Criminal Records Bureau disclosures
All YSIS members must obtain a disclosure from the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) before they can begin a placement. The disclosure system applies to anyone working with young or vulnerable people in the UK (among others). The details sound complex but the process itself is quite straight forward and we'll help you through it.
Disclosures can take up to 8 weeks to process (although they often take less), so it's best to start as early as you can to avoid holding up the start of your placement. The CRB disclosure you obtain from YSIS will be valid for all your placements while you are a student at the University of York.
If you're ready to apply for a disclosure now, you can fast forward to the instructions >>
If you have completed a YSIS placement before and want to find out about renewing your disclosure, fast forward to information for existing members >>
What is a CRB disclosure?
A disclosure contains:
- a list of all recordable offences for which you have been convicted or cautioned in the past (a recordable offence is one for which a prison sentence could be given - most driving offences are not included on the disclosure);
- information on both 'spent' and 'unspent' convictions as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974;
- any other information provided by the Chief Police Officer(s) of relevant local police forces;
- information from other government departments if you are listed on the Protection of Children Act (PoCA) List or List 99 as unsuitable to work with children.
More information about what is and isn't included on the disclosure is available on the CRB website. Two copies of the disclosure are created by the CRB; one is sent to you and the other is sent to us. The two copies contain exactly the same information (unless in exceptional circumstances one or more Chief Police Officers chooses to withold certain information from you in the interests of the prevention or detection of crime).
The CRB does not make a decision about your suitability for voluntary work, but simply provides information to enable us and (if necessary) your placement school to do so. A strict code of practice for all CRB registered bodies (of which the University of York is one) ensures that you are not unfairly discriminated against. For more information, see our policy on the placement of ex-offenders.
Why do I need a disclosure?
The idea of the disclosure system is to prevent those people who are unsuitable to work with children from doing so. Every school is legally obliged to satisfy itself that you are not precluded from working with children before you start a placement there. To that end, we are required to confirm to them in writing that we have established this by receiving a disclosure from the CRB.
You will not be allowed to start your placement until a satisfactory disclosure has been received from the CRB.
What if I live or have lived abroad?
The CRB only covers crimes that were committed in the UK. Therefore, if you live or have in the past lived abroad, we require you to apply to the authorities in that country for a criminal records disclosure in addition to completing the CRB process. The authorities in other countries may charge you for providing a disclosure. We regret that we do not have any funding to cover these costs, so you will need to meet them yourself. The arrangements are different for each country. Some further information can be found by following the links below. However, if you need any further help please contact the YSIS office.
Please note that the instructions on the following sites do not apply to you. The links are provided here for information only as they contain lists of contact details and addresses for different countries' criminal records offices.
- Country contact details on the Security Industry Authority website
- Country contact details on the Australian Immigration website [PDF document]
What happens to the information?
Information is only collected from you with your consent. We place a copy of your disclosure in secure storage and we do not show it to anyone who isn't properly entitled to see it. We also take measures to prevent any unauthorised access to your disclosure. We will not keep it for longer than is necessary and we will destroy it securely after this period. For more detailed information, see our policy on the handling disclosure information.
What do I need to do?
When you're fairly sure you're going to take up a placement with YSIS, call in to the YSIS office to collect a CRB form. You will then need to take it away and complete it.
When you have filled in your form, bring it to the YSIS office (see our opening times) along with your proofs of address and forms of identification.
Remember to bring:
- As many proofs of identity as you can - see the CRB guidance [PDF document]
- You will need a total of at least 3 documents if one is a passport, driving licence or original birth certificate, or a total of 5 documents otherwise
- Your completed CRB form!
Further advice about proving your name and address is included in the booklet that came with your CRB form.
Once we have checked all of your documents, we will send your completed form to the CRB and they will then send out copies of your disclosure to you and us.
If you need any help or advice, please feel free to contact us.
Information for existing members
If you continue with YSIS beyond the year in which you first joined, you may need to obtain a new CRB disclosure before starting your next placement.
- If you continue to volunteer in the same school, then there is no need to obtain a new disclosure;
- If you wish to start a placement in a different school and if your most recent CRB disclosure was received by YSIS more than 12 months ago, then you will need to obtain a new disclosure before you can start your new placement.
We will contact you if we think this may apply to you, but if you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.