Criminal Records Bureau disclosures

Because you will be working with children, you are required to apply for a Criminal Records Bureau disclosure. This is free for volunteers, and involves filling in a form and providing some documentary evidence of who you are. The CRB check whether you have a police record, and whether you are banned from working with children or vulnerable adults.

Until you have been cleared by the CRB, schools will need to make sure that you are closely supervised.

Having a police record does not necessarily mean that you cannot participate in STIMULUS; we consider whether the offences are relevant to what you will be doing. If you do have a record, we suggest that you contact the coordinator when you first apply, to discuss the matter in confidence. You should also read our formal policy statement on the recruitment of ex-offenders, and the questions below.

Policy documents pertaining to CRB disclosures, which you are entitled to read:

Policy statement on the recruitment of ex-offenders

Policy statement on the secure storage, handling, use, retention and disposal of disclosures and disclosure information

CRB policy document

If you already have a disclosure certificate;

• If you have been checked for STIMULUS in a previous year, we should have a record of that, and you will not be required to apply again unless it is more than three years old.
  
• If you have been checked by SCA in relation to another project, we should, with your permission, be able to get that confirmed by them.
  
• If you have a disclosure certificate showing that you have been checked by some other organisation, we may be able to accept that; this will depend on how old the certificate is, and whether it is for similar types of activity.
  

Applying for a disclosure

You will need to fill in a form with various personal details, such as addresses for the last five years (fortunately you do not need to list every transfer between home and college), and show the coordinator various documents to confirm your identity. The sooner you can do this, the better; we would like people to do this before the application deadline where possible, as the time after the deadline is exceedingly busy for the coordinator. Times and places for making CRB applications will be displayed here.

For most people, you can provide sufficient documentation as follows:

• Passport or UK driving licence
  
• Something showing your current Cambridge address, such as your NHS card, a recent mobile telephone bill, or a college bill
  
• A third item, such as another of those listed above, recent utility bill or bank statement. University cards are no longer accepted for this purpose.
  

If you can't produce those, you may want to look at the more detailed list here.

You will also need to fill in your National Insurance number, if you are a UK citizen.

Disclosure information

This is dealt with as in the policy document above.
The school you are helping in will be able to see whether you have been cleared or not by looking on the website (each school can only access details for their own volunteers). They may not look regularly, so you might like to take your certificate with you once it arrives, so that they know you have been cleared. The information they are given will be merely:

• YES - you have been cleared, and that there is nothing relevant recorded on the disclosure.
  
• APPLIED - meaning that you have applied but have not (yet) been cleared.
  
• NO - meaning that you have not yet applied or shown me a certificate from another source.
  

Questions answered

What happens if my disclosure reveals something?

The coordinator will decide whether it has any relevance to STIMULUS. If not, then there is no problem. If there might be some relevance, the coordinator will contact you to discuss it. We will reach a decision as to whether you should continue with the placement or not. If we end the placement, the school does not need to know the reason. If we continue it, we may need to involve the school in the decision, but only with your permission. If you believe the disclosure information to be in error, then of course there are appeal procedures, although we may have to end the placement pending resolution of the dispute. In any case, the disclosure information remains confidential, and will be dealt with as in the policy document above.

What if I am from abroad?

The CRB disclosure only covers your time in this country, but you can still apply. If this is your first term in the UK, discuss with the coordinator whether there is any point in applying.

What if I can't provide those documents?

Check the longer list given in the link. You will need more documents if you have neither passport nor driving licence. The list is not exhaustive, so contact the coordinator if you are having problems.