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What Level of DBS Check is needed when working with children?

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Members of staff who are working or volunteering in ‘regulated activity’ with children will require an Enhanced DBS Check in England or Wales.

(Regulated activity continues to exclude any activity carried out in the course of family relationships, and personal, non-commercial relationships).

Regulated Activity in relation to children is defined as the following:

  1. Unsupervised activities: teach, train, instruct, care for or supervise children, or provide advice/ guidance on well-being, or drive a vehicle only for children;
  2. Work for a limited range of establishments (‘specified places’), with opportunity for contact: e.g. schools, children’s homes, childcare premises. Not work by supervised volunteers
  3. Relevant personal care, e.g. washing or dressing; or health care by or supervised by a professional;
    registered childminding; and foster-carers.
  4. Work under (i) or (ii) is regulated activity only if done regularly**

**Regularly is defined as more than 3 times a month or overnight (between 2am and 6am where there may be face-to-face contact with children).

  • Individuals who carry out work under (i) or (ii) where the work is done infrequently (but more than once) will require an Enhanced Level DBS check.
  • Individuals who carry out work under (i) or (ii) more than 3 times a month or overnight (between 2am and 6am where there may be face-to-face contact with children) will require an Enhanced DBS check with the Child Barred List check.

People providing day to day management or supervision on a regular basis of a person providing the following regulated activity: teaching, training, instruction, care or supervision of children, would themselves be providing regulated activity if unsupervised.

A small number of posts with opportunity for contact with children would be entitled to Standard Level DBS checks only. These include any employment or other work which is carried out for the purposes of an adoption service, an adoption support agency, a voluntary adoption agency, a fostering service or a fostering agency and which is of such a kind as to enable a person, in the course of his normal duties, to have contact with children or access to sensitive or personal information about children.

A full detailed description of the above scope can be found online here

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