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Child safety checks are like Section 28, says Pullman
http://www.thebookseller.com/news/90936-child-safety-checks-are-like-section-28-says-pullman.html
Comments
But this is another thing entirely- another set of paperwork and costs that the writer will have to fund, and renewed annually.
I can see that many writers will no longer bother as it is too costly and time consuming. The only ones who suffer are schools and their students.
The other day it was announced that x number were no longer facing prosecution, and the remainder were still being investigated.
This seemed to be nothing more than a 'thought crime'.
Caro, i held your view for such a long time...I hate this country, what it's become and what it's going to continue becoming. But now I just feel choked from it: this is our homeland and we're all wanting to leave it because it's a lost cause? I still feel there must be something left to do.
Most visiting authors ask not to be left alone with the children anyway. I agree that it is all getting a bit daft.
It is quite possible that parents could be abusers, yet they do not need any documentation.
http://kazjordyn.blogspot.com/2009/06/crb-checks-of-course-be-thorough-but.html
I feel we a now so overly hyped about this issue due to media frenzy that if a child is in distress a man (possibly even woman) cannot approach that child without fear of extreme accusations.
Vetting scheme climbdown after writer's complaints:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article6955762.ece
Every year I have to get checks to work at Blair Drummond, water off a duck's back.
Such parents previously would have come under this ruling.
Just because someone has a piece of paper saying they have no convictions etc, it is no guarantee.
Even social services can not make up their own minds on what is safe in some cases (granted this is not to do with peodophiles but more child safety).
When my kids used to visit their Dad, he and his new wife would sit with their friends smoking dope (my son told his teacher how to roll a joint at 6) and when I complained etc I was told I was unreasonable and just trying to cause trouble out of spite. Eventually I contacted scoial services for advice, to see whether I was being unreasonable intheir eyes etc. (kids wanted to see their Dad and I was in the great position of being the bad one if I said no etc etc). They said it was my responsibility and that if I thought they were in danger I should NOT send them because if I did and something happened it would be considered my fault for letting them go but that I should remember that drug addicts make perfectly good parents. Now I can say I thought they were in danger as such more that it was inappropriate behaviour in front of them. And they told me there was nothing they could do it was entirely down to me to decide. In the end they did carry on going because it was that infrequent anyway but I told the kids that when they lit up to get off his knee and go into a different room (they were only ever there for a maximum of 3 hours and my theory being that I didn't believe he would let anything bad happen to them). My point is that even with all this so called expert opinion they can't always give you a straight answer and we have to use our own judgement. A CRB check isn't necessarily protection.
But my view on CRB checks are that they aren't worth the paper they are printed on. For instance, you get an adult applying for a CRB check as they are going to be working with children. They have been abusing a child for the past six months. They have not been questioned or arrested or even in the picture for this abuse. So they can work with children. It may be a horrible way to look at it, but I think that the only reason some people have clean records is because they have yet to be caught. But this does not necessarily mean everyone is a paedophile. There are more nice people out there than there are Paedo's. The CRB checks are going to make our children more vulnerable as they are getting in the way of common sense.