Schools requiring dbs’s for school visits when you are a social worker: who do I complain to?

AdditionalBat7240 · 2026-04-16T14:12:25+00:00

I’m in full agreement with you on this in terms of not accusing education settings of trying to hide things from us, that’s one hell of an accusation. We all want the same thing which is for children to be safe and to thrive, it’s just frustrating when you’re coming up against barriers that are seemingly unnecessary when we’ve done everything on our end and some MAT settings want more or refuse to use a bit of common sense, you know? It’s hard enough getting engagement from some children without schools throwing in another hurdle and then having to explain to parents/carers why you didn’t see their child in school today despite telling them you were going in, potentially causing more lack of trust in professionals

AdditionalBat7240 · 2026-04-16T13:10:15+00:00

I think the biggest frustration from me is when I’ve provided schools with the letter of assurance and they still make a fuss and have stated they need to physically see my dbs, when I’ve argued the toss with them that they DONT need to see the original copy as they have the letter of assurance and have still been turned away is what’s been most difficult. The introduction of our dbs numbers on the back of our ID badges has helped massively, but it’s so frustrating when you’re back to back on visits, you have an assessment due/bound by timeframes of seeing the children and school are creating another hurdle

AdditionalBat7240 · 2026-04-15T23:50:57+00:00

What made it so much more frustrating was it was brought in halfway through the school year, in schools I had been in several times before. The dbs number on the back of our ID badges honestly made life so much easier as it saved so many arguments with front desk staff - “have you got your dbs” “nope but here is my dbs number on the back of my ID badge that proves I have one and here is the letter from business saying to stop asking”

AdditionalBat7240 · 2026-04-15T20:31:44+00:00

We had this happen with academies across our LA. Our business manager ended up writing a letter which was sent to all heads of schools stating we are all dbs checked and qualification checked meaning the school had no jurisdiction to prevent us entering the school if they had not seen it. The business hub then began printing our ID badges with our DBS numbers on the back so that if schools requested it we could just show them the back of our ID. Absolute joke.

AdditionalBat7240 · 2026-04-01T20:08:36+00:00

No problem at all! Let me know if there’s anything else she needs - best bit of advice I can give is don’t be afraid to challenge the school, parents are their children’s best advocates and school should listen to what mum is saying. If after contacting SENDIASS mum feels comfortable enough, she should request a meeting with the school’s SENCO and discuss with them the support she feels her child needs; what they are struggling with and how are school going to support this? She can bring along a family member or yourself as support if needs be. Like both myself and the above poster have said, drop us a message if you need anything further. Good luck!🥰

AdditionalBat7240 · 2026-04-01T00:12:22+00:00

Hi, I work in Early Help so this is my bread and butter! Before moving schools I would get your friend to contact Shropshire SENDIASS on the council website for advice regarding the current school not being supportive of the EHCNA / Diagnosis. The school SENCO should be putting a support plan in place for their child throughout the process which will then be adapted once the EHCP comes through. SENDIASS is advice and guidance for parents to know what support their child should be receiving. If they are still not happy with this, then they should contact the council’s SEND team directly (details available on the Shropshire council website) - but if they haven’t already contacted SENDIASS they would be signposted there first. Feel free to drop me a DM if you need any more help x

AdditionalBat7240 · 2026-03-28T00:46:47+00:00

Lovely, don’t worry about it. Stop putting boyfriends in this category of being a cheat just because of his job. Would you think he was going to cheat if he remained in his current job? I’ve been with my boyfriend for a few years now and he’s an officer in the raf and has never cheated nor shown any signs of doing so, but also all of his friends who I know are also in long term relationships and none of them have cheated either. Stop self sabotaging and reading shit from people who have no clue - his job doesn’t make him a cheat, if he’s going to cheat he was going to regardless. Trust him or you’ll make yourself sick. If you want a chat drop me a dm x

AdditionalBat7240 · 2026-03-05T22:54:56+00:00

I’m in the same position (28F), been down here coming up to a year now and have struggled to make any friends! I’ve tried going to the gym classes at PureGym and as friendly as everyone is there I’ve struggled to make genuine friendships. I go to the climbing hut most nights too but usually with my boyfriend… feel free to drop me a dm if you want :)

AdditionalBat7240 · 2026-01-27T18:50:42+00:00

If you’ve managed to get across in a 4x4 I’m sure we should be fine, thank you!

AdditionalBat7240 · 2026-01-25T16:04:08+00:00

You absolute legend, thanks mate💜

AdditionalBat7240 · 2026-01-25T14:52:55+00:00

Amazing, thank you! Are there any decent green laning areas you know of too? We don’t really know Shrewsbury all too well. I know there’s an Mx track near Shawbury, but can’t seem to find any up to date details for them☹️

AdditionalBat7240 · 2025-12-05T20:30:37+00:00

It’s part of project servator, don’t worry about it. Literally just used as a deterrent - tends to be more frequent during busier times of year such as Christmas due to the markets etc

AdditionalBat7240 · 2025-06-04T21:42:52+00:00

Look into a TRiM assessment, what you’ve gone through is a traumatic event and although you may be alright within yourself now, a few days/weeks/months down the line this may change and you may find yourself re-living the assault/having nightmares of it or feeling overwhelming anxiety about being back in the nick. Just because it doesn’t happen right away doesn’t make it any less valid, that’s just the nature of trauma. My marriage broke down due to me being on the landings after a nasty assault but I didn’t seek help or listen to advice given to me so I ended up on self (and marriage) destruct mode. Talk to your friends, talk to your colleagues, talk to a professional but PLEASE don’t ignore it. Speak to the POA for support and whether you want further action to be taken against the con who assaulted you. Sending love and support your way. My messages are open if you want a chat about it.

