As you may know, there’s a new system that’s been developed to try and protect chil­dren and vulner­able adults from abuse which means that a lot of people will have to register with an organ­isa­tion called the Independent Safeguarding Authority (the ISA), possibly as well as getting CRB checks (at least in the beginning).

This is a hope­fully helpful and entirely unof­fi­cial summary of the inform­a­tion they’ve put on their website, and this one’s entirely in web form, for the critics!

Who doesn’t need to register?

• Anyone under 16
• If you’re a friend looking after a child or vulner­able adult with no contract or partic­ular expect­a­tion of payment, that’s fine. It’s the same if you’re a family member (which includes living in the same house and treating each other as family).
• If you’re a parent or friend of the child or adult who needs care and you hire someone to look after them, you don’t need to register, but all other employers do.

If you’re not chan­ging your job or volun­teering role you don’t have to apply until 2011, but employers will prob­ably be asking you to apply earlier than that to get the paper­work over with.

If you’re a parent or guardian employing home tutors, nannies or carers you can check if they’re registered with the ISA or not. If they’re on the banned list they shouldn’t be looking after kids or vulner­able people, though – that’s illegal.

Who does need to register?

If you’re applying for a new job or take up a new role from October 2009 you need to apply to the ISA, and get a CRB check. There’ll be a combined form out later on so you don’t have to do them separ­ately. (Ed: I think this is right, but I’m not entirely sure)

You need to be registered (either now or even­tu­ally) if you:

• Look after kids and vulner­able adults a lot, overnight, or have a lot of contact for short amounts of time, for example: teaching, training, care, super­vising, advising, treating kids or vulner­able adults, and ferrying people around.
• Are foster parents or look after fostering arrangements
• Are employed in childcare
• Are a school governor, director of social services or a trustee of some char­ities – any posi­tions of authority which give you respons­ib­ility for the welfare of childrens/vulnerable adults.

What is ISA regis­tra­tion going to involve?

The form isn’t out yet so we don’t know much about it. It will hope­fully be out by October 2009.

This is what we do know:

• you will need to supply valid ID with your application
• if when you apply the ISA find anything relevant they need to tell you about it.
• if they find nothing then they have to tell you that too – unless you’ve applied for an enhanced CRB check at the same time (where they will tell you anything you find anyway).
• you’ll be checked regu­larly to make sure the info is up to date and you haven’t done anything that would mean you get barred.
• you will have to pay a small fee, unless you’re a volun­teer and then it’s free.

If you’re no longer working with chil­dren or vulner­able adults and can prove it, you can ask the ISA to stop recording you.

Who can see my info?

• Your employer can only see that you have registered, they can’t see the details.
• ISA case workers and the police will be able to see details.
• If you’re on a register like the Teaching Council or Medical Council, the people who look after the register are allowed to find out whether you’re registered with the ISA, barred, or being invest­ig­ated for possible barring.

What happens after I’ve got my registration?

Once you’ve got your ISA regis­tra­tion, your employers, social care agen­cies, local author­ities and other public health organ­isa­tions will have to report to the ISA on the way you act with the chil­dren or vulner­able adults in your care.

Parents and private companies that want to bring the ISA’s atten­tion to your beha­viour will have to go through an intermediary.

If you harm a child or vulner­able adult, cause them harm indir­ectly, put them at risk of getting hurt, attempt to harm them, or if you ask or encourage someone else to hurt them, it may go on your record or get you put on the barred list.

If I’m barred, can I work with chil­dren or vulner­able adults at all?

If you are on a barred list, you can still do these things as long as your employer makes sure things are safe and within the rules:

• Support work in a general health settings, the NHS and further educa­tion. (Like cleaners, care­takers, shop workers, catering staff, car park attend­ants and receptionists.)
• If you work for an organ­isa­tion that has access to sens­itive records about chil­dren and vulner­able adults.
• Support work in adult social care. (Like day centre cleaners and those with access to social care records.)

So what’s illegal now that wasn’t before?

You can be sent to prison or fined up to £5000 for newly employing an unre­gistered or barred person to work with chil­dren or vulner­able adults. It’s illegal for employers not to check if somone is registered.

It’s also illegal to do anything you have to be registered to do, if you are not registered or you’re barred.