CRB CHECKS FOR TUTORS

[Berkshiremum123]

Hi. I recently sought a tutor for my seven year old who is behind in a couple of subjects. When I asked the prospective tutor for their CRB certificate they were taken aback that I should ask. Isn't this a normal question? After I went back to her she said she thought they weren't worthwhile and wasn't going to get one. I am a bit disappointed as I've spent quite a bit of time trying to arrange this and am surprised that having a CRB certificate isn't standard for a tutor who teaches children on their own. Would love to get some other perspectives on this.

[DrankSangriaInThePark]

I thought it was a legal requirement for anyone who works with minors in whatever capacity.

[KikitheKitKat]

My DH is a tutor and when he started he tried to apply for a CRB check but was told you can't apply for yourself - your employer has to do it! So as a result he got our kids then school to CRB check him for going on school trips as a helper. This seemed the only way he could get a certificate at the time.

[DrankSangriaInThePark]

Hmm. I stand corrected. You don't need one as a private tutor as the contract is between you and the family etc etc.

Yet another crashing ginormous loophole in the whole CRB/DBS fiasco then.

[CatKisser]

I tutor and have a CRB but I don't possess a copy of it myself - my school has it. When I've met clients I've explained this and invited them to ring my school who will confirm I work there and have a full enhanced CRB.

Is the tutor a registered tutor or someone doing it for a bit of extra cash a week?

[KikitheKitKat]

Registered where Cat? DH is tutoring as his main occupation and is registerd with a couple of tutoring web-sites (but that does not require any particular qualifications). Is there a national register and if so how do you go on it?

[CatKisser]

No, I don't think there's a national register, sorry, I just meant registered with a particular website or company!

[KikitheKitKat]

So it's irrelevant then really.

[CatKisser]

How rude are you?!

[LIZS]

If they have a DBS certificate it belongs to the individual not the body they work for. You can opt to have this transferrable so if you had more than one employer they can access the same system for clearance . Still only as useful as the day it is applied for though , and those who have not been caught.

[KikitheKitKat]

I didn't mean to be rude Cat, but it sounded like you were saying anyone not registered was just doing tutoring 'on the side' which I took to mean tax-dodging! Sorry, I was curt.

[CatKisser]

I didn't meant to imply that at all - I'm not ashamed to admit I do my tutoring "on the side." Twenty quid an hour once a week. Unashamed tax dodging.
The reason I asked about being registered with a site was because a tutor registered with a company would be more likely to have a crb AND good references than someone who does not.

[KikitheKitKat]

I wouldn't really agree there. The tutoring web-sites dh has used do no such checks. They are useful to the tutor for getting work initially, before word of mouth recommendations start, but as a customer I wouldn't use them because you just pay more for the same tutor.

[Berkshiremum123]

thanks everyone!

This particular tutor isn't affiliated to a school she's an independent tutor so she thinks she can't apply for a CRB check anyhow.I don't see how that is the case - as a mother I was required to get a CRB check to go to my own daughters classroom.

I guess my question is, should I be concerned if she doesn't have one and isn't willing to get one?

From her perspective, no one's asked before, so its clearing not hampering her business. But from my perspective, A. I don't have the assurance I need and B. the lack of willingness to accommodate what seems a reasonable request is perplexing and obviously I'd like to have a good rapport with someone who is tutoring my child

[ABlandAndDeadlyCourtesy]

"s a mother I was required to get a CRB check to go to my own daughters classroom."

The check would have been initiated by your DD's school and they would have paid for it.

[ABlandAndDeadlyCourtesy]

I'm not sure you can "get your own" as you have to be a body that has an account with DRB. You don't have to be an employee for such a body to request a check on you (hence parent helper). So some tutor websites may be that "body" on behalf of those using their site.

[admission]

The law is that DBS checks are not considered necessary for anybody who is self-employed. Which is a rather large hole when it comes to self employed tutors of children, who they will potentially be seeing on a 1 to 1 basis every week.

