Ever tried to get into a club and been told "If your name's not down, you're not coming in"? For those wanting to work with children and vulnerable adults this could be the case if Sir Michael Bichard gets his way. A key recommendation from the Bichard Inquiry report into Ian Huntley's appointment is the creation of a central register for everyone working with children and vulnerable adults (news, page 6, 24 June).

Under the proposal, an individual wishing to work with children or vulnerable adults in the statutory, voluntary and private sectors would apply to a central body for registration. They would be checked and, if suitable, would be registered. Employers would consult the register to ensure a prospective employee's name was on it before hiring them.

At the launch of the inquiry's report last month, Bichard said the phased introduction of a new UK-wide registration system for all employers to access "would reassure them nothing was known about a particular individual which would disqualify them from working with children and vulnerable adults".

Home secretary David Blunkett responded by saying the recommendation was already being considered. And children's minister Margaret Hodge confirmed a scoping exercise to look at the feasibility of the register. The Bichard Inquiry is due to reconvene in January to review progress on the report's recommendations.

Where the central register differs radically from other "safeguarding" lists is that it is a "can" list rather than a "cannot" list, in that it will record those individuals deemed safe enough to work with service users. Bichard's report suggests the body overseeing the central register has access to all the information available to the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB). This includes, among others, the Department for Education and Skills' (DfES) List 99, which bars unsuitable people from working with children in education, and the Department of Health's Protection of Children Act (Poca) list and the Protection of Vulnerable Adults (Pova) list, which came into effect this week.

So is the idea of a central register a good one? Michele Elliott, director of the charity Kidscape, thinks it is in principle because "what we are doing now isn't working". She says a central register may result in more accurate information that can move freely between agencies.

Chris Hanvey, Barnardo's director of operations, understands why Bichard proposed the idea, but warns: "There is the potential for some people to slip through a number of existing initiatives. It's more important that we get the system of registering people right than whether people are eligible to work with a child."

The children's workforce is estimated at 3.3 million and there are many more millions working with adults. Is it feasible that all these adults can go on to one register? Judith Hughes, director of sexual offending prevention charity the Derwent Initiative (see panel, facing page), says: "How do you define who 'works' with children? Is it the woman in the sweetie shop or the cleaner in the local baths? It's all of us."

Penny Thompson, co-chair of the Association of Directors of Social Services' children and families committee, agrees that clarifying who the register covers is vital for its success. But this could lead to a dilemma. She says: "If the definition of working with children and vulnerable adults is wide the register will be huge, but if it's not will it really do the business?" She adds any such register would require significant investment from the government and a tremendous effort to set up.

The DfES is not yet in a position to reveal how much the central register would cost to create, who it would include and who would run it. But it aims to report back to Bichard at the start of next year with detailed plans of how it intends to proceed.

If the register goes ahead Bichard suggests people on it carry an identity card or licence. Thompson supports this, pointing out that social services and other local authority staff already carry ID.

But Hughes questions the proposal: "Would it say that if you had no convictions, as Ian Huntley had, that you can work with children?"

And licences or ID cards could easily fall into the wrong hands or be forged by people determined not to have their backgrounds checked. Hanvey advises against assuming an ID card is a "permanent guarantee" that a person has not harmed children or vulnerable adults. "A licence or ID card is not a substitute for regular reviews and police checks," he says.

The government has yet to confirm who would operate a central register. Given its chequered history in dealing with disclosures speedily and effectively, the CRB and Capita partnership may not be the automatic answer. Hanvey agrees: "We are apprehensive about the way the CRB has operated since its inception. Its response to difficulties has been to put up prices but not provide a better service."

A children's commissioner is the ideal candidate to oversee the central register, according to Elliot. She says: "They will have an overview of everything, they'll be independent but will also have the necessary support staff."

So will a central register protect children? Although it is a step in the right direction, Thompson says: "We all know that the guile and cunning of people who are determined to abuse children is almost unimaginable."

A model approach   

Leisurewatch is the sort of interagency approach Bichard wants those working with children to adopt. Operated by Newcastle upon Tyne-based charity the Derwent Initiative, the scheme is intended to safeguard children using leisure facilities, such as swimming pools, which paedophiles often target.  

Although the name of the project conjures up images of signs saying, "Don't run by the pool", Leisurewatch trains all leisure centre staff in child protection awareness. From the cleaners to caf‚ workers and swimming coaches, all the staff complete a three-hour training session on protecting children. They are taught how to identify vulnerable children, how to spot someone acting suspiciously and how to respond. 

Leisurewatch started in 2002 and is at different stages in 10 areas in England. So far more than 1,500 leisure centre staff have been trained. Julie Hogg, the Derwent Initiative's service development manager, says social services teams have welcomed the scheme. 

She supports a central register of people who have one-to-one, isolated contact with children, but adds: "You can't ask people to register if their job isn't primarily about dealing with children. They will say 'I'm just sweeping the floor or driving the coach'. For them it will be going too far." 

Newcastle Council started the Leisurewatch project two years ago. Angela Searle, the council's social care co-ordinator, was a member of the original development team. Through the area child protection committee, her department fed into the training of staff at the city's 16 leisure centres.  

Searle says: "Staff are more aware about approaching an individual or intervening in a potentially risky scenario. They are confident about actively participating in safeguarding children rather than standing back and wondering what to do."