Commenting on a report published today by Onward, Unlocking a Better life, Christopher Stacey, co-director of Unlock, said: “As things stand, although a prison sentence can end, the impact of a criminal conviction can be felt far beyond the conclusion of any sentence. People with convictions, and especially those leaving prison, face significant stigma and

Bloomsbury Institute becomes the first higher education provider to Ban the Box for all. Bloomsbury Institute in London is the first higher education provider in the UK to adopt Ban the Box principles for staff as well as students, a move that could encourage other universities to follow suit. The Ban the Box campaign is

Following the publication of Unlock’s  A question of fairness report, Co-director Christopher Stacey speaks to Radio Sussex’s Danny Pike. The report finds that the vast majority of national companies continue to have criminal record declarations as a core part of their initial job application forms. By doing so, employers are not only potentially acting unlawfully but are also missing

Unlock has today published new research that shows the vast majority of national companies continuing to have criminal record declarations as a core part of their initial job application forms. Marking the 5-year anniversary of the Ban the Box campaign, the findings reveal the extent to which national employers have failed to recognise the negative

Today we have submitted our written response to the government’s call for evidence on the employment for people with convictions. Download our submission here. You can find out more about the call for evidence in our recent post to encourage others to get involved. Our submission draws on work that we’ve been doing as part

The Cabinet Office (in partnership with the Ministry of Justice) are calling for evidence on the employment for people with convictions, and they want to hear from employers about recruitment practices, employability initiatives and evidence/impact. As well as employers, the Cabinet Office want to hear from organisations or professionals who: work with people with convictions

Commenting on today’s news of changes to the childcare disqualification arrangements, Christopher Stacey, co-director of Unlock, said: “Today’s announcement to scrap the ‘disqualification by association’ rule from schools is long overdue but very welcomed. We’ve been calling for it to be scrapped for nearly 4 years because it did nothing to contribute towards safeguarding in

As a result of his conviction, Terence was required to notify his public protection officer of any new relationships that he started. Shortly after meeting Lauren through friends, Terence disclosed his conviction to her and she agreed to go with him to the police station to meet his public protection officer. At that meeting, Lauren

Sadie had been studying for a teaching qualification at university when details of her new partner’s conviction for a sexual offence were disclosed on the additional information section of her enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service certificate. On receipt of the certificate, the university immediately contacted her to inform her that it was likely she would

When she was 38 weeks pregnant, Louisa was told by her employer (a school) that as a result of her husband’s criminal record, she was ‘disqualified by association’ and would be suspended from her job as a teacher until she had applied for, and been granted a waiver, by Ofsted. The school provided her with

In 2017 Cheryl’s son was convicted of a sexual offence. He received a suspended sentence and was put on the Sex Offenders Register. Immediately the result of the case was known Cheryl, who was working as a primary school teacher, went to see the head teacher of her school to explain the situation. Although the

The latest blog by Christopher Stacey (published on the Huffington Post) questions the use of enhanced DBS checks as the answer to Oxfam’s safeguarding problems. Read it here.