Hello, Before I go trawling through pages of government websites can anyone here advise. I am hoping to work in the TEFL industry next year, for many applications I need a criminal record check which is apostilled.

Where do I go to get my criminal record certificate!? Do I use a doctor to apostille or one of these organisations. I wish the whole world was as open as the EU for travel. 😀

Any advice would be great.

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/agencies-public-bodies/crb/

Thanks jon for narrowing it down. I always thought a CRB check was to make sure your not a danger to children.

I always thought a CRB check was to make sure your not a danger to children.

It does seem to include other categories, although I could be wrong. An ex-girlfriend used to have one as she was in childcare, it was basically like a driving licence that she could show to perspective employers – if it’s official, like it is, I don’t see why any employer wouldn’t accept it as proof that you’re ‘clean’. Not sure if it’s recognised outside the UK or not.

an organisation needs to give you a form usually your employer or whomever wants the check. you can pay an agency to do this for you but they will charge a fee on top of the CRB check not sure how much though but I would expect about £75 ish for the service?? for an enhanced one [ £44 for the check]

Cheeky way would be to volunteer with some agency that needed to do a check on you – you may need to pay for this though depending on the organisation.
EDIT: organisations usually do their own as it revents forgeries being used and they need to be renewed every 3 years. They can be used overseas but you need that Apostille version I dont know if the standard one is this like your driving licence though sorry – ring them and ask

hmm I think mine has to cover whether I’m a drug dealer or not still I’ll have a look. Thanks for the help.

I thought CRB was for working with vulnerable people too. Not sure how much it counts for abroad.

I had to get one of these:
http://www.acpo.police.uk/NationalPolicing/ACROCriminalRecordsOffice/PoliceCertificates.aspx
when Mrs Doubleu was going to work in Canada and I was going to sponge off her (didn’t end up going so I’m still just average at biking and boarding).

I’ve just done one in order to volunteer at my Son’s Beavers group.

My 17 yr old daughter has 2, one to live in our house [we are childminders] and one for guides. She will soon need another to work the summer for Camp America. Crazy that you can’t have just one to prove you are not a risk.

CRB checks for any criminal incidents you have been charged with from the age of 16 onwards. So if you’d been charged as as drug lord it would show up.

Things that they don’t like for working with children are assaults, drugs and pervy things. I can remember getting a load of mum’s invloved in a youth project and getting them on training while their CRB checks came in but it was pointless as they’d all got petty convictions for ABH etc and couldn’t work with kids.

Just go into your local cop shop and as them for your criminal record (they call it somerthing but cant remember what) I have to do it regularly when my company applies for visas for me to go to s##t hole west african countries, costs you 15 quid.

Thanks scotsman that’s what I needed! Unfortunately I am no drug lord drac, but if I was I would do this

Whats that tails? break in really uncomfy bike seats? From experience; Petty youthful tomfoolery can be explained away to the people at Disclosure (our being stopped version) as long as it happened a good time ago. 🙄

I thought CRB was for working with vulnerable people too.

Things that they don’t like for working with children are assaults, drugs and pervy things

It’s for working with children, vulnerable adults and to ascertain wether or not you pose a potential ‘risk’ to those you will be responsible for. As pointed out, violence and noncing tend to exclude you somewhat, for good reasons mainly.

But I’m opposed to the way CRB checks seem to be now demanded by anyone and everyone, like here:

I’ve just done one in order to volunteer at my Son’s Beavers group.

See, the primary concern here isn’t so much the safety of the children, but to prevent possible legal action being taken against the organisation. In the case of nonces it’s of course valid, but in other cases, it can cause prejudice towards individuals.

CRB checks go back right to when you were 16. Every single conviction, spent or otherwise, is recorded on there. Why I object to so many organisations and agencies being able to demand them, is that it acts contrary to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act, which was established in order that those who have ‘served their time’ and repaid their ‘debt to society’ should be treated as equally as all others. Whilst i am not against convictions for certain crimes (rape, serious sexual assault, noncing kids) to carry future restrictions on the type of work individuals can do, the fact that all sorts of people can access CRB information is counter-productive for an individual who may well have made adequate amends and become a better person.

I feel that only professions where an individual will be solely responsible for kids/vulnerable adults should require any form of vetting process, and that all the organisation/employer can ask for is ‘suitability to do this type of work’. Those making the critical judgements of an indiviudual’s suitability to do a particular type of work should be trained, qualified people.

