Now that Disclosure Scotland has capacity to carry out Protection Vulnerable Groups (PVG) checks on existing staff, the Retrospective Checks Project is making sure that care service providers gain PVG membership and hold a current PVG Scheme Record.
This is a long term project. Childminders are being prioritised on a phased basis. The project is being run by a team of administrative staff based in the Paisley office, managed by Kirsten McLellan. Kirsten is accountable to the Fitness Policy Group, chaired by Henry Mathias.
Since April 2013 we have written to individual childminders and their assistants with application forms for them to apply for PVG membership, starting with those that have been registered longest. Where childminders or assistants are already scheme members, (because they do voluntary work or other work which qualifies for PVG Scheme membership), we discuss this with the childminder and seek a new scheme record or an update.. This is because the Care Inspectorate needs to be a counter signatory to such membership/record.
For these retrospective checks, as the childminders are already known to us, we have also introduced a more flexible system of ID checking similar to that available for passport applications. Applicants can ask someone they know of professional standing in the community to sign to verify identify. This will allow applications to be returned by post and processed centrally. It is not therefore necessary for childminders and assistants to come to a Care Inspectorate office for PVG application identification.
We will not pay for the PVG membership for childminders or their assistants. This is for the childminder to pay/arrange. The cost of scheme membership is currently £59.