Gardening together A guide to starting a local gardening club for blind and partially sighted people Introduction

Starting a club from scratch need not be daunting. This guide draws upon the experiences of gardeners and professionals who have successfully launched their own clubs and gives ideas that you might need to take into consideration. It also gives you contact details of other organisations and sources of information that could be useful. The advice is aimed at people who want to start a club. It will also be useful for groups and professionals who work with visually impaired people. Not all the information will be relevant to everyone. Areas covered are: recruiting members; publicity; meeting place; programme ideas; finances; transport; supporters and volunteers; other support; legalities; health and safety; and development ideas. Throughout the guide you will find top tips from people who have started local clubs recently; thanks for these to Mick Evans and Alan Thorpe from the Rotherham BANCA club, Judy Shaw from the Greenshoots club in York and Mark Smith from Gardeneyes in Norwich. You will also find signposts, including contact details, to other organisations that may be able to help you. These are headed Help. “Anyone should have a go, we are only a small group but we are all getting enjoyment out of it… people get satisfaction out of seeing something grow.” Judy Shaw, Greenshoots club

2 Contents

Who is the club for? 4 How will you let people know about the club? 6 What will you do at the club? 7 Where will you meet? 9 How will your members get to the club? 13 Who will do what? 14 What about money? 18 What about the legal side? 21 What about health and safety? 23 What other support is there? 25 Appendix 1: A sample constitution 28 Appendix 2: Notes on guiding 34 Appendix 3: Sample risk assessment 36 Appendix 4: Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) clearance 38

3 Who is the club for?

Your first task is to establish that there is sufficient interest in your local area. There are a number of ways you can do this: Talk to friends and other contacts who might be interested. Check with your local voluntary association that a club does not exist already that you do not know about. Contact your local associations and clubs that might have blind or partially sighted members who are interested in gardening. These can include Voluntary Associations of the Blind, Guide Dogs for the Blind, Age Concern, Help the Aged etc. You will find details of these local groups in your phone book, library, Citizens Advice Bureau or from your local Volunteer Bureau. Use your local talking newspaper to ask interested people to make contact with you. Approach your local newspapers, radio and parish magazines to put in articles about starting a club.

§ Help To find out about your local organisations for blind people, contact National Association of Local Voluntary Organisations for Visually Impaired People (NALSVI) PO Box 823, Doncaster DN1 9AQ. Telephone 01302 571888 Visit www.nalsvi.org

4 Top tip The first members of Greenshoots club in York started by meeting in a local café on several occasions over the winter. They then launched their club in the spring of 2004. “We sat down first to decide: do we really want to start this club, and can we keep it going?” says Judy Shaw. Greenshoots received support and encouragement from Thrive and an RNIB Leisure Officer.

§ Help The National Blind Gardeners’ Club can give support with a day or half day of practical gardening workshops. Contact the Club at Thrive to discuss. Telephone 0118 988 5688 or email [email protected]

5 How will you let people know about the club?

It is really important to tell people about your club and then later to draw in new members and supporters. The local media are usually interested in items that are a little different. So don’t be shy, get in contact with: local talking newspapers voluntary organisations for the blind through staff, members and newsletters parish newsletters local newspapers, radio and TV notice boards in local shops, libraries, community centres visits and talks to other local clubs and groups garden centres/DIY stores’ notice boards.

6 What will you do at the club?

Your programme will reflect your member’s skills, interests and contacts, the number of members, and the number of meetings that you plan to have each year. Get the interested people together for a chat to find out what their gardening experience and interests are and what they would like to get from the club. Practical sessions are an inspiring way to get started and can be helpful in making people feel relaxed and happy to share gardening experiences, tips and techniques.

Some ideas for club meetings Exchange seeds and plants. Members could help each other with particular garden projects, or help another who has just moved and needs help getting the garden straight. Bring in plants to take cuttings from. Have a “Gardeners Question Time” style question-and-answer session. Invite guest speakers, who may need careful briefing if your members are not able to see slides or pictures.

