Everyone Attacks the ISA!
The Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) is a direct attack on the social fabric of this country. It undermines the rule of law and presumes that a bureaucracy can find paedophiles and provide protection for the ‘vulnerable’, when even children’s charities agree it can’t. At last teachers are starting the fight back:
Teachers’ leaders representing almost 45,000 schools have written to the government to object to new child protection rules they say will stop language exchange programmes and deter parent-helpers.
In a letter to the children’s secretary, Ed Balls, seven associations spanning state and private schools warn that new requirements to vet anyone who works or applies to work with children on a voluntary or paid basis are “disproportionate” and will not stop some paedophiles.
The seven bodies say this will stop language exchanges altogether, because it will not be possible to vet overseas families who host British pupils. They argue that the rules will reduce the number of outside speakers prepared to come to give assemblies because they will have to go through the “excessive bureaucracy” of the vetting process. Parents who help out with drama productions, fundraising and school trips will also be affected.
Scouting jamborees, nativity plays, volunteering right across the spectrum will be affected by the Vetting and Barring Scheme (VBS). And with the government requiring a volunteering component for 18 year old school leavers (which sort of changes it from volunteering to ‘unpaid work’ doesn’t it?), every young person in further education will have to be vetted. Considering the ISA doesn’t require evidence-based disclosures in order to bar people from specific areas of work, there will be a huge risk of criminalising and tainting the futures of huge numbers of young people, and in the end deterring them from continuing with their education. The letter goes on to say:
schools were concerned the review would merely “tinker with the system because of the constraints of his [Sir Roger Singleton's] remit”.
“We are urging a review of the whole strategy,” the letter said.
The letter added that regulations failed to guarantee the safety of children.
“Concern has also been expressed by colleagues that there could be a sense of false security engendered by the completion of checks,” said the letter. “It is also worth reminding you that Ian Huntley might well not have been exposed by the CRB system.”
The letter was also signed by the Girls’ School Association, the Independent Association of Prep Schools, the Independent Schools Association and the Society of Heads of Independent Schools.
The teachers have got it right, but this is a government which believes fundamentally that databases and bureaucracies can solve every problem. Watch how Ed Balls won’t do anything to tackle any of these issues, whilst the ISA through its existence will discourage child protection practitioners from looking in the right direction for real abuse.
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I was working in a school today.
Have you got a CRB?
Not hello nice to meet you or any other normal nice way of greeting.
I was told it’s OFSTEAD’S fault. The Secretary said “They’ve told us to make sure even delivery drivers have one if they are on our premises”.
Bangs head on wall.
(good article by the way)
Dear, dear me! I think that there is also another, emerging problem, that will not be so easily tackled, because it involves a root and branch reform of the entire child protection system, especially among those who only have transient safeguarding roles.
For those who are aware of my previous posts on this and other forums; the ISA has finally made a decision with regards to my case – my name will NOT be confirmed on the lists (therefore I’m not barred from any position.)
However…. someone at a local level, within the organisation I work for has decided that there will be a full internal investigation, and I have (yesterday) received word that I will be on a formal disciplinary after Christmas. For what? I don’t know – the incident compained of did not happen at work; and that complaint wasn’t upheld by either the police or the ISA. In fact, my employers are only aware of what happened with the ISA because I told them about it.
The reality is that this new quango (the ISA) has ruled on my case and made a decision…. yet that doesn’t seem to matter to those on the ground who have their own agenda. So; having been through a police and an ISA investigation and come out ‘clean’ – I’m probably going to lose my job anyway. Such justice.
What is needed is someone to say “enough is enough; this chap has been investigated three times now, in connection with the same incident – no-one has found anything untoward, despite looking very, very thoroughly; therefore, it’s more than likely that there is nothing to find.”
When will this madness end, and those of us affected by false/unfounded/malicious accusations be allowed to rebuild our lives without this mill-stone forever around our necks?