http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/200 ... er-schools
Churches defy writers over schools vetting
Religious leaders back the new Independent Safeguarding Authority
* Riazat Butt
* The Observer, Sunday 11 October 2009
* Article history
Churches are on a collision course with artists and writers after wholeheartedly endorsing a scheme that vets individuals before they enter schools.
The Independent Safeguarding Authority's vetting and barring scheme, which comes into force tomorrow, requires all people who come into contact with children to register their details on a national database for £64. Set up in response to the murders of Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells by school caretaker Ian Huntley in 2002, it was met with fierce opposition last July from prominent children's writers, who denounced the scheme as demeaning and insulting.
But churches, which have faced decades of controversy over their handling of sex abuse cases, welcomed the scheme. According to the Churches Child Protection Advisory Service, which advises and trains Christian and secular organisations in safeguarding children and vulnerable adults, a positive response to the government's roadshows on the new scheme showed that churches were taking their responsibilities seriously.
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