Top tip Lucy Morrell of the National Blind Gardeners Club says: “Clarify from the outset what the club wants to achieve. You may all want to get your hands dirty with practical activities, maintain a plot and/or have a series of speakers.”

7 Hold competitions or seasonal flower shows. They make a good talking point and bit of fun; here are some ideas: best seasonal container most or heaviest weight of tomatoes on a single stem or truss longest runner bean, heaviest marrow etc three seasonal flowers in a vase, largest dahlia etc. Put together a gardening quiz or download one from the internet. Put together a library of different tools and equipment that club members can borrow to trial or for one-off jobs. This would need a member or volunteer to administer. A list of tools and equipment that blind and partially sighted gardeners have found useful can be found in Thrive and RNIB’s Getting on with Gardening books. Contact Thrive or RNIB for more details about the books or to buy your own copies.

Top tip The Greenshoots club persuaded a local garden centre to give them an assortment of spring bulbs and the manager of the store was invited to come and judge the results.

Top tip Include specific social events in your club programme such as a midsummer BBQ and a Christmas party.

8 Where will you meet?

Finding somewhere for your club to meet will depend on the number of members that you will have and what you plan to do. You will also need to consider: how your members are going to get to the venue that it is accessible to everyone access to toilets provision of refreshments cost and availability for a regular booking time slot for booking.

Top tip Choose a central location that most people are familiar with and has good public transport links. Practical sessions should be held somewhere that you can make a mess but clear up easily. This might be a different venue from your regular meeting place. Initially it might be a member’s glasshouse, large shed or garden but for longer term you could consider: community centres with gardens the park or allotment nurseries or garden centres social and therapeutic horticulture projects.

§ Help Find your local social and therapeutic horticulture project by contacting Thrive, which has a database of nearly a thousand projects across the country.

9 Your local city farm or community garden might have an area of garden that you could take responsibility for, or your club might decide to help with ongoing work.

§ Help Find your nearest city farm or community garden by contacting The Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens, The Greenhouse, Hereford Street, Bristol BS3 4NA. Telephone 0117 923 1800 Fax 0117 923 1900 Visit their website www.farmgarden.org.uk where there is a map of the location of the farms.

Here are some advantages and disadvantages of using different types of venues

Venue Advantages Disadvantages Individuals gardens Available Limited access for immediately. groups. Shared typical Health and safety experience. issues. Security – could there be a problem with strangers in the garden?

10 Venue Advantages Disadvantages Premises of local Accessibility will be Safety might be an voluntary good. issue due to other organisations centre users and Car parking may be vehicles. close to your meeting area. Garden areas may be very limited and Refreshments on not designed for hand. people with sight Familiar transport loss. route for club May not be open members as they areas of ground that will attend other members can use events there. for growing. Members attending Plants may need for other events can watering between water any plants or club meetings, garden. particularly containers in the summer.

Village hall or Local. No garden. community centre Accessible. Probably can’t make a mess. Toilet and kitchen facilities. There may be a charge for the use.

11 Venue Advantages Disadvantages Allotments Site should be Annual rent to pay. accessible. May not be local Might have a and easy to get to members shed that for all members. could be used for May not be easy for meetings on wet/ some members to cold days. find the plot on a There may be busy allotment site. toilets. Some allotment associations have a discount scheme to order plants, equipment and tools. You will be within the local community. Good example of what gardeners with sight problems can achieve. Opportunities for joint working with other organisations, such as schools or colleges, probation service etc.

