Student Community Action is committed to protecting the children and vulnerable people we work with from harm. As such we aim to do everything in our power to ensure that the volunteers we recruit, are suitable to work with vulnerable people.

SCA is committed to opportunities for all volunteers regardless of age, gender, physical disability, ethnic origin, religion, marital status, economic status, sexual orientation or unrelated criminal conviction, making exception only where it can be objectively justified.

CRB (Criminal Records Bureau) Disclosures

Every volunteer wishing to work on an SCA project is obliged to apply for a Criminal Records Bureau Disclosure.

Volunteers wishing to work with children on one of our projects will need to apply and wait for their disclosure to be issued before we will permit them to work on the project.

Volunteers wishing to work on BSMEG or Sunday Club will need to complete a CRB application before their first visit, and should be supervised at all times by a CRB checked volunteer. The applicant should ensure they are not alone with any residents until their clearance has been received.

CRB – Portability

SCA will not accept the risks involved in accepting a CRB completed for another organisation.

Character References

All volunteers are required to supply SCA with the name and address of two people who are in a position to give a character reference. They must have known the applicant for at least two years and cannot be a member of the applicants family or peer group.

Interviews

All volunteers working on SCA projects are required to be interviewed by an SCA staff member.

External Projects

SCA does not screen the volunteers it refers to external organisations. It is the responsibility of each organisation to ensure the volunteers are suitable to work on their project.

SCA may on occasion act as a ‘CRB Umbrella Body’ for the external organisation we work for. SCA again takes no responsibility for the recruitment decision. The organisation will be provided with the issued statement and any additional information received, to enable them to make their own recruitment decision.