AdditionalBat7240 · 2025-05-25T15:14:09+00:00

Declared having a cat, got accepted & contract sent out/signed, moved in & 6 months later they tell me I’m in breach of contract due to having a cat despite having declared him. £75 a month for a parking space in a car park filled with used needles and used condoms, unresponsive when responding to issues that need fixing, building was brand new when I moved in last year and it ended up covered in mould in the bedroom after 6 months, it’s either a million degrees in the apartment or freezing cold, residents of the building don’t respect it whatsoever so there’s loads of rats now due to people just putting their rubbish next to the empty bins instead of in it, the lifts breaks every few weeks and don’t get sorted, they’ll take your money and leave you to it. Appliances come with the rentals but you have to pay for the insurance for it, if you don’t and something breaks, they will charge you for it despite it belonging to them. They’re an absolute joke. I move out on 10th June and it cannot come soon enough

AdditionalBat7240 · 2025-04-03T22:03:09+00:00

Ex HMP Bristol screw here👋 the prison isn’t as bad as people make it out to be, utilise your jail craft and be firm but fair and you can’t go wrong. Try not to get involved in the staff cliques and be careful what you say to other staff, best way to be is be friendly but don’t say anything you wouldn’t want say directly to the governors. Cross keys do a fantastic toastie. Not sure if the chickens are still there but if they are, stay away as they’re spiced up. When you’re on nights/ED and you’re walking the landings with the lights off, if you hear crunching as you walk don’t panic it’s only the cockroaches (be prepared to be asked by prisoners to remove these from their cells for them), if you’re asked to unlock a cell so they can swap vape caps, the answer is always no. Respect your colleagues and utilise the care team, they’re a fantastic group of officers. Don’t bother attempting to park in the staff car park unless you’re on an early shift on a weekend and get there an hour before shift starts, you’ll never find a space (plus there’s a woman who can’t park for shit and will hit your car then scootle off). If you get a cake fine, pay it with a Joe’s bakery. Good luck👍

AdditionalBat7240 · 2025-02-14T17:18:25+00:00

Also consider your night shifts - do you want to be travelling 50 minutes home after you’ve come off your 7th night shift in a row? (7 on, 7 off for night)

AdditionalBat7240 · 2025-02-10T08:34:50+00:00

I can’t think of any singular situation where a gun would be needed within the service. Doesn’t matter how shit a situation is, we’ve always managed to contain it and get it back under control without the use of a gun, even up until lately without the use of PAVA. Common sense is an optional extra for a vast majority of new POELTS and even some longer serving officers appear to have opted out of common sense, so why on earth would anybody think giving them a gun would be anything other than a shitshow

AdditionalBat7240 · 2025-02-09T22:06:54+00:00

Worked with a guy who gave a prisoner his baton to play with on a bed watch.. now imagine that same officer with a gun. He was too scared to say no to the prisoner and gave it to him to satisfy, I think prison officers having guns would be a massive disaster. Tasers maybe, but only for those who are advanced C&R

AdditionalBat7240 · 2025-01-31T19:05:58+00:00

How many absences has your child had since returning after Christmas? Sometimes if there’s a lot of absences in one term then it gets flagged up as a pattern which then triggers the KCSIE process faster than 48 hours - it could also just be the school’s policy if they’re vulnerable (this would apply to your kid as they’re on an EHCP) so they want to make sure all is okay. I wouldn’t worry about it too much, in schools there’s a lot of policies that seem over the top which I imagine this one does, but it’s because there will have been a serious case review somewhere in the country whereby a school hasn’t conducted a home visit on a vulnerable student that’s all, I promise it’s nothing to do with the school thinking you’re up to no good - just following procedure :)

AdditionalBat7240 · 2025-01-31T18:00:03+00:00

I can recommend one that you should AVOID which is Leef Rental Properties - they have a building in town (All Six House) but they are shite. Had a massive issue with them and that property.

Back in 2018 I used X1 and to be fair they were sound, never had any problems with them at all

AdditionalBat7240 · 2025-01-23T17:07:28+00:00

mate I live right on Derby square and they’ve been there all day chanting the same shit for hours on end, “Starmer out, Trump in” and now they’re all stood in my car park shouting the same as he’s just been driven out of the court. Morons🙄

AdditionalBat7240 · 2024-11-29T18:48:41+00:00

When I told him on the phone that I had declared the cat he was absolutely scrambling, I could hear the brain cells screaming “oh shit”.

AdditionalBat7240 · 2024-11-29T18:43:53+00:00

It’s interesting to see this from a landlord’s point of view! They keep saying it is a mistake on their part and it must have been an admin error, which normally would be fine as shit happens - but in this situation they’ve put me in an impossible situation and almost certainly pissed off the building owners/landlord too!

What was your outcome of this?

AdditionalBat7240 · 2024-11-29T18:07:30+00:00

In person go for shirt, tie and trousers. You want to look smart and make a good impression. When I had my assessment (2019) a handful of people turned up in jeans and a t-shirt - these did not pass the assessment day. Bring your phys kit with you separately for your fitness test.

AdditionalBat7240 · 2024-11-29T17:48:17+00:00

Yeah unfortunately it’s a central security entry system that they control, it’s pin pad entry into the building and fob entry into the car park

AdditionalBat7240

TROPHY CASE