12 How will your members get to the club?

Getting people to and from meetings could be one of the key issues for your gardening club, particularly in rural areas. Try and choose a venue that is central and familiar to the majority of members and on a public transport route – your members might need to be escorted to and from the nearest bus stop/station. Here are some ideas to help with transport: Borrow or hire a minibus to provide transport for meetings. To save time and cost, have several collection points rather than picking up members from their own homes. You can recruit volunteer drivers, including friends and relatives of members to help. Alternatively, your local Volunteer Bureau might have a transport scheme or a list of people who can help. Remember to check with the Bureau and all the drivers that the correct insurance is in place. The drivers may need some training in guiding your members. Use community transport. Contact your Citizens Advice Bureau for details of what is available in your area. Although taxis are expensive, they are a useful option and can be shared. Rehabilitation officers, friends or relatives may be able to help with familiarising the members with their route to your meeting place and orientation within the building or garden area.

13 Who will do what?

Top tip Get a local organisation behind the club. They might help with administration and publicity, refreshments and possibly the use of a room in an activity centre as a starting point for the club.

Members’ roles All groups will rely on a few key members to keep the group running smoothly. None of these roles need to take a huge amount of time and could be shared. You will probably need: a leader or facilitator to have an overview of the group and take a key part in organising the programme a secretary to keep the members in touch and remind them of forthcoming meetings a treasurer to take responsibility for the finances you may also need someone to take on coordinating travel arrangements if these are particularly complicated or you are planning lots of trips out. Members may be happy to take on more than one of these roles but be wary of overloading people.

Top tip Try not to hurry to allocate roles as people can be reluctant to commit until they have more idea of what is involved and how the club will take shape. However, try to have roles for each person in the club according to their skills and interests – try not to do everything yourself.

14 Sighted helpers These could be partners, friends, support workers, carers, professionals or volunteers and can be very helpful in giving support for visits and trips, reading instructions and giving confidence and support to completely blind and new members. Another valuable role for sighted helpers is to check venues for possible dangers to your members and to give first aid.

Top tip Use sighted helpers to meet members from the nearest bus stop, guide them to the meeting and support them as needed.

Sighted helpers could be recruited from: social services sensory teams rehabilitation officers local voluntary association of the blind local Volunteer Bureaux colleges and universities gardening and horticulture clubs Women’s Royal Voluntary Society (WRVS) Women’s Institute Round Table and Rotary clubs church groups.

15 Top tip “I really appreciate the enthusiasm, personal and professional input of the two social services rehabilitation officers who are supporting our club,” Mark Smith, Norwich Gardeneyes

Safety considerations for your members It is important to consider the safety of your members. The simplest way to do this is to recruit helpers through your Volunteer Bureau as they will have carried out checks on the volunteers they refer to you. These should include proper references about the suitability of people, including a check on any previous criminal record through the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB). The role of the CRB check is important when staff and volunteers are working with children and vulnerable adults. For more details on the CRB process, see Appendix 4.

Training Once you have recruited your sighted helpers, a positive introduction to the club and some training or guidance in what you would like them to do will make them feel supported and help to keep them coming. You may need to make it very clear to them how much help is required for your members. Remember to show them how much they are valued and appreciated. Please see Appendix 2 for hints on guiding.

§ Help Information on recruitment of volunteers is available from Volunteering England Regents Wharf, 8 All Saints Road, London N1 9RL Telephone 0845 305 6979 Email [email protected] Thrive and RNIB can give advice on training volunteers.

16 Expenses Your sighted helpers may have travel expenses. If funds permit you could offer a mileage allowance to drivers or to reimburse public transport tickets.

17 What about money?

A key role for one of your members is to take on the finances and be treasurer for the group.

Outgoings Administration This will involve small regular costs to keep the members in contact and reminded of meetings. Telephone and postage add up and will need to be paid for; email is cheap but not available to all. You might need to raise funds or charge a membership fee to cover these costs. You will also need to cover the costs of any gardening materials and tea, coffee, milk, and other ‘consumables.’

Top tip The Rotherham BANCA club has running costs of about £200 and insurance of about £300.

Premises and transport are likely to be the main costs for a club. You may have rent or a contribution to make for your premises. There may be regular transport costs for members attending the club; you will need to decide if the club as a whole will help with these. There may also be additional extra costs for visits and trips; it can be useful to have something spare in the kitty to help members with this.

