Volunteering Safeguards: The Volunteer Managers Perspective

1. Volunteering Safeguards: The Volunteer Managers Perspective Kate Bowgett Director: Association of Volunteer Managers Volunteer Management Advisor: London Museums Hub

2. Where we’ve come from – deciding whether to check • For most organisations it was unclear which roles needed to be checked • Except for certain statutory sector organisations the law was vague • It was up to individual organisations to decide whether their individual ‘Duty of Care’ made checking necessary • This meant some people where blanket checking when they shouldn’t be, and some who should have been checking weren’t • The new rules are simpler and take this decision out of our hands

3. Where we’ve come from – dealing with bureaucracy • CRB checks can be slow to come through • They’re not portable so have to be re-done each time someone joins a new organisation • Checking via an umbrella body is expensive

4. Where we’ve come from – making difficult decisions • In the past Volunteer Managers had to make a decision on someone’s suitability based on the information on their CRB check • Many people found this difficult, some organisations issued blanket bans on offenders • There were also problems around ‘soft information’ • Now the decision is made by ISA • We will know that if someone is ISA registered an expert panel has judged them to be suitable

5. Potential problems • It will take a while for people to get there heads round what a ‘regulated activity’ or ‘specified place’ are • The new definitions of ‘vulnerable adult’ may initially be a bit confusing • Some people who have been carrying out CRB checks for a while will find their work does not count as a ‘regulated activity’

6. Grey Areas for small informal groups • ‘Domestic employers’ do not have to check • Practically this means a carer or vulnerable individual making a private arrangement for someone to carry out a ‘regulated activity’ does not have to check • However there may be some situations where a private arrangement crosses over into something that looks more like an ‘organisation’

7. Explaining the scheme • Bad press has whipped up a lot of strong feelings about the scheme • As long as you only check where necessary, most people will be OK • As Volunteer Managers we need to allay some of the fears people have and explain: • Why we need to check • How the process will work • That its fairer and more transparent than what was in place before

8. Summary • We will HAVE to check more volunteer roles than before • There is a lot of animosity about the scheme which could effect recruitment But • Checks will be quicker and much easier to administer • A lot of the tricky decision making is taken out of our hands • Vetting and barring is a much clearer and more transparent way of safeguarding

9. Association of Volunteer Managersa voice, a network and a resource in volunteer management www.volunteermanagers.org.uk