25/04/2004
ES CRB Unit up and running

As a part of our commitment to protect young people in squash, England Squash have set up a Criminal Records Bureau Unit to enable official police checks to be carried out on any persons within the game that have significant or relevant access to children.

Adrian Christy, Head of Development at England Squash and responsible for Child Protection says: “Recent tragic events reported in the national press highlight the growing dangers facing children today. There has been a significant increase in the number of clubs, coaches, schools and County Associations wanting to complete CRB checks and it has been essential that we establish the correct procedures to enable this to happen”

In the coming weeks, information is being sent to appointed Child Officers in clubs and County Associations requesting the contact information of those with ‘Significant or Relevant’ access to young people i.e. Coaches, Team Managers, Junior Organisers, parents who take children to matches in cars etc

Coaches and volunteers will be sent a CRB Disclosure Form along with clear instructions on how to obtain their CRB certificate.

Adrian Christy continues “When certificates come back from the CRB they will be carefully checked for any signs of offending that could put children at risk. England Squash will be fair and only look for offences that are significant or relevant.

If the certificates indicate a cause for concern, England Squash will make further investigations and may consider disciplinary action”

England Squash will be very careful to protect confidentiality and all certificates will kept locked in a secure area. England Squash will only keep relevant information on file and all certificates will be destroyed once a decision has been made about them.

“There are some coaches and volunteers in squash who have already had CRB checks carried out on them and England Squash has given very careful consideration to the ‘portability’ of these.


Unfortunately, we will not accept any checks that have been carried out other than those by the ES CRB Unit. If the ES CRB Unit has not completed the checking process itself, we cannot be certain of the outcomes of the checks or any decision made about them. There may have been errors in the identity checking or additional information that has not been dealt with properly. As the governing body we have a unique responsibility and are not in a position to take risks in this vital area of work.

The ES CRB Unit has recently begun the checking process starting with the President, Vice Presidents, Board of Directors, and Staff.

From May, all coaches will be checked followed by volunteers holding the relevant positions in clubs and counties.

If an individual holds more than one position in the sport, they will only be checked once.

Costs

•  The charges for volunteers in County Associations or Chartered Clubs are £7.50 (incl VAT)
• The charges for volunteers in non Chartered Clubs are £12.00 (incl VAT)
• The charges for licensed coaches or coaches in Chartered Clubs is £7.50 (incl VAT)
• The charges for all other coaches are £12.00 (incl VAT)
• There is an additional fee of £33.00 (incl VAT) for anyone taking a paid income from the game

Adrian Christy

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