Monthly summary – August 2018

Welcome to our monthly summary for August 2018.

This provides a summary of:

1. the latest updates to our self-help information site for people with convictions
2. recent posts to our online magazine, theRecord
3. discussions on our online forum
4. other news and developments that might be of interest to people with a criminal record

Have you just stumbled across this? You can receive these updates direct to your inbox every month for free by signing up to our mailing list (make sure you choose to receive ‘news for people with convictions’)

Updates to our information site

Here’s a summary of the updates that we’ve made recently to the theInformationHub. There are links within each update to where you can find more information about the update. There are also links next to many of the updates, which link to threads on our online forum where you can discuss these with other people with convictions. 

Work and volunteering

• Childcare Disqualification Requirements – Primary school teachers, nursery staff and others – ‘Disqualified by association’ – On 31st August 2018, the ‘disqualification by association’ element of the childcare disqualification arrangements was removed from schools and other non-domestic settings; although it will remain in place for roles such as home-based childminding. Our practical guidance has been amended to reflect the changes.
• Becoming a teacher – We’ve updated this page to highlight the different ways in which someone’s criminal record may affect their ability to become a teacher and what schools take into consideration when assessing a persons suitability to be or remain a teacher.
• Becoming a childminder – This updated page provides information on why you may be disqualified from registering as a childminder as a result of your own criminal record or the criminal record of somebody that lives or works in your household (referred to a ‘disqualification by association’).

Universities, colleges and education

• Applying to university – As a result of UCAS removing the question which asks applicants to declare whether they have any unspent convictions from it’s application form, we’ve amended our information.

Insurance

• List of motor insurers – We’ve removed More Than from our list of motor insurers as they’ve recently started to ask about both motoring and non-motoring convictions.

Sexual offences

• Sex offence notification requirements – The list of police stations that accept notifications is regularly reviewed and we’ve amended the link on this page to the latest list.

Travelling abroad

• Travelling abroad with a criminal record – We’ve written an article for Inside Time, specifically for people in prison, which looks at travelling abroad with a criminal record.

theRecord posts

Below are links to recent posts to our online magazine, theRecord. These are often linked to from the practical information that we have, to help give some personal experiences.

Success – No pain, no gain – Don’t let your embarrassment about the past stop you from disclosing to a new employer – “Almost 15 years ago I was convicted of two counts of common assault following an altercation with a couple of waiters in a restaurant whilst I was having dinner with friends. At the end of the meal there was a bit of a disagreement over the bill; we thought we’d been charged too much …..”

Struggles and stigma – No future without forgiveness – why the government should change the current filtering system – “I was nearly 17 when I fell madly in love for the first time and just over 17 when she dumped me. As I was feeling so sorry for myself my mates decided to take me out for a game of pool and get me drunk. Sadly, rather than being a ‘happy drunk’, I became a very ‘angry, sorry for myself drunk’ and decided to take my anger out on the window of the local supermarket …..”

Success – Baking the world a better place! Bringing about social change and reducing the stigma of a criminal record via a bakery business – “Approximately 5 years ago Francesca received an 18 month suspended sentence for a fraud offence and began her supervision sessions with her probation officer. She attended the various courses she was expected to do but, unlike a lot of the usual courses offered by probation, Francesca was introduced to a course being run by Virtuous Bread …..”

Discussions on our online forum

Below are links to recent posts to our online forum. If you’d like to join in the discussion but are not currently a forum member, find out how you can join here.

Your views  – Neo Matrix has started a new thread asking for people’s views on what changes they’d like to see in order to assist people with convictions gain employment. Let us have your thoughts and ideas.

Travelling post-notification period  – tedstriker has provided an update of his experiences travelling to Europe post-notification. We’d like to know about your experiences – good or bad.

Other news and developments

Below are links to other news and developments that might be of interest to people with a criminal record. For more news, check out the news and media section of our main website.

Blog – What will be the impact of today’s charity rule changes?

As of 1st August 2018, changes to the ‘automatic disqualification’ rules means that some people with certain convictions will be prevented from running a charity, unless they get clearance from the Charity Commission. Read Christopher Stacey, Unlocks co-directors blog.

Criminal record requests on application forms could be breaching GDPR

People Management has published an article by Nacro that looks at data protection and the use of criminal record offence data for employment and education purposes. Read our response to the important issues raised.