Income Once you have an idea of what the club’s expenses are likely to be you can start to consider how to get the income to cover them. It is useful to have some spare funds for special occasions, particularly to help members with transport costs for visits. You might need to have a constitution to be eligible for some funding. Formal registration as a

18 charity or community group will further increase the range of funding opportunities. Here are some ideas for getting money in: Subscriptions from your members. You might collect subs from members even if they are unable to attend as there might still be regular expenses such as rent for premises. Selling plants and hanging baskets to members and at car boot sales, fêtes etc. Local trusts. Your parish council may have a list. Also try Citizens Advice Bureau, local library and the internet. Local firms and shops may be persuaded to give you plants or products as ‘in kind’ donations in exchange for a mention in publicity or a plaque in a garden. Council grants. The Big Lottery Fund.

§ Help At the date of publication, the Big Lottery Fund has an annual grants scheme for small community organisations, called “Awards for All”. The application system is relatively simple and straight forward; all you need is a bank account that needs two signatories. “Awards for All” award grants of between £300 and £10,000 for people to take part in art, sport, heritage and community activities, and for projects that promote education, the environment and health in the local community. A gardening club could fit their criteria well.

19 For further details please visit www.awardsforall.org.uk Different conditions apply for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. To see the full range of grants available from the Big Lottery Fund, visit www.biglotteryfund.org.uk

20 What about the legal side?

Constitution As has already been mentioned, it is good practice for your club to have a constitution as it opens up extra opportunities for getting financial support. This need not be complicated but lays out the rules that will guide the club and should be agreed to by all members.

§ Help Greenshoots have a simple constitution (see Appendix 1). Advice on constitutions can be obtained from your local Citizens Advice Bureau Association.

Insurance The good news is that by meeting in a local organisation’s premises you should be covered by their insurance. Otherwise it is recommended that you take out public liability insurance to cover against claims for damage or injury on third party property.

Top tip Mick Evans recommends contacting your local Voluntary Action group for free advice on constitutions and insurance.

§ Help Voluntary Action is a national umbrella organisation of volunteers including legal and financial professionals who will give support to groups both funded and unfunded. They help new groups and existing groups to develop, provide information and training, assist in liaison with local government and enable the views of voluntary groups to be represented.

21 Much of their work is with volunteers who are management committee members and can include: fund raising; financial advice; personnel and employment advice; constitutions and governance; charity and company formation; and co-ordination of the local voluntary sector. Contact details for your local Voluntary Action group can be found from your local library, Citizens Advice Bureau, or the internet.

Top tip If you have regular volunteers you may be liable for employer’s liability insurance as they are deemed to be employees if they are directed to do something. However, if the volunteers come to you through your local Volunteer Bureau, check that their insurance is covered by the Bureau.

22 What about health and safety?

It is necessary to ensure that your club members’ health and safety have been considered. If the club is run through an association you will need to read and comply with their health and safety policies and procedures. If it is an independent club you will need to create a health and safety policy and procedures to adequately cover the activities of the club and this should be one of the first things that you do. The club has a general duty of care towards its members and it is good practice to aim for high health and safety standards and you may need to provide evidence of these for insurance cover.

Risk assessments A very important part of ensuring the health and safety of your club members is to carry out risk assessments. Put simply, a risk assessment is an examination of the club’s activities to find out what, if anything, may cause harm to individuals, to the club or the organisation – and whether enough is being done to prevent this, or if more action is required. In other words, could things go wrong or accidents happen, and if they did, how could their impact be minimised? This is a time-consuming exercise. Nevertheless, it is absolutely necessary and all clubs should have a risk assessment for all activities. Each risk should be reviewed on a regular basis – at least annually – and should be updated with every new activity before the activity is undertaken. This should include the risks associated with visits to other gardens and outings.

23 § Help A suggestion of where to start with risk assessment: What will the club members do? (make a list)

What could go wrong with each activity?

What action(s) is being taken to avoid harm to people/club/organisation? (mitigation)

Is this adequate?