[htm123]

I was in a similar situation. Tutor advert said: "Qualified", "CRB checked"... and all the rest of it, but when I met the tutor, she didn't have a CRB check! I requested that the lessons to be held in OUR home and she did agree. However, my DH suggested to me to pay for the first lessons by cheque, which I did & you won't believe it! Her name was not as the one advertised! I felt awful and shocked! She explained that the person who advertised was a friend of hers, who was inundated with too many requests from parents, therefore, she was asked by the friend to take on the remaining students! I felt extremely uncomfortable seeing the face of the lady changing colours but decided to give her a chance teaching my DS but I noticed that she wasn't very good... She kept using her phone during lessons, walking around the room chatting with DS about our pets, our new rooms, she was a bit short tempered too. I was not impressed... so glad we found our proper tutor. He was recommended by a parent, (at first meeting CRB checked-original paper provided to us, along with his driving license). He also logged into his school website to provide further proof that he is a qualified teacher. He told us that everybody who's working with children MUST have CRB check. If they don't, then they must be supervised by the child's parent.

[prh47bridge]

He told us that everybody who's working with children MUST have CRB check

He was wrong. There is no mechanism whereby someone who is self employed can get an enhanced CRB/DBS check. If they are employed by an agency that agency can get a check but someone who is self employed cannot get a check for themselves.

[Berkshiremum123]

Well it's all very confusing and I am amazed that there isn't a mechanism that allows individuals to apply for a CRB check. It should be a pre-requisite for anyone teaching children. I have since spoken to a couple of her references who were glowing so I guess I am going to go on that. But I still think it's a leap of faith no parent should have to make. Thanks again all. This my first experience of mumsnet - so far, so good!

[prh47bridge]

You can get a basic check on yourself from Disclosure Scotland but that is considered inadequate for working with children or vulnerable adults.

The whole point of an enhanced disclosure is that it includes non-conviction information from the police that they consider relevant. That can include information about ongoing investigations that they don't want communicated to the subject. It therefore doesn't go on the copy of the disclosure sent to the individual. It is communicated separately to the employer or voluntary organisation involved. How do you handle this information if the individual can apply for their own disclosure? If you send it to them you will alert them to the fact they are being investigated, allowing them to destroy evidence and potentially escape conviction. If you don't send it to them they will be able to present a clean disclosure to parents who will be blissfully unaware that the tutor is under investigation as part of a paedophile ring, say.

[Whistleblower55]

Hello, I came across this post because I was checking what background checks are legally required to be allowed to tutor pupils privately. What I have found is that you don't have to prove anything regarding your suitability to privately teach and that's a disgrace. My reason for checking is I have a sister who is teaching kids english in Neath, South Wales. By all accounts she is good at it. Problem is that she is completely mentally unstable. Naturally I have known her all my life and came to the conclusion decades ago that her behaviour could only be described as schizophrenic, with violent tendencies. She thrives on trouble and makes other people's troubles her business I think honestly because she enjoys it. She is diagnosed as having a mental illness and is dependent heavily on demazepam and other anti depressants. Her mood can change in an instant from sweetness ( false ) to volatile aggression. Around 6 weeks ago she physically attacked me and my small dog. I needed an x-ray on my elbow the following day. Fortunately for me my 87 year old father witnessed her attack on me because to bring the attack to an end I kicked her up her arse. I couldn't do anything else since both my arms were unavailable to force her off me and my dog. Nobody gets away with hurting my Dog! Since then she has told everyone she meets, probably hundreds of people that she was attacked by her psycho brother. My dad doesnt want the police knocking on his door but has promised me that if she reports me, he will confirm that she was the agressor. Just days earlier she told her daughter that she wished she'd had an abortion rather than have her. That makes 6 of her immediate family that will never speak to her again. My worry is that she will hurt a child in her care whilst teaching. Would anyone seriously want a lunatic like her teaching their kids. She frequently talks of suicide, for sympathy of course. I hold her responsible for the suicide of a former boyfriend by the disgraceful treatment she dished out to him by using and abusing him for years until another victim with better prospects came along. You might think that I am out for revenge, damn right I am. I have already reported her as a benefits cheat, a charity thief and a tax dodger, that's right her teaching is all cash in hand. However I do have a conscience and when it dawned on me that she could hurt these kids I began to look for checks on private tutors and when I found out there were none I was appalled