Criminal Records Bureau (CRB). The CRB - an executive agency of the Home Office - is set up to help organisations make safer recruitment decisions. Many professional childcare and social workers are required by law to have a CRB check.

Babysitters and Nannies are not required to have a CRB check, and at present it is not possible for a babysitter to be CRB checked as an individual. This will change in the near future when individual CRB checking will be made available. For more information see the CRB website here

Babysitters can obtain a Police subject access check

The Subject access provisions of the Data Protection Act gives an individual the right to a copy of any personal data held on them. Section 7 of the Data Protection Act 1998 states that a "data subject" (the person about whom the data refers) is entitled, upon written request, to be informed whether or not personal data is held or processed about them.

Should you wish to know what information (if any) the Police holds about you, or you would like confirmation that you do, or do not have a prosecution/conviction history, you must complete a Subject Access form * from your local Police station. Payment of a £10.00 fee and proof of identification must accompany a completed application form. This process can take up to 40 days to complete.

This form of subject access check is not as extensive as the disclosure processes of the CRB, and Parents and Babysitters should be aware of the differences, but proof of identification and address is a legal requirement for the form *.
* These forms are called Subject access forms.