Nursery World - Criminal record bureau delays hit out-of-school clubs

Out-of-school clubs have been experiencing the same delays in getting police checks for staff under the new Criminal Records Bureau as nurseries. At present 103,000 applications are falling outside the CRB's standard of processing 90 per cent of checks within three weeks.

At present 103,000 applications are falling outside the CRB's standard of processing 90 per cent of checks within three weeks.

Playworker of the Year Linda Middleton, who supervises Parkstone Kids Club in Hull, has been waiting several months for the clearance of two staff.

One application was made last October, the other in March. 'These staff can never be left unattended,' said Linda Middleton. 'We are lucky enough to have staffing levels to watch each others' backs all the time. I've rung the CRB to chase up the applications but it hasn't made any difference.'

Jonathan Harvey, who runs seven KidsComeFirst. co.uk clubs in the Colchester area, will not be able to open an after-school club in September because he has not had clearance for the supervisor. 'You can't supervise a supervisor,' he says.

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