This resource, free to CRA members, gives you all the tools you need to set up a licensing scheme for your shops, so that they can visibly be seen to conform to safeguarding requirements. This is the first scheme of it’s kind for charity retailers and marks a significant step in keeping staff, volunteers and customers safe.

The scheme does NOT offer proof of the adequacy of your safeguarding arrangements – but it does offer a structured way of showing that shops have met your safeguarding requirements and provides them with a physical licence to display.

You may already have a safeguarding scheme in place for your shops, in which case you may decide that you do not need to take part in CRSS. If you do not have such a scheme we warmly recommend considering CRSS as an off-the shelf way of creating one, and as such it has been designed to be operable by any charity running shops, whatever their size.

Interested to know more
Check out our FAQs to help with any initial questions you may have.

If you’d like to get started then head over to our Members’ Area where you will be able to access the application process. You will also find our ‘Introduction’ download which explains how the scheme works and what you will need to supply to us. If you are unsure if your charity has the necessary documents in place to take part then you will be able to check them against the ‘Introduction’ and, if needed, access sample documents you can use as templates.

If you don’t have access to our Members’ Area then please complete our GDPR form here to request a login.

Our thanks
We’re very thankful to Barnardo’s and British Heart Foundation for providing the templates and information that this scheme and its resources are based on. Without their help and guidance the CRSS would not have been possible

Contact us
If you have any questions you can get in touch on crss@charityretail.org.uk or call us on 0300 030 1088