Could further action(s) be taken to minimise the risk? (mitigations)

For more advice about risk assessments and health and safety please contact Thrive. For a sample risk assessment see Appendix 3. A last word from Mick Evans – “There is no one recipe for a successful gardening club. You need goodwill and a good combination of people and personalities; people coming together with a willingness to get involved with energy and enthusiasm.” Thrive can provide further information and support to set up and run a local gardening club for blind and partially sighted people. Good luck with your gardening club and let Thrive know how you get on.

24 What other support is there?

The National Blind Gardeners’ Club: Run by Thrive in partnership with RNIB and has a wealth of information which draws on tried and trusted tips and techniques from gardeners with sight problems. It offers: gardening advice a specialist library a unique quarterly magazine – Come Gardening Getting on with Gardening books – all available in accessible formats day and residential gardening courses that provide practical workshops and where gardeners share their skills and ideas with other blind gardeners from across the country the annual Blind Gardener of the Year Competition contact and support for local gardening clubs. For more information please contact: The National Blind Gardeners’ Club Thrive The Geoffrey Udall Centre Beech Hill Reading RG7 2AT Telephone 0118 988 5688 Email [email protected] Visit www.thrive.org.uk You can also visit Thrive’s easier gardening website www.carryongardening.org.uk

25 Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) RNIB's National Leisure Services team offers professional advice, guidance, support, training and consultancy services on a wide range of sports, leisure, recreation, wellbeing arts and tourism activities. The team work to increase accessibility to mainstream leisure opportunities for blind and partially sighted people, and increase specialist leisure opportunities in all areas from gardening to gliding! To contact RNIB leisure officers or to find out more about other RNIB services, please call the RNIB helpline. RNIB, 105 Judd Street, London WC1H 9NE Helpline 0845 766 9999 Email [email protected] Visit www.rnib.org.uk

26 Other useful organisations St Dunstan’s provide crucial assistance to ex-Service men and women with very significant loss of sight. St Dunstan’s 12–14 Harcourt Street London W1H 4HD Telephone 020 7723 5021 Fax 020 7262 6199 Email [email protected] Action for Blind People Work with blind and partially sighted people to enable them to transform their lives. Their mission is to inspire change and create opportunities to enable blind and partially sighted people to have equal voice and equal choice. Action for Blind People 14–16 Verney Road London SE16 3DZ Free Helpline 0800 915 4666 Visit www.actionforblindpeople.org.uk The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, Burghfield Common, Reading RG7 3YG Telephone 0118 983 5555 Email [email protected]

27 Appendix 1: A sample constitution

Greenshoots constitution 1. Title Greenshoots 1.1 (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Greenshoots group’.) 1.2 The Greenshoots group shall be a registered Charity. The Greenshoots group is registered by the Charity Commissioners number (charity number goes here). 2. Area of benefit: 2.1 The area in which the work of the Greenshoots group shall operate will be the area of North Yorkshire. In addition, the Greenshoots group may provide specific services to groups outside the North Yorkshire area, at the request of the executive committee. 3. Aims and objectives: 3.1 The objective of the Greenshoots group is to introduce all aspects of horticulture to visually impaired people and to facilitate with training in the growing and maintenance of household and outdoor plants. 4. Aims: 4.1 To create a self-help group consisting of professional, semi-professional, and novice gardeners, who are sighted or visually impaired. 4.2 To meet on a regular basis for seminars, workshops and the sharing of gardening information. 4.3 To facilitate with any other activities which are deemed to be desirable to further the welfare of the Greenshoots group.

