Critics of the newly scaled-back vetting and barring scheme are getting increasingly vocal. Last week it was the Churches Child Protection Advisory Service saying the lifting of CRB checks around Sunday School helpers was a "major loophole" that would be exploited by those determined to abuse children and vulnerable adults.
Now, the NSPCC has identified a "disturbing gap" that exempts some volunteers in schools and children's homes from the process.
The charity said that, under the terms of the bill, a teacher who has been barred but not prosecuted for inappropriate behaviour could become an unpaid, supervised, voluntary worker in a school without any checks revealing the previous behaviour which had led to them being barred.
Now, the NSPCC has identified a "disturbing gap" that exempts some volunteers in schools and children's homes from the process.
The charity said that, under the terms of the bill, a teacher who has been barred but not prosecuted for inappropriate behaviour could become an unpaid, supervised, voluntary worker in a school without any checks revealing the previous behaviour which had led to them being barred.
It added that older children could be put at risk as well because people who worked with them in sports clubs and faith groups would not be vetted under the new rules.
The Home Office changed the previous policy about vetting and barring in an attempt to make the scheme more proportionate.
