ISA Vetting & Barring Scheme
Employers and volunteer organisations who deal with children and vulnerable adults always need to check a person’s ISA status before employing them. You cannot take their word for it and neither can you have them in post – even supervised – before you know the outcome of the check.
Furthermore, if you work/volunteer or want to work/volunteer with children or vulnerable adults, from November 2010 you will need to apply to be registered with the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA).
Read more about the scheme or download the below pdf for the full information. Alternatively, please click here for further information
About the ISA
The Independent Safeguarding Authority’s (ISA) role is to help prevent unsuitable people from working with children and vulnerable adults.
They will assess every person who wants to work or volunteer with vulnerable people. Potential employees and volunteers will need to apply to register with the ISA.
Applicants will be assessed using data gathered by the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) (link opens in new window), including relevant criminal convictions, cautions, police intelligence and other appropriate sources.
Using this information they will decide on a case-by-case basis whether each person is suited to this work.
They will securely store information about people’s ISA status for employers and voluntary organisations to use when they are recruiting.
Only applicants who are judged not to pose a risk to vulnerable people can be ISA-registered. Once the scheme has been fully rolled out, employers who work with vulnerable people will only be allowed to recruit people who are ISA-registered.
The basics
You can apply for registration through your employer if you have one, or if you are applying for a job, through your prespective employer. If you are self-employed – as a childminder, for example – you will need to apply yourself. You will be able to do this through the website as the ISA vetting service is phased in.
Employees
If you are already employed to work with children or vulnerable adults and have had a Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check, you will need to apply for ISA registration in due course. Details of how and when you should apply will become available on the Independent Safeguarding Authority's website.
If you are employed to work with children or vulnerable adults and have not been CRB checked you will need to apply for ISA registration as early as possible. Details of how and when to do this will become available in due course.
In both cases you will need to pay a one-off fee. Once you have paid for registration we will give you a personal ISA Registration Number and you remain on our database even if you change employers.
Volunteers
If you work or want to work with vulnerable people you will need to apply to register with the ISA in exactly the same way as an employee. The only difference is that the ISA do not charge an application fee for volunteers.
Unsuitable people
If you have a record of unsuitability for working with vulnerable groups or if you have committed certain offences, it may not be possible for you to register. Instead you will be put on an ISA Barred List and may not be able to work with vulnerable people.
If you apply for a job with children or vulnerable adults when you know you have been barred you could be fined or face imprisonment.
Your privacy
ISA registration does not mean that your details will be made available to the general public. Only employers will be able to access your information – and only after you give them your ISA Registration Number. Employers will only be able to check that you are in fact ISA-registered. Only ISA case workers and the police will have access to information held about you.
Fees
You will be charged a small fee for applications to register with the ISA as an employee or self-employed worker. This fee covers their administration costs and you will only be asked to pay it once, no matter how many times you change jobs.
Volunteers will not be charged for ISA applications.