Childcare DBS Checks

Childcare plays a huge part in our society and of course, safeguarding is of the utmost importance. Whether you’re running a nursery, a creche, a children’s home, an after-school club or a children’s sports team, DBS checks (formerly known as CRB checks) should be a top priority in your recruitment process.

What Childcare DBS Check Will You Need?

There are a number of DBS checks available: basic, standard and enhanced, so the level of DBS check you need will depend on the role of the applicant.

Members of staff who are working, or volunteering, in ‘regulated activity’ with children will require an Enhanced DBS check in England or Wales, or those carrying out such activity more than three times a month will require an Enhanced DBS Check with the Child Barred List check.

An Enhanced Check will show any spent or unspent convictions, cautions, reprimands or warnings the applicant has, as well as any other relevant information held by the applicant’s local police force.

An Enhanced DBS Check with the Child Barred List Check will show the same relevant information as mentioned above, and it also specifically checks whether the individual is barred from working with children or vulnerable adults, adding an extra layer of safeguarding for positions involving such responsibilities.

Regulated Activity is defined as the following:

Unsupervised activities: teaching, training, instructing, caring for or supervising children, providing advice/guidance on well-being, or driving a vehicle for children.

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.

Individuals who carry out regulated activity with children where the work is done infrequently (but more than once) will require an Enhanced Level DBS check.

However…

Individuals who carry out regulated activity with children more than three 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.

Please note that Regulated Activity continues to exclude any activity carried out in the course of family relationships, and personal, non-commercial relationships.

Why eSafeguarding?

The eSafeguarding system is fast, safe, and secure. Enhanced disclosures can come back within 24 hours and four out of five applications are completed within three days.

If you want a straightforward and effective system to manage DBS checks for your childcare organisation, then there is no better choice than eSafeguarding.

Our helpful and experienced team of countersignatories are always on hand to help and advise you and your applicants with all aspects of the DBS process.

Enquire about DBS checks today

Need to organise a DBS check for yourself or for an applicant?

Fill in our contact form or email us using the address below and a member of the team will get back to you as soon as possible to arrange the next steps.

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