Parents who give rides for kids undergo pedophile checks

• 09-14-2009 12:59 PM

  Naudia Joined on 02-28-2008 Posts 439

  Parents who give rides for kids undergo pedophile checks Reply Contact  http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8253789.stm The ISA came under fire after it emerged that parents who regularly give children lifts on behalf of sports or social clubs will have to face checks. People who ignore the new regulations face fines of up to £5,000. The Home Office's Vetting and Barring Scheme, which is designed to protect children from pedophiles, covers adults who are in regular contact with young people. 'Public outcry' Anyone taking part in activities involving "frequent" or "intensive" contact with children or vulnerable adults three times in a month, every month, or once overnight, must register with the ISA. All school governors, doctors, nurses, teachers, dentists and prison officers must also sign up. People must go through a series of checks and have their names put on a list of approved individuals. Those seeking employment will have to pay £64 for the checks - but the charge will be waived for volunteers. Informal arrangements between parents will not be covered Sir Roger, whose agency will run the vetting scheme, said: "We need to calm down and consider carefully and rationally what this scheme is and is not about. "It is not about interfering with the sensible arrangements which parents make with each other to take their children to schools and clubs. "It is not about subjecting a quarter of the population to intensive scrutiny of their personal lives and it is not about creating mistrust between adults and children or discouraging volunteering." He added: "It is about ensuring that those people who have already been dismissed by their employers for inappropriate behaviour with children do not simply up sticks and move elsewhere in the country to continue their abuse. "And it is about bringing an end to the need for repeated CRB checks which so many people have found irritating. ISA registration is a one-off process for a single fee." 'Insulting' But critics claim it is threatening civil liberties and may deter volunteers. The NSPCC children's services director Wes Cuell told the Sunday Telegraph the move could stop people doing things that were "perfectly safe and normal". "The warning signs are now out there that this scheme will stop people doing things that are perfectly safe and normal: things that they shouldn't be prevented from doing. "When you get this degree of public outcry, there is generally a good reason for it. "I think we are getting a bit too close to crossing the line about what is acceptable in the court of public opinion. "We don't want to throw the baby out with the bathwater." Mr Cuell stressed that while it was important to strengthen rules to protect children from potential sex offenders, overzealous interpretation of the regulations could threaten civil liberties. Children's authors, including Philip Pullman and Michael Morpurgo, have complained the requirement is "insulting" and say they will stop visiting schools. Earlier this week, children's minister Delyth Morgan said safeguarding children was the government's priority and it was about ensuring people in a position of trust who worked with children were safe to do so. Do you think the pedophile checks are a good idea? Do they impede on civil rights? Would you be angry or okay if the checks were made on you before transporting kids from school?

  Filed under: debate, parent rights, school policy, civil rights, child abuse, pedophiles

• 10-18-2009 10:23 AM

  In reply to

  rmsandoval7 Joined on 06-19-2008 Phoenix, AZ Posts 54

  Re: Parents who give rides for kids undergo pedophile checks Reply Contact We do have this here now. Parents wanting to volunteer, go on field trips, etc., must have fingerprint clearance, which is essentially the same thing. I don't see what the big deal is. You have to have fingerprint clearance to teach kids, why not to volunteer around them too? I don't think it's an infringement on our rights at all, and I would gladly get checked if I weren't already.

• 10-22-2009 5:35 AM

  In reply to

  heather249160 Joined on 10-21-2003 Northern Ireland (UK) Posts 4,687

  Re: Parents who give rides for kids undergo pedophile checks Reply Contact rmsandoval7: We do have this here now. Parents wanting to volunteer, go on field trips, etc., must have fingerprint clearance, which is essentially the same thing. I don't see what the big deal is. You have to have fingerprint clearance to teach kids, why not to volunteer around them too? I don't think it's an infringement on our rights at all, and I would gladly get checked if I weren't already.     You are missing the point, what you state is law already this law would mean I would have to be police checked because I look after my friends 9 year old for 15 mins a day mon to fri, my friend would have to be police checked as she has my 9 year old on sleep over regulary. Here we had two POLICE officiers arrested because when one was working the other looked after the working ones baby, they job shared and shared teh childcare without money exchanging hands thier babies were born within 2 weeks of each other.   I am checked out (called AccessNI here) as a community development worker BUT the training alone for the check is over £100 and the check is £50. And it only works if you have a prior conviction many pedos dont. £150 to have my friends daughter for nothing for a few hours a week? I dont think so.

