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The official Government page on CRB has the following statement. Phil Hope, Minister for the Third Sector, said: "The Government has a duty to protect vulnerable people and CRB checks play an important part in this. However, it is a real waste if volunteers are being put off doing their hugely valuable work because checks are being carried out unnecessarily. Risk has to be managed properly and proportionately and I hope that this guidance will help organisations by giving them a clear step by step process to follow. "The Government has made sure that CRB checks are free for volunteers, saving volunteer involving organisations £26.6 million in 2007/08. I want to encourage more people to volunteer and will continue to tackle the barriers that prevent them." The guidance responds to recommendations put to the Government by Baroness Neuberger, the Government's Independent Volunteering Champion. Baroness Neuberger said: "I welcome this guidance and the Government's overall positive response to the recommendations of the Commission on the Future of Volunteering. I believe that the guidance will address some of the issues raised in our consultation and I hope that it will promote a proportionate approach to CRB checks. The guidance is particularly important in public service organisations and I hope that the Government will push the use of the guidance in health and education strongly." To access the guidance use the following link cabinet office/third sector/Guidance<http://www.crb.gov.uk/pdf/OTS_CRB%20Volunteer%20Guidance.pdf> In the guide is the following in section 2: *Students undertaking volunteering as part of a course* Students on some courses are required to undertake a work placement to obtain a qualification. Such activities are often described as 'volunteering', a better description would be work experience or a work placement, particularly as the student is doing the activity solely for their own benefit. Where an individual is undertaking a placement of this type as a requirement for a course, they would not eligible for a free CRB check. This does not include volunteering to obtain an award, such as a Duke of Edinburgh Award. So I think this double negative means DofE students don't pay but work experience do , but by inference both must get one. Read it and make your judgement Ian stringer On Mon, Jun 30, 2008 at 9:20 PM, Loz Pycock < [log in to unmask]> wrote: > Martin Lynda wrote: > >> Dear All >> We have just been informed by our HR Department that all volunteers over >> the age of 10 will need to have a full CRB check before they can help with >> "Team Read" this summer - in spite of the fact that children are accompanied >> by parents, library staff are present and the volunteer is not left on their >> own. This will effectively mean that we will not have any young volunteers >> this summer as this can take 3 months or more to come through. It will also >> impact on Duke of Edinburgh's students volunteering in the library. >> We assume this is an internal decision rather than national guidelines - >> can anyone share their experience please? We have some very disappointed >> young people and parents. >> Thanks, >> Lynda martin >> Partnership Manager >> Cambridgeshire Libraries >> >> >> > Hmmm, does this cover students that do work experience in libraries? > > -- > - -- Loz > > "What kind of boring bastard goes to a County Show? 'Ahh, I'm only here > because the Museum wasn't open.'" - Frankie Boyle, Mock the Week. > "All domination begins by prohibiting language." - Roland Barthes >