An increasing number of our members are becoming involved in performing school visits, booked either through their own contacts or via the Society web-site. In the light of recent events, we have decided that as a Society we will not send anyone into a school who is not covered by Public Liability Insurance (PLI) and who has not been checked out by the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB)/Disclosure Scotland.

Insurance
Most schools do not hold PLI so if you have been assuming that the school will cover you should there be an incident, you were wrong. The Society’s PLI will cover you provided

a. You are a paid up member of The Vikings
b. The event is pre-booked with us
c. You are CRB checked and registered with the Schools Liaison Officer, Sandie Gillbanks
d. The show is run according to the Constitution and H&S rules.
e. The Society receives a 10% of £25 fee whichever is the lower as with all events.

CRB Registration
The Society lost its CRB Registration recently.  In order to register you need to send your snail mail address to  Nigel Tate.  You will then receive a form from him which you complete and hand to Nigel Tate with a £15 checking fee and your ID passport, driving licence, birth certificates, utility bills…).  These  need to be original documents

If you want a Scottish Disclosure these can still be signed  by Sandie, Sandra or Jill Kirkwood.

After that, registration is free provided you only claim “expenses” from the school (these can be quite generous). Once you have been through the process, we will keep you on our register of volunteers and contact you should a request for a visit be made in your area.

It is now getting more common for Schools to ask for proof of the CRB check, so we now advise that you take your CRB with you.  If there is no pre-visit visit to the school, then potentially the school visitor maybe turned away because he/she has forgotten their CRB

If you are already registered with the CRB or Disclosure Scotland, please send a copy of your Disclosure to Sandie - photocopy preferred, although a scanned and emailed copy will suffice.

A 10% (or £25 whichever is the greater ) finders fee (which may also cover insurance) is payable on ALL referrals which result in a visit –  if you fail to register such visits you will be subject to disciplinary action.  Similarly, withholding a fee is also a disciplinary offence.

Own Business
Several members perform school visits as part of their own business. We will handle this in 2 ways

1. You hold your own insurance policy – send a copy to Sandie and, provided you become CRB registered we will pass visits on to you and just take a 10% (or £25 whichever is the greater ) Finders Fee for those events only.

2. You do not hold your own insurance policy – we will then cover you with the Society policy for pre-registered events and expect a 10% ((or £25 whichever is the greater ) fee for all of these, irrespective of the route by which you got the booking. If you fail to pre-register, we will not cover you in event of an incident. If we find that you have been showing a copy of our insurance certificate or in any way implying that The Society will take responsibility for your problems without permission, you will be subject to disciplinary action. Similarly, withholding a fee is also a disciplinary offence.

CRB registration is only free if you are charging expenses only. If you are charging business rates, there is a minimal fee you are charged which you may wish to consider paying to ensure your check is fully legal. Please discuss this with Sandie/Sandra/Nigel Tate

Updated 9th August 2010 by the Schools Team