DBS – Changes to Eligibility
On 1st September the rules around DBSs for people working with children changed. Enhanced DBSs with a barred list check were required for anyone engaging in ‘regulated activity’ with children – such as teaching, training, instructing, caring for, or supervising children – but prior to the change, anyone doing unpaid work under the supervision of a person involved in that activity was not considered to be engaging in regulated activity.
Now that ‘supervision exemption’ is gone, meaning that even if you are supervised, if you’re doing any of this stuff it’s considered regulated activity and you should therefore have an enhanced DBS with a barred list check.
The main group of people affected by this change is volunteers, so if you are a volunteer working with children and you don’t have a barred list check with your DBS, or if you supervise volunteers in this activity and they don’t have it, you might need to update the relevant credentials.
You can read a full breakdown on the Government website. If you’re not clear on something you can contact CVS for a chat.