28 5. Membership: 5.1 Membership is open to all interested parties. 5.2 The Greenshoots group will charge a monthly subscription to all members. 5.3 All fees collected will be used for administration purposes unless the executive committee deem otherwise. 5.4 The Greenshoots group will keep a record of all its members. 5.5 The Greenshoots executive committee reserve the right to refuse a membership request and withdraw membership from any existing member. Notification of such action will be sent to the member in writing within 21 days. 6. The structure of the executive committee: 6.1 The executive committee will comprise of the following officers: Chairperson: Vice-chairperson: Hon Secretary: Hon treasurer. Committee members will be co-opted by the executive committee as appropriate. 6.2 The number of officers and committee members will not be less than three and not exceed more than 10. 6.3 The Executive Committee members shall be deemed to be the Trustees of the Greenshoots group under the provisions of the Charities Act 1992. Any person nominated to the Executive Committee must fulfil the provisions of the act and specifically sections 45/46. 6.4 In the absence of the Chairperson at Committee Meetings the Vice-chairperson shall preside. If the Vice-chairperson is not present,

29 the members shall choose one of their numbers to be Chairperson of the meeting. 6.5 There must be a quorum present at any meetings if votes are to be taken. 7. Annual general meeting: 7.1 The Annual meeting of the Greenshoots group shall be held before the end of (Month to go in here) of each year for the following purpose:- (a) Presentation of audited accounts made up to March 31st of each year. (b) Presentation of a formal report of the previous years work. (c) Election of Executive Committee and committee members. 7.2 Every member shall receive not less than 21 days notice of such meetings. 7.3 Every member present at the Annual General Meeting shall have one vote, and in the case of equality of votes, the Chairperson shall have a second or casting vote. 7.4 Extra-ordinary meetings may be convened by the Hon Secretary at the request of the Committee, or 15 ordinary members. Twenty-one days notice shall be given to each member of such meeting, and the notice shall state the purpose of the meeting. 8. Meetings: 8.1 Minutes of all meetings of the Greenshoots group shall be properly kept, and shall be submitted for confirmation at the next meeting of the committee.

30 9. Financial meetings: 9.1 The Funds of the Greenshoots group shall be paid into a bank/building group nominated by the Executive Committee. 9.2 Cheques/withdrawal forms on the account shall be signed by the Hon Treasurer and any one of the following, Chairperson, Vice Chairperson or Hon Secretary. 9.3 A financial report shall be submitted at each meeting of the Executive Committee. 9.4 Accounts – The Group shall keep proper books of accounts made up to March 31st each year, as required by the Charity Commission, showing all monies received and expended by it. 9.5 The committee shall appoint a suitable Independent Assessor or Auditor to prepare Annual Accounts in accordance with The Charities Act 1992, dependent on the income of the Group. 10. Amendments to constitution: 10.1 The Greenshoots group shall have the power to make alterations and amendments to this constitution as they may deem necessary, at any Annual General Meeting and Extra-ordinary General Meeting summoned by at least 21 days notice in writing to each member. 10.2 Where practicable, the notice should specify the proposed alterations or amendments, (providing that no alteration or amendment shall be made which shall have the effect of causing the Group to cease to be a Charity in Law). 10.3 Where this is not practical, members will be invited to request such information prior to the meeting, and this will be supplied to them.

31 10.4 All matters and things not provided for by this constitution shall be decided by the Executive Committee. 11 Winding up the group: 11.1 If the Executive Committee, by a simple majority, decide at any time, that on the grounds of expense or otherwise it is necessary or advisable to dissolve the Greenshoots group, it shall call a meeting of all members of the Greenshoots group. Twenty-one day’s notice (stating the terms of the resolution to the proposal thereat) must be given to all members and given in writing to the Charity Commissioners of England and Wales. 11.2 If such a decision shall be confirmed by a simple majority of those present and voting at such meeting, the Executive Committee shall have the power to dispose of any assets held by or in the name of the Greenshoots group. Any assets remaining after payment of outstanding debts or liabilities shall be given or transferred to another charitable institution having similar aims and objectives. Dated this day of (date goes in here)

