is it a problem?

[lilybird]

dd went on a trip to the beach from nursery yesterday, i was originally with 4 other kids and two of the ladies who have worked there for ages. when i picked her up,they said they'd had a lovely time, but it turns out that the new manager & another new member of staff had taken them and they haven't been police checked yet!!
i'm abit stunned to say the least,but don't really know whether to say anything? the nursey seems unsettled since the arrival of the new manager

If the manager and new member of staff were both not vetted, then I consider it to be unacceptable.

England - Full Day Care National Standards

Standard 1
1.3 The registered person ensures that any person who has not been vetted is never left alone with children.

1.4 the manager has at least 2 years experience of working in a day care setting;

Are you sure that the manager has not been vetted?
I would consider it unusual for a nursery manager to be working, if their checks had not been completed. They may have had a check done in their previous job, and thus are in the process of having that check updated due to changing job. The nursery owner may have been satisfied that the previous check was sufficient to allow the manager to work, while they await the updated check.

Talk with the nursery manager to establish exactly what the situation is and to make them aware that you are not happy about it. If you do not get any joy from that, then contact the nursery owner (registered person) - this may be a company name, or an individual. It is shown on the Nursery Inspection Report. Think it is also shown on the printed Registration Certificate, but it isn't shown at Ofsted website version of the certificate.

Nurseries are often unsettled when a new manager arrives. It can however be good, as the new manager may reallocate staff and resources to better meet the children's needs, plus be more approachable, so parents can chat with them better.

As far as I am aware, CRB checks, particularly for managers have to be carried out at each setting. So if the manager has a check from a previous nursery, she is not not technically checked for the new place. Unvetted people are allowed to work with children, providing they are supervised at all times, regardless of qualification.

I was a manager of a pre-school briefly, covering due to prolonged sickness and although I was in charge, I still had to be supervised by a colleague as my CRB check had not come through yet.

Did any vetted staff go on this trip? If not, I have a feeling that the nursery is in breach of the National Standards, as well as Health and Safety and therefore would be suitable grounds for a complaint to Ofsted.

the manager probably had a CRB check from a previous job. the thing is they take so long to get through so maybe the nursery were desperate enough to wait. the system would work better if the crb check would be relavant for the person and not the setting iykwim.

I help out at a Pre-School and my understanding is the same as loopylou - you can work somewhere new without a CRB check for that setting but not unsupervised by other members of staff.

Why not call Ofsted and ask their view?

Have a look at this from the National Standards. You need to start from Page 8 - Standard 1 Suitable Person

here

Hope this helps!

thanks guys! the manager is supposed you have worked for offsted, so you would asume she would know the correct precedures?!
am going to party tomorrow,will have a chat with the other mum's, i know one had to go into nursery the other day to make a complaint,so i'll see how she got on!

I suspect the reason why you can't bring CRB checks with you from job to job would be to avoid people pretending to be someone else and using their CRB check. So if I find out the name of someone who's leaving work in a nursery, I can pretend to be that person at another nursery and use their CRB check. The CRB check isn't just CRB, it's identity, too, iyswim.

Should have said, though, I probably wouldn't be that worried about this, though. I don't think police checks are magic, and I also think the risk of abuse within a nursery setting (or on a beach, for that matter) is pretty low. As ever, most abuse of children (sexual or otherwise) comes from family, and sometimes friends.