• 12-01-2009 4:17 PM

  In reply to

  Mrs Garcia Joined on 09-03-2007 The ax forgets; the tree remembers~African proverb Posts 300

  Re: Parents who give rides for kids undergo pedophile checks Reply Contact heather249160: rmsandoval7: We do have this here now. Parents wanting to volunteer, go on field trips, etc., must have fingerprint clearance, which is essentially the same thing. I don't see what the big deal is. You have to have fingerprint clearance to teach kids, why not to volunteer around them too? I don't think it's an infringement on our rights at all, and I would gladly get checked if I weren't already.     You are missing the point, what you state is law already this law would mean I would have to be police checked because I look after my friends 9 year old for 15 mins a day mon to fri, my friend would have to be police checked as she has my 9 year old on sleep over regulary. Here we had two POLICE officiers arrested because when one was working the other looked after the working ones baby, they job shared and shared teh childcare without money exchanging hands thier babies were born within 2 weeks of each other.   I am checked out (called AccessNI here) as a community development worker BUT the training alone for the check is over £100 and the check is £50. And it only works if you have a prior conviction many pedos dont. £150 to have my friends daughter for nothing for a few hours a week? I dont think so.  As the article was written, I see nothing wrong with it.  This text is in the article above: "Informal arrangements between parents will not be covered."  Which makes it ok with me.  It also says that volunteers will have the fee waived.

• 12-02-2009 3:03 AM

  In reply to

  heather249160 Joined on 10-21-2003 Northern Ireland (UK) Posts 4,687

  Re: Parents who give rides for kids undergo pedophile checks Reply Contact Mrs Garcia: heather249160: rmsandoval7: We do have this here now. Parents wanting to volunteer, go on field trips, etc., must have fingerprint clearance, which is essentially the same thing. I don't see what the big deal is. You have to have fingerprint clearance to teach kids, why not to volunteer around them too? I don't think it's an infringement on our rights at all, and I would gladly get checked if I weren't already.     You are missing the point, what you state is law already this law would mean I would have to be police checked because I look after my friends 9 year old for 15 mins a day mon to fri, my friend would have to be police checked as she has my 9 year old on sleep over regulary. Here we had two POLICE officiers arrested because when one was working the other looked after the working ones baby, they job shared and shared teh childcare without money exchanging hands thier babies were born within 2 weeks of each other.   I am checked out (called AccessNI here) as a community development worker BUT the training alone for the check is over £100 and the check is £50. And it only works if you have a prior conviction many pedos dont. £150 to have my friends daughter for nothing for a few hours a week? I dont think so.  As the article was written, I see nothing wrong with it.  This text is in the article above: "Informal arrangements between parents will not be covered."  Which makes it ok with me.  It also says that volunteers will have the fee waived.   And the legislation that was going to be used to prosecute the two police officiers here was meant to cover people doing informal childminding for MONEY, the wording that was actually used in the legislation was PERSONAL GAIN, the OFSTEAD inspectors that carried out the investigation used those two words and said that the police officiers were getting personal gain through not having to pay for childcare. ANd it took the Prime Minister to step in and stop those mothers facing a JAIL term!. The article may say informal arrqngements will not be covered but the langaguge of the legislation DOESNT say that it IMPLIES it but again could and will be open to intrepretation by the inspectors. And here is the most worrying line Anyone taking part in activities involving "frequent" or "intensive" contact with children or vulnerable adults three times in a month, every month, or once overnight, must register with the ISA. That means that megan staying with her friend three times a month overnight which she does, will have to register!! As for volunteers getting the fee waived again how do you define a "volunteer" which is what they use to not pay for some peoples Access NI courses and checks I work in community development, I am a volunteer and I had to pay the £150 even tho I dont work with kids or vulnerable adults at all but the legislation states all CDs have to have it. Also the legislation can and will lead to parents being complacent, checks only identify those with convictions as we in the UK saw recently with the childcare workers who were employed after police checks and still being pedos and abusing the kids in thier care. What the UK needs to do is get our systems working TOGETHER across regions and with the ROI to ensure that criminals dont use the jigsaw mismesh to thier advantage. This legislation will not do that.