32

Appendix 2: Notes on guiding

General These notes are aimed at people who are escorting for the first time so contain points that experienced escorts may already be aware of. To interact and communicate effectively with a person who is visually impaired, please remember to approach each person as an individual and with respect for their own decision to accept or not accept your assistance. Escorts are particularly needed in surroundings that are unfamiliar. The following guidelines will also be helpful: Ask the person how you can best support them. Always speak directly to the person rather than through another individual. Give clear and concise directions and instructions, such as to your right, indicate if you are approaching steps, ie step up, etc. Never leave doors ajar, close them completely or leave them fully open. It is acceptable to use such words as look, see and watch. These are common words used by everyone. Always let a person know if you are leaving them or leaving the room – there is nothing more embarrassing for a person than to carry on talking to you when you are no longer there! When guiding a person always let them take your arm and walk a step behind. Never take their arm and push them in front of you. There will be some people with their guide dogs. Give preference to escorting those without dogs and never interrupt someone who is using their dog by taking their arm.

34 For more detailed instructions on being a guide please look at RNIB website www.rnib.org.uk “How to guide people with sight problems”.

35 Appendix 3: Sample risk assessment

Thrive Risk Assessment

Club Name: Thrive Assessed by: Club Address:

Telephone: Date:

Hazard People at risk Control/action

Slipping on leaves All visiting or working Prompt sweeping/ in garden cleaning up of leaves. To be regularly checked in autumn.

Slipping on icy paths All visiting or working Salt and grit to be in garden clearly available. To be regularly monitored in winter.

Tripping over low All visiting or working Plants to be regularly growing plants in the garden checked and cut back when needed.

36 Hazard People at risk Control/action

Health risk from dog All visiting or working Dogs to be waste in the garden encouraged to leave garden immediately. “No dogs allowed” signs to be clearly displayed. Staff to be responsible for removing dog waste and taking to dog waste bin when able.

Compost All working in the Face masks should garden be worn when handling old home- produced compost.

Sunburn All working in the Hypoallergenic garden (in case anyone is allergic) sun screen to be available for all workers. Clients to be reminded and encouraged to wear sunscreen on very hot days.

37 Appendix 4: Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) clearance

“The role of the Criminal Records Bureau is to reduce the risk of abuse by ensuring that those who are unsuitable are not able to work with children and vulnerable adults.” The Home Secretary. There are two levels of CRB check. If the volunteers will be gaining access to the homes or addresses of older or disabled people (ie vulnerable adults), each volunteer must be cleared by an “enhanced” CRB check. Clearance should be obtained for each volunteer before he/she is permitted to visit older and disabled people in their own homes on behalf of the club, perhaps to take them to a club meeting. CRB Disclosures are a recruitment tool and potential volunteers should be informed of the necessity of completing a Disclosure Application Form and the reasons for doing so. There is no cost to obtain a disclosure for volunteers. However it is usually more economical and less time-consuming to use the services of an umbrella body (who will liaise between you and the CRB) rather than set up a contract directly with the Bureau. The umbrella body will usually make a small administration charge for handling the documents on your behalf. Before recruitment begins it is important to agree whether your club will accept volunteers who have convictions in areas that will not compromise the safety of a member, other volunteers and staff or the club. For example, a person who has a conviction for a road traffic offence may not necessarily threaten the safety of a member any more than someone who has not. It must also be agreed as to whether or not a volunteer will be accepted into the charity if they do not disclose the conviction prior to the results of the CRB disclosure being received.

38 There are a number of agencies (umbrella bodies) across the country. Visit www.crb.gov.uk and highlight “umbrella bodies search” under Quick Links to find your local agency.

This guide was compiled by Lucy Morrell of Thrive with the help of National Blind Gardeners' Club members. Design by Rachel Dean of RNIB. Cover image by Caroline Nieuwenhuys. Additional photography by Thrive and Jake Arden of RNIB. © Thrive and RNIB July 2008 39 This guide is also available in braille and on audio CD. To order copies in alternative formats or more copies of this large print version, please contact The National Blind Gardeners’ Club. Telephone 0118 988 5688 or email [email protected]

Thrive registered charity number 277570 RNIB registered charity number 226227