Letters to the Editor: Club for 6 to 9s makes a difference

At Salmon Youth Centre, we have been engaging with children under 10 years old since we started in 1906 (‘Young people call for intervention at six to steer children away from crime’, cypnow.co.uk, 7 June).

We have a 6 to 9s open club session every Thursday at our centre in Bermondsey that attracts 100 children. Unfortunately, we do not have the resources to expand the session, as this side of our programme is not funded under “youth work”, so we have to rely heavily on volunteers.

We support the measure for early intervention and would welcome the government and members of the Positive Futures Youth Advisory Board to come and visit our 6 to 9s club to find out the difference it can make.
Sam Adofo, director, The Salmon Youth Centre in Bermondsey

Childcare loans are good option
Though previous governments invested generously, much more is needed to boost the affordability, flexibility and quality of childcare (‘Commission to assess the cost and availability of childcare’, cypnow.co.uk, 19 June).

But we have to face the reality of the economic circumstances. Imaginative solutions are necessary. It is welcome they are exploring whether relaxing the staff-to-child ratios will yield savings for nurseries.

They should also consider our fiscally neutral proposal for income-contingent loans for childcare, which remains the most credible route to building the universal, high-quality pre-school system we need in the UK.
Ryan Shorthouse, researcher, ?Social Market Foundation

Criminal records checks are vital
I wish to pick up on a query raised about criminal records (CRB) checks in “Ask the Experts” from an organisation that has decided not to run checks on its volunteers because “the process takes too long” (CYP Now, 29 May).

First, if that organisation works in a regulated activity, it has no choice about carrying out checks on volunteers. Second, it is a complete myth that CRB checks take months or weeks to process.

The Churches’ Child Protection Advisory Service (CCPAS) is one of the top 10 providers of criminal records checks in the UK and the vast majority of those we conduct are back in a few days. Finally, the system in the UK is not perfect and should only be used as part of a broader safer recruitment strategy.

Nevertheless, it is the best and safest system in the world. Through it, CCPAS regularly receives disclosures about applicants who should not be allowed anywhere near children.
Simon Bass, CEO, CCPAS