Bounce Castle but are your children safe?

Bounce Castle but are your children safe?

Watching the Castle being put up on a Saturday morning on Crewe Square a group of people watching wondered if the people looking after these young children had been CRB checked. Criminal Record Bureau check checks if people working with young children have a criminal record and more importantly if they are Paedophiles. The purpose of coarse is to ensure the safety of our children. We asked the council about checks and this is the reply.

From: Elaine Dodd
Sent: 18 September 2008 10:53
To: Cllr Brian Silvester
Subject: RE: bouncy castles
Hello Mr Mayor,
With regards to checks on Inflatable’s and other Rides hired in or provided…
We do ensure providers have adequate Public Liability Insurance up to the value of £1mill.
Also, Guidelines regarding Inflatable’s, including bouncy castles, as recommended by the Health and Safety Exec (Information Sheet No 7) are adhered to. In summary this provides guidance for those involved with design, manufacture, importation, supply, inspection and safe use of inflatable devices.
A CRB check is not required. Owners would in most cases differ from the actual Operator – who could be casual staffing. Staff are mainly concerned with the safety and use issues and not in direct dialog with a young person, as say an entertainer would be.
With regards to Entertainers in town these are all CRB check as are the staffs who supervise the Town Centre activities.
I hope this helps to clarify the situation for you.
Please let me know if any further information is required.

Regards,
Elaine Dodd
Crewe & Nantwich Town Centres Manager
Tel. 01270 537559
Fax. 01270 537806

So they are not check and from the letter may be casual staff that no one has checked. This is an ideal target for Paedophiles as these people have direct contact with very young children in as much as they can touch them, talk to them and comfort them if they are hurt. Also for a Paedophiles its an ideal situation watching young children tumble down a Castle. It also suggests being casual that they will not be First Aid trained so in the event of an accident there is no first aid.
The company running this castle may be very respectable but have no knowledge of if there casual workers are Paedophiles. I fits a respectable company I feel sure they would welcome CRB checks on all there operators as this gives the company a new selling point that all personnel are CRB check and could increase there turnover. From parents point of view they would expect that these people looking after their children to have been checked by the council to ensure children’s safety.