Parent volunteer and CRB check

[Picoloangel]

DS (8) has joined Cubs and we were all set to go off on our first camping trip. However we were then told that we would need to be CRB checked. I can't believe we hadn't anticipated this but we hadn't,

CRB check is fine for me, as I am high level security cleared in my job, but not for DH. About 14 years ago before we met he got in trouble with the police. He pleaded guilty to assault (on another man) and was sent to prison for 8 months. He has never been in trouble before or since, is in a profession where it's known about and to all intents and purposes it's been behind us until now. No one around us knows and we would prefer for DCs sake to keep it that way so that they do not hear this from someone else.

My question is will this conviction preclude DH from ever helping with Cubs or other clubs as a parent helper? If it will, we will not bother getting him checked and risk his history being revealed and just accept that only I can attend camps etc

I have absolutely no issue with CRB checks being carried out and not trying to defend his history simply wondering what to do and any advice would be greatly appreciated

Fourteen years is a long time. If it isn't an enhanced disclosure, will it actually show up? A quick look on gov.uk suggests that assault on an adult (not occasioning ABH and not a sexual assault and not part of eg a robbery) suggests that it will be picked up by the DBS but will be considered spent after four years. Was it eight months sentenced or served?

www.gov.uk/government/publications/dbs-list-of-offences-that-will-never-be-filtered-from-a-criminal-record-check

I think it would be worth DH's speaking to the leader (or contacting local/regional organisers) in the strictest confidence and finding out a bit more. They might well decide that the conviction isn't relevant depending on the circumstances - whereas they couldn't ignore a conviction for an assault on a child, for example.

Disclaimer: IANAL and this is not my area.

Thanks for this. He was sentenced to 8m and served 4 so it appears that it will show up. I wondered about speaking to the leader but didn't want to risk disclosure if the answer was an inevitable no. It's really depressed DH because he feels as if it's always there in the background which I can understand but on the other hand it's absolutely right that an organisation wants to be sure who is in contact with children

It will be an enhanced check. A DBS check (the new name for CRB checks) is only needed if someone wants to help on a regular basis or to stay overnight, not for going along to an ad hoc meeting where you won't be unsupervised by a leader.

If you are unsure, you can call Scouting headquarters. They will be able to advise you on an anonymous basis and your enquiry will never be linked with the local leadership team.

I am not a Scout leader but a Guide leader, and one of my roles is to act as the local DBS co-ordinator. When I submit a DBS request with a new volunteer I only ever hear that it was a pass, not any details and I don't see the actual certificate - only the volunteer gets that. I suspect it is the same for Scouting. It was a long time ago - I would definitely encourage you to get in touch with Scouting HQ - they may very well not consider it a barring issue.

It was a while ago now, but when I handled DBS checks for a charity working with vulnerable people, it was the lack of a volunteer disclosing any convictions, not the conviction itself which was the red line.

Yes, I agree with PerpetualStudent. It's important to advise the organisation that you're going to work for in advance of any information that you believe will be disclosed on the DBS certificate. Failure to do so would look like an attempt at concealment.