Volunteering Safeguards: The Volunteer Managers

Perspective

Kate Bowgett•Director: Association of Volunteer

Managers•Volunteer Management Advisor:

London Museums Hub

Where we’ve come from – deciding whether to check

• For most organisations it was unclear which roles needed to be checked

• Except for certain statutory sector organisations the law was vague

• It was up to individual organisations to decide whether their individual ‘Duty of Care’ made checking necessary

• This meant some people where blanket checking when they shouldn’t be, and some who should have been checking weren’t

• The new rules are simpler and take this decision out of our hands

Where we’ve come from – dealing with bureaucracy

• CRB checks can be slow to come through

• They’re not portable so have to be re-done each time someone joins a new organisation

• Checking via an umbrella body is expensive

Where we’ve come from – making difficult decisions

• In the past Volunteer Managers had to make a decision on someone’s suitability based on the information on their CRB check

• Many people found this difficult, some organisations issued blanket bans on offenders

• There were also problems around ‘soft information’ • Now the decision is made by ISA• We will know that if someone is ISA registered an expert

panel has judged them to be suitable

Potential problems• It will take a while for people to get there

heads round what a ‘regulated activity’ or ‘specified place’ are

• The new definitions of ‘vulnerable adult’ may initially be a bit confusing

• Some people who have been carrying out CRB checks for a while will find their work does not count as a ‘regulated activity’

Grey Areas for small informal groups• ‘Domestic employers’ do not have to check• Practically this means a carer or vulnerable

individual making a private arrangement for someone to carry out a ‘regulated activity’ does not have to check

• However there may be some situations where a private arrangement crosses over into something that looks more like an ‘organisation’

Explaining the scheme• Bad press has whipped up a lot of strong

feelings about the scheme• As long as you only check where necessary,

most people will be OK• As Volunteer Managers we need to allay some

of the fears people have and explain:– Why we need to check– How the process will work– That its fairer and more transparent than what was in

place before

Summary• We will HAVE to check more volunteer roles

than before• There is a lot of animosity about the scheme

which could effect recruitmentBut• Checks will be quicker and much easier to

administer• A lot of the tricky decision making is taken out of

our hands• Vetting and barring is a much clearer and more

transparent way of safeguarding

Association of Volunteer Managersa voice, a network and a resource in volunteer management

www.volunteermanagers.org.uk