Do parent volunteers on school day trips (eg to museum) need to be CRB-checked?

[webchick]

for my son's year one trip? Does anyone have any experience on this?

Not if you are the company of other adults who have been and wont be alone with the child (ie take them to the toilet) . Although some schools may still insist on CRB clearance.

If they are not going to be unsupervised with children then no.

Depends on your LEA/school policy. We don't ask parents to be CRB checked for trips, but we do if they're helping within school.

Thanks for your replies; I have asked the head and will see what the reponse is. I was wondering what other establishments did in this instance.

I have been on a ouple and havn't been CRB schecked. Not been left alone with them though as we stayed as a class (well tried).

Webchick, are you worried about being checked?

In our school, yes, that's our policy. But it is up to the school, some don't insist if you are not going to be alone with children.
It is a bit of a faff getting it done, but worth it if it means you can help out occasionally.

no not personally worried about myself.

However, it would put my mind at rest (eg on a trip that I wasn't helping at) that other volunteers are checked.

At our school, parents helpers who help in class do have to be CRB checked but if you are just going on a one-off trip they do something called a List 99 check. DH isn't usually to be found helping at school but he is accompanying an overnight museum trip next month and this is what the school have done. I think it is a less onerous check and also cheaper for school.

Our school insist on one.

I was having this debate today. My dd has recently moved schools and I was able to help out at her last school with no checks but her new school have insisted on a CRB check - which I have recently finished filling in.
I am not allowed to help walk the kids up to the local church without CRB.

I did my first geography trip with my DS's class today....just round the area close to the school, but I had to be CRB checked .

We have to be here too.

Our school doesn't insist but is scrupulous about not leaving any child unsupervised with any adult who is not CRB-checked. As far as other parents go, it wouldn't bother me in the slightest if they didn't have CRB clearance, as long as I knew the school followed a similar policy to ours. To be honest, no teacher/school worth their salt would allow any adult unsupervised contact with children unless they knew they were cleared. That's why our school always takes more teachers/TAs than is needed, in addition to parent-helpers, just in case an emergency did arise, so the children were still left adequately supervised.

I feel there's a lot of hysteria over this - not letting a parent help walk their children to a local church without CRB clearance is over the top. Our school just wouldn't go anywhere in those circumstances - we walk the children everywhere and it can be hard enough to get helpers sometimes, let alone add another layer of bureaucracy.