I got done for violent assault when I was 16. That will forever be on any CRB check. That it is, could hinder possible future employment opportunities for me, because of the prejudices of the employer. Normally, under the RoO Act, you are not obliged to state wether or not you have any criminal convictions, but it seems that a growing number of organisations and agencies can demand such information (often without genuinely good reason), which places people like me at a disadvantage. Someone can do something in a moment of madness, then do the sentence that is handed out to them, yet continue ‘paying’ for their mistake for the rest of their life.

Hmm I tend to agree with your point Elfin, people change especially between their teens and mid twenties.

Just to confirm I have no convictions I know of!

Just an update for anyone who needs one http://www.disclosurescotland.co.uk/ will do it in 2 weeks compared to cambs constabulary’s 40 days.

Following on from Elf’s point of view (to which I agree with) there are too many organisations which are asking for CRB checks, regardless of the need for those checks. I can understand why I need a CRB check when I was a scout leader or a rugby coach – I got very grumpy when I was asked for one as a Hockey umpire. It was pointed out that as an umpire I may be in charge of games where U16s were playing. I pointed out that as the umpire I was not responsible for the player, the team needed to have an appropriate adult. (To give the org its due, it listened to a load of us and we don’t have to provide a CRB check)

The other point about a CRB is that it is only as good as the records about you. If they are wrong (or you have not been caught) then you could end up with a CRB and be a danger!

I agree that we do need to have a better system – the old system of trust had totally broken down – but a better system more clearly focused would be better. And perhaps it would mean that I don’t have 5 CRB checks with 5 different organisations!

At one point I had 7 current CRB certificate, 3 for different LEAs’ 3 for Care home where I taught and 1 for a club. Daft.

I once had to provide one for each school I worked in even though it was the same LEA – whats worse they paid for them all and did all the forms and ID on the same day at the same office …madness

I got done for violent assault when I was 16. That will forever be on any CRB check

I head up a voluntary organisation which works with young people (we’re based in Scotland so some of the procedures are different), and part of the requirement for joining CRBS is that we have an Employment of Ex-Offenders Policy. In essence, it affirms that we’re not going to discriminate unfairly on the basis of the information we receive as part of the PVG process. The three main crimes that trigger closer scrutiny are – sexual offences, drug offences and violence. The first one would generally mean we couldn’t employ someone in a child care position, the second two would require us to conduct a ‘risk assessment’ as part of the recruitment process – if someone applying for a role in their 30s had a conviction for assault in their teens and a subsequent clean record, it’s entirely likely we’d take them on, unless there were other, more current, concerns raised by their references or something. At the end of the day, I know some bloody good youth workers who have ‘Elfinsafety’ type backgrounds.

Of course a quick google would probably throw up all his contributions to STW – in which case I’d probably not hire him because he’s an argumentative git and there’s only room for one big ego in the office 🙂

😆

I woon’t employ me.

I (vaguely) know a guy who’d been done for bike nicking twice when we has sixteen and has had to disclose/discuss it at every job he’s ever had over the last 25 years, as he works with at-risk youth. He says he has never missed out on a job so far because of it as far as he knows, and you’d hope that sector in particular would be fair and balanced about the issue.

Usually, you’ll need one specifically for each job you apply for, I recently changed jobs and had to apply for two,one for each job I was going for, within the same council 🙁

One that you’ve had done for one job, will not usually be accepted for another application. Usually any decent employer will pay for them though, they may expect you to pay the cost back after they’ve employed you.

I got done for violent assault when I was 16.
maybe you cud huv disclosed that at the start mate, then i’d have been spared the veews of a criminal on how been a criminal is unfare.

We use them here at the hospital butthe trust pays for them. They are non transferable and are like mot’s they are only good on the day they are done as they don’t cover any pending convictions. We have a policy of asking people both on hte application form and at interview if they have anything and will look at both what nad when when making a descion but if its not declared before and only shows up on the return then any job offer is withdrawn. So make sure you are honest as everyone makes mistakes and these things can be worked around.

Rehabilitation of Offenders Act isnt worth squat, organisations just ignore it.
I was working for the Met when I suddenly got marched out and my contract cancelled.
apparently my spent conviction which I didnt need to mention according to the RoO act didnt matter, they took it that I lied on my application.

Total waste of time.

I have always thought they are a bit of ass-covering madness for the unthinking who want to devolve all responsibility for making any decisions.

“it’s not our fault we got the CRB check it was clear”.

Of course, as we all know, past performance isn’t a predictor of future performance, it just means they havn’t been caught yet.

maybe you cud huv disclosed that at the start mate, then i’d have been spared the veews of a criminal on how been a criminal is unfare.

What does this even mean?

😕

Anyone?