01/09/2011 - CRB Applications – Important information for schools regarding ineligible applications

The CRB have introduced a new process to help identify potential ineligible applications.  This new process involves the police who can now challenge an application if they consider that the “position applied for” may be ineligible for a check.  When this happens the CRB will write to us requesting further information, which will significantly delay the application being processed. 

Question X61 asks you to record the “position applied for”.  It is illegal to apply for a CRB check for an ineligible position.  The role must be exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (1974). It is therefore vital when completing this field that you provide the principle role details, being as specific as you can to make it clear that the position applied for is a Regulated Activity.  For example, the position may be for an administrator in a school – recording the position as “school administrator” rather than simply recording “administrator” is more likely to be accepted without the need to query the application.  (The police do not look at the place of employment stated on the form, so will not know that it is a position in a school unless stated in the “position applied for”)

Please note that although this field allows for 60 characters, only the first 30 characters (ie the first line) are used by the CRB for processing.  It is therefore vitally important that you include the principle role details in those first 30 characters.