It is a sad and inevitable truth in UK today that a small percentage of adults who are given positions of accountability towards children harm them.

Thousands of children in UK suffer physical, emotional and sexual abuse and neglect at the hands of the individuals who are entrusted with their wellbeing.

In most cases parents, Social workers, teachers, youth workers, sports coaches and a wide range of other adults who have direct access to children have been found guilty of abuse.

One major cause/contributor that originates in most cases of reported abuse is that nothing was known about the perpetrator and their past was not explored enough, allowing them to remain secretive.

In recent years there have been considerable changes to the way information is shared to safeguard children. At Sunbeam Fostering, the wellbeing of looked after children and carers are our prime priority and we use the DBS or CRB (formerly known), Local Authority check, Medical check and references to carry out background checks on all applicants.

These checks identify any prior criminal convictions, cautions recorded on a person and any other relevant information that a police force or social services may hold on them.

It is vital that you notify us and your assessing SW asap if you have any criminal record or social services involvement recorded on your name.

Depending on the circumstances of the conviction and disclosure it might not automatically mean that a fostering application would be turned down.

This is why we thought prospective applicants and existing carers should be informed about the significance of each check that is carried out on them. After all “It is better to be safe, than sorry!”