The Long & the Short of it…
Earlier this week I read with interest an article on the SchoolGate blog by Sarah Ebner.
I don’t want to re-hash the article here, but by way of giving a little background – the article detailed the experiences of another parent, Joanne Mallon who has a son who is small for his age.
She recalls a situation her son experienced at school. The class were playing a game whereby they had to describe a fellow classmate without describing them physically. One child blurted out “He’s small”. As Joanne recalls it: “The teacher came down on this like a ton of bricks, because it was outside the rules of the game…”
The article generated a number of comments and got me thinking.
The Vetting & Barring Scheme
October saw the launch of the new Vetting & Barring Scheme (VBS). The new scheme has come about as a result of the Bichard Inquiry which followed the murders of Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells in 2002. In it, Sir Michael Bichard recommended that:
“New arrangements should be introduced requiring those who wish to work with children, or vulnerable adults, to be registered. The register would confirm that there is no known reason why an individual should not work with these clients.”
Effectively the VBS is designed to ensure that anyone who presents a known risk to vulnerable groups is prevented from working with them. So, this begs the question, how does the VBS differ from the traditional CRB check? Read more »
