CRB checks - how often?

[roisin]

If you work in a school, how often should they be renewing your CRB check?
Is it every 3 years?

According to CRB there is no time limit on a check. Ofsted require you to sign a disclaimer ever 3 years statin you have not done anything that would show on a check. Best practice would be to repeat like first aid etc but its not set in stone.

I am a registered childminder and don't have to be re done again for the length of my career.

DH was CRB checked by the school 3 years ago so a couple of weeks ago he was sent the forms to have another check. He filled in the forms, took them up to the school and was told that since 1st September they do not have to be renewed!

DH volunteers at DDs' school and they do annual checks.

There is no set time and never has been. It is generally considered good practise to check at least every 3 years. The school mentioned by larry5 could get itself into trouble if there is a child protection incident involving someone who hasn't been CRB checked for years.

I am surprised that you would not need it renewed. I work for a sporting body which deals with children, we all have to have ours renewed every 3 years.

Part of my job is processing CRBs and I can categorically state that there is no time limit and hasn't been one in the 8 years or so that I've had regular dealings with them. As others have said, it is considered good practice to undertake them after a set period of time, but there is no real need to do so.

If someone is arrested for an offence against a child or vulnerable adult, the first thing the police do is see if that person has ever done a CRB check. If they have, they get in touch with the organisation that required the check immediately, and I mean immediately, to inform them. The organisation is then obliged to immediately suspend that person from any further contact with children or vulnerable adults. I know of arrests at 11pm with suspension letters being hand delivered to the suspect/offender at 6am the following morning. The delay was only due to the suspect/offender being interviewed until 5am and the hour was given to allow him to reach his home address.

The difficulties arise when organisations accept a CRB disclosure slip that was obtained through a different organisation. I know of voluntary companies that do this, largely out of ignorance of how the system works, but obviously by doing so they leave themselves in a eye-crunchingly vulnerable position.

As CRBs are only indicators that someone has never been caught, they are not particulary reliable anyway.

I have to pay to have mine done yearly!!

At one point Ofsted had guidance about getting it done every 3 years as "best practice". Reality is that a lot of employers couldn't afford to get it renewed that often, so had to compromise with the signed disclaimers or similar.

It's rather limited as a safety screen, something like 45% of new prosecutions for sex offences are for individuals with no priors.

When I was an NHS student I had to fill in a 'review' form plus a new CRB every year ie more forms to fill in than the original CRB! Craziness...

Never, unless you have a very long break in service.

Thank you.

As a volunteer DS's school requires me to renew it annually.