There are some changes that you need to be aware of ... but I'll come to that in a bit.
If you currently hold a CRB certificate, it is still valid. However good practice suggested that you get your certificate update every 2 to 3 years. The last certificate I applied for was 2 years ago with the Karate Union of Great Britain and cost me about £55 for an enhanced check.
Since the change over to DBS I went through a different route.
Meiyo Karate Club is listed as a 'Not-For-Profit' organisation. The instructors are unpaid volunteers and most of the money generated goes to the Community Centres that we work with (eg an adult pays £5 a lesson, we only keep £1 back towards the cost of incidentals and the rest goes to the Centre). Meiyo KC has a constitution and a committee to keep the club running. We joined National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) this year to have our status confirmed.
Definition of a Volunteer for the purposes of the DBS is someone acting in a voluntary 'unpaid' capacity that only gets their out of pocket expenses (eg mileage etc). So if you run your Karate club as a business and earn an income from it, you don't qualify as a volunteer.
To obtain a DBS certificate, find an organisation in your area that helps voluntary services. In Nottingham I used The Renewal Trust, who charged me £10 for an enhanced check (you must apply for an enhanced check as a Karate instructor). Find the equivalent service in your part of the country. These organisations will also carry out checks for paid staff.
Once you have your DBS certificate, simply go to the DBS Update Service website and register your certificate. If you are registering as a volunteer instructor - there is no charge. If you are a paid instructor, you can register your certificate there too and there will be an annual charge (currently £13).
How to register
You can register online as soon as you have your application form reference number. You can ask for the number when you apply for your DBS check.Or you can wait and register with your certificate number when you receive your DBS certificate. If so, you must do so within 19 days of the certificate being issued.
You can view your details online once you’ve registered.
To check the progress of your DBS certificate use the DBS tracking
This ensures that your certificate will always be up to date and if you're a volunteer, I'm led to believe that you won't have to pay anything again.
Some issues to be aware of: Do not confuse DBS issues with those of insurance. DBS is a check against YOU as a person. So it doesn't matter who you pay to get it done - as long as it's legal.
The CRB/DBS certificates are issued to you as a person. You don't have to show them to anyone and you must NOT provide anyone with copies of your certificate as this can lead to a security breach for you or a fraud incident if someone decides to replicate your certificate.
When I was with the KUGB my instructor requested copies to be provided so that he could provide them to the Leisure Centre that we were using. I requested that they all be returned and I destroyed them. The Leisure Centre was not the employer, the head instructor of my Karate club was. Therefore the Leisure Centre had no right to view the certificate. Issues like this are common and people need to make themselves aware of their rights around the issues concerned.
You need to show your employer a copy of the certificate so that they can verify your status - but that's it. I believe that's why the KUGB instructors were all passed through the system as 'paid instructors' - the KUGB got a copy of all instructor's certificates.
Each club is a separate entity. Some of you teach for a living, some as unpaid volunteers - please take the route appropriate for yourself.
If you have any doubts about this - contact the DBS service on:
DBS customer services
customerservices@dbs.gsi.gov.uk
Telephone: 0870 90 90 811
Minicom: 0870 90 90 344
Welsh line: 0870 90 90 223
Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm
All the best
Villayat 'Wolf' Sunkmanitu
