually need this covering letter. am normally very calm person but am just very angry about . my husband doesnt need to write a covering letter so why should i

OP posts:
Original poster
fizzledizzle · 21/05/2008 18:28

doodle2u dont mind having the crb but do mind being ask to explain something that is no one elses business!

OP posts:
allgonebellyup · 21/05/2008 18:31

i would be fuming

Idiots

Original poster
fizzledizzle · 21/05/2008 18:32

was getting worried that it was just me being over sensistive about it

OP posts:
Doodle2U · 21/05/2008 18:51

frizzle, did you see my second post? CRB checks are NOT required for family camp.

Original poster
fizzledizzle · 21/05/2008 19:07

doodle2u i don't understand why they have insisted we need one then. it wont be processed before we leave so whats the point? perhaps someone at scouts is slightly confused!

OP posts:
Doodle2U · 21/05/2008 19:16

Frizzle, one of the Scout leaders has phoned Scout HQ to find out. The dipstick who answered the phone has said "Oh yes. CRB are absolutely necessary for this camp. End of story". The Scout leader has taken them at their word. After all, they've spoken to Scout Association HQ?!

The thing is, POR rules differ hugely from the guidelines. The tosser who answered the phone is quoting the guidelines without being fully conversant with POR rules.

They did the same thing to us. It's only because I know POR inside out and triple checked it, that we found out BEFORE all the parents were asked to fill out the forms.

I am absolutely 100% cast iron sure of my facts on this. I've literally just been through it.

Enjoy the camp.

TinkerbellesMum · 21/05/2008 19:25

CRB can be a pain, they are probably making sure there's nothing it can come back on. However, if it comes back to show you are a child abuser (I hate the word paedophile because they're two seperate things) then they're not going to know unless someone's already reported you

It's rather late considering they can take six months to come back and it's slower for voluntary organisations becasuse they process the people who pay first.

Original poster
fizzledizzle · 21/05/2008 19:32

it does seem a large expense for the scouts as well if its not needed. But even if i did need one why would they say i needed a covering letter becouse i didnt change my name when i married?

OP posts:
Doodle2U · 21/05/2008 20:39

Voluntary orgs. have to pay too.

Either the Group pays, the District or the parent's themselves - IF they choose to get one.

I suspect the covering letter was to just cover their own backs because your documents are not quite run of the mill.

TinkerbellesMum · 21/05/2008 23:37

It's not full price then because I know in St John we have problems because of being voluntary.

Confidentialnamechanger · 21/05/2008 23:42

They are not asking that, they are asking you to prove that you use two 'aliases' or that you could use two aliases

tis common now, i had to do it last week. Just because you don't use your married name (as I don't) doesn't mean that you couldn't

Confidentialnamechanger · 21/05/2008 23:43

so what you have to say is that you don't use your partner's name in any form (if you don't). Bear in mind that a lot of people use both, one privately, one professionaly. They are just asking you to describe what you use, not justify it

FAQ · 21/05/2008 23:45

It's definitely free for volunteers - we're just in the process at church of getting loads of people CRB'd - (about 1/2 the regular congregation LOL)

cornsilk · 21/05/2008 23:46

Thy messed up with my crb as well. They recorded my DOB incorrectly on their form and kept insisting the crb was wrong. How can a crb be wrong? DUH!

Original poster
fizzledizzle · 22/05/2008 08:40

faq is isnt free for volunteers. you can sometimes get them at reduced rates if you go through certain organisations. i'm a trustee of a charity and we work closely with other charitable/voluntary organisations and we all have to pay

OP posts:
Doodle2U · 22/05/2008 09:29

Hmm, well....the fees are a bit of a sticky subject. Our PTA, had we decided to go ahead with charity status, was being asked to cough up £40 per CRB check, even though we would consider each and everyone os us as a volunteer.

The Scouts have been charged, even though the leaders are volunteers but this could be because we have an overall governing body.

The CRB website, however, says:-

"These are called Enhanced and Standard Disclosures, both require a fee but are free of charge to volunteers."

Will do some more checking on this and report back in a bit.

rbs · 22/05/2008 11:29

Well the Scouts are NOT required to pay for a diclosure (the Scottish version of the CRB) as they go through the Central Registered Body in Scotland which is an umbrella body and does all volunteer checks.

As for parents attending camps this is taken from one of the Scout Ass fact sheets

All persons likely to have access to young people must be checked using the CRB procedures. Such persons include:
Warranted Appointments, Skills Instructors, Activities Authorisations, Scout Network members, Scout Fellowship members
and Helpers/Assistants. Additionally, Officers of Group, District, County and Area Executives (e.g. Chairman, Secretary
and Treasurer) must also be checked as well as all adults, especially those attending camps, who may have more than
just a fleeting contact with our young members. N.B. Lapsed Leaders, etc., must be CRB checked anew upon return.

So yes as a parent you do need a CRB to go to camp.

rbs · 22/05/2008 11:39

And on another fact sheet which is refered to in rule 9.62 of POR

Criminal Records Bureau/Disclosure
Scotland/Northern Ireland Procedures
All adults attending Family Camps, MUST have
been previously checked via the appropriate
vetting organisation, as above.

So doodle you either need to reread POR or get an updated version.