This means that the CRB form will change from July of next year, and the information required by the ISA will be included at the bottom of the form. The form will first be sent to the CRB and once the enhanced check has been carried out CRB will then forward the form on for ISA registration.

Nannies who are employed directly by the parents will not be required to register with the ISA, however the parents have the right to ask the nanny to be ISA registered and they can also access the ISA register to check the registration prior to offering the nanny the position.

Families who employ a nanny through a nanny agency do so in the knowledge that it is the agency’s responsibility to ensure that the nanny is ISA registered before putting her/him forward to the potential employer. Please note that nannies/au pairs who come directly from another country to their place of employment here in the UK must be registered upon arrival, this is the case even if the nanny/au pair is only employed for a short period (i.e. three months). It will be the nanny agency's responsibility to arrange ISA registration.

Under the Vetting and Barring Scheme (12 October 2009) it is illegal for a person barred by the ISA to work with or to apply for work with children or vulnerable adults. It is also illegal for an employer to hire a person who has been barred by the ISA. All employers should also contact the ISA and let them know if their employee has done anything that could have caused harm or posed a risk of harm. However, the family only has a legal responsibility to contact the ISA if they have employed the nanny through a nanny agency.

Nannytax believes it is a mistake by the ISA to distinguish between nannies who are employed directly by the parents and those who are employed through an agency. Firstly all nannies are employees whether they have been employed directly or not, but more importantly the welfare of the children the nanny cares for should be the priority rather than the channels through which she/he has been employed. Most nannies have sole charge of and unsupervised access to very young children with little or no outside support, and it could be argued that these children are some of the most vulnerable.

In addition the ISA, just like the Ofsted register, provides a good example of the Government allowing nannies to continue to occupy a grey area within childcare.

For more information, please visit the ISA website.

*According to the ISA only serious offences (or cautions) will appear, and so individuals with minor offences such points on their driving licence or shop lifting convictions will not be barred.