Nursery World - Nurseries seek priority at CRB

The backlog in the processing of staff by the Criminal Records Bureau is having a serious knock-on effect on many of the 8,000 day nurseries across England and Wales, a survey by the National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) has found. All 90 of the day nurseries that took part in a 'snapshot' survey of geographically spread out settings said they have been affected by the CRB's delay in issuing Disclosure checks. The survey found that 16 per cent of staff - just under one in six or an estimated 16,000 people overall - have not been cleared, with some settings reporting that up to half of their staff are awaiting checks, some for as long as several months.

All 90 of the day nurseries that took part in a 'snapshot' survey of geographically spread out settings said they have been affected by the CRB's delay in issuing Disclosure checks. The survey found that 16 per cent of staff -just under one in six or an estimated 16,000 people overall - have not been cleared, with some settings reporting that up to half of their staff are awaiting checks, some for as long as several months.

Rosemary Murphy, NDNA chief executive, said the delays in processing vetting applications were creating enormous problems for the sector. 'In some nurseries, staff appraisals have gone out the window because having to make sure someone is cleared is there all the time. Everyone is having to focus on clearing staff, not on expanding provision,' she added.

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