Nursery World - CRB delays driving nurseries to brink

Day nurseries in England are about to 'explode' with frustration over the length of time they are having to wait for police checks for staff by the Criminal Records Bureau, the National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) warned last week. Both the NDNA and the Professional Association of Teachers (PAT) have expressed alarm following the CRB's admission that it has a backlog of 64,000 applications. When it began operating in March the CRB pledged to complete the Disclosure checks within three weeks, but in some cases it is taking more than four months.

Both the NDNA and the Professional Association of Teachers (PAT) have expressed alarm following the CRB's admission that it has a backlog of 64,000 applications. When it began operating in March the CRB pledged to complete the Disclosure checks within three weeks, but in some cases it is taking more than four months.

Rosemary Murphy, NDNA chief executive, said the CRB and Ofsted were the most common topics of complaint among members she had talked to at NDNA roadshows across England in the past two weeks. She said, 'We know of nurseries where Disclosure applications are 17 and 18 weeks outstanding, and of managers unable to manage unless they are paired up with a nursery assistant because their checks haven't come through.

Register now to continue reading

Thank you for visiting Nursery World and making use of our archive of more than 35,000 expert features, subject guides, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:

What's included