Snowsport England uses the Criminal Records Bureau (crb) Disclosure service to check the background and assess the suitability of anyone applying for a position of trust, including coaches, officials, volunteers and anyone who has either direct contact with or responsibility for children or vulnerable people.

A Disclosure is a document containing details of a person's criminal record drawn from national police records. It may also include details from lists held by government departments, plus checks against local police records.

In its use of Disclosures, Snowsport England complies fully with the crb Code of Practice, which is intended to ensure that the information released will be used fairly, and also that sensitive personal information is handled and stored appropriately and is kept for only as long as necessary.

Snowsport England complies fully with its obligations under the Data Protection Act and other relevant legislation regarding the safe handling, use, storage, retention and disposal of Disclosure information. A copy of the CRB Codes of Practice is available either directly from Snowsport England Offices or from the Download Area.

Snowsport England has a policy in relation to recruitment of ex-offenders and this is available either directly from Snowsport England Officers or from the Download Area.

The holding of a criminal record, including conviction, caution, warning or reprimand will not necessarily exclude you from participating or holding a position within the sport.

This application for a process CRB cheak will normally take between 3 and 6 weeks (but may take longer) after which the CRB will send you and Snowsport England a certificate. After you have received your certificate please notify your club or slope.

In line with Home Office guidelines the Snowsport England does not practice portability of crbs'. This means we do not accept an applicant's crb certificate issued from another organisation, only those processed through the Snowsport England for Snowsport England. This is because the Snowsport England as a registered body may receive additional information that is not printed on the applicant's copy.

CRB Checks for Overseas Persons

The CRB can only access criminal records (convictions, cautions, reprimands and warnings) held on the Police National Computer (PNC) in England, Wales and those recorded from Scotland. There is also some Northern Ireland conviction data held on PNC.

If an organisation recruits people from overseas and wishes to check their overseas criminal record, a CRB Disclosure may not provide a complete picture of their criminal record that may or may not exist. To help organisations access this information the CRB has set up a dedicated advice service.

Overseas Enquiry Line: Telephone: 08700 100 450 E-mail: overseas@crb.gsi.gov.uk Opening Hours: Monday - Friday 9:00am - 5:00pm

There is also a fax back service providing information regarding the availability of criminal record information from overseas. Full information on accessing criminal checks for overseas persons, can be found in the Downloads Area.

Self-declaration forms

Any person who is going to have significant contact with children or young people in your club, even on a one-off basis, should fill in a self-declaration form.

This is one of the ways in which we encourage clubs to try to ensure the safety and protection of children. Snowsport England recommends that this form be completed if a crb Enhanced Disclosure certificate is not immediately available to the applicant.

It is the responsibility of the designated club officer as part of their recruitment procedure, to check and verify that the information given by the person completing the self-declaration form is true and accurate.

A crb Enhanced Disclosure is always preferred above the self-declaration, which at best should be an interim measure.
More information and guidelines are available in the download area If you need further information or advice please contact:
Snowsport England Child Protection on 01215012314 or email childprotection@snowsportengland.org.uk.