Guidance

Working with children in the charity sector and overseas aid organisations

Updated 1 November 2023

Please note: This is not legal advice. If you need help with making sure you are complying with the law, you should speak to a legal advisor.

Introduction

This leaflet explains eligibility for Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks for people working with children in the charity sector and overseas aid organisations. This guidance applies whether the individuals are paid or unpaid.

Any changes to a role or the activities that a person carries out can affect the level of check that is applicable. More information can be found in the DBS eligibility guidance.

There are three organisations that carry out criminal background checks within the UK:

• Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)
• Disclosure Scotland (DS)
• Access Northern Ireland (ANI)

There are differences in the legislation for England and Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland. This means that eligibility for checks can be different, and different information can be disclosed across the jurisdictions.

If an individual applies for a Basic check for personal use where there is no suitability decision being made or the role is not based in the UK, they should use the service based on where they live.

For Standard and Enhanced checks, the organisation to be used will be determined by where the suitability decision is being made. If the suitability decision is being made in England, Wales, the Channel Islands, or the Isle of Man, DBS should be used.

When the suitability decision is being made in Scotland, then an application should be submitted to Disclosure Scotland.

If the suitability decision is being made in Northern Ireland, the application should be submitted to Access NI.

This guidance applies to criminal record checks in England, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.

Information on checks available in Scotland can be obtained from Disclosure Scotland. Information on checks available in Northern Ireland can be obtained from Access NI.

For roles based overseas, where the suitability decision is being made in the UK, organisations should choose which provider to use based on the above guidance.

Some foreign offences can occasionally appear on DBS checks, but this not always the case, and DBS does not have access to criminal records in other countries.

DBS strongly recommends that you carry out separate overseas criminal record checks, such as certificates of good character where relevant.

Where the suitability decision is made overseas i.e. outside of the UK, information can be sought through criminal record regimes in that particular country or a certificate of good character from the individual’s home country. In the UK this would be a police certificate via ACRO Criminal Records Office.

Information on how to obtain a certificate of good character in various countries can be found in the Home Office ‘Criminal records checks for overseas applicants’ guidance.

If the role involves working or volunteering with children overseas, and the recruitment decision is made overseas, the individual may also be eligible for an International Child Protection Certificate (ICPC), if they are a UK national or have previously lived in the UK.

The ICPC is a joint initiative from the National Crime Agency and ACRO. The ICPC confirms whether or not an individual has a criminal history and provides details, including relevant conviction and non-conviction data. The certificate may also contain criminal convictions information about any offences committed in other countries. More information on the ICPC can be found in the ICPC information for organisations.

Definition of a charity

If your organisation is registered with the Charity Commission and has a registered charity number, it is a charity. If your organisation is not registered with the Charity Commission, it may still be a charity. The Charities Act 2011 defines a ‘charity’ as an institution that is:

• established for charitable purposes only
• subject to the control of the High Court’s charity law jurisdiction

More information can be found in the Charity Commission website.

Definition of a volunteer

For DBS purposes, the definition of a volunteer is set out in the Police Act 1997 (Criminal Records) Regulations 2002. If a role is eligible for a Standard, Enhanced, or Enhanced with Barred List(s) DBS check, the charity must ensure it meets the criteria set out in the definition below, before submitting a free-of-charge DBS application:

• a person engaged in an activity which involves spending time, unpaid (except for travel and other approved out-of-pocket expenses), doing something which aims to benefit some third-party other than, or in addition to, a close relative

If the role satisfies both parts of this definition, the ‘volunteer’ box on the application can be marked and the application will be free-of-charge.

Someone carrying out unpaid work as part of a course of study that would lead to a qualification is not considered to be a volunteer for DBS purposes. Work experience which is intended to make someone more employable is also not classed as voluntary work.

Eligibility for DBS checks

Access to Standard, Enhanced, and Enhanced with Barred List(s) DBS checks is controlled by the law.

The law does not say when a Standard, Enhanced, or Enhanced with Barred List(s) DBS check ‘must’ be carried out, but it does specify when a DBS check ‘can’ be applied for. Organisations may produce their own guidance stating when they want DBS checks to be requested, but this guidance must comply with the law that allows a DBS check to be applied for.

Anyone can apply for their own Basic DBS check via our website – it does not have to be for recruitment purposes and there is no eligibility criteria that needs to be met.

Standard, Enhanced, and Enhanced with Barred List(s) DBS checks should only be applied for when someone will be carrying out the activities that would make them eligible for a check as part of their everyday responsibilities. They should not be applied for because someone might carry out that work at some point in the future or in case an emergency means that they have to.

The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 specifies that when a child is aged 16 to 17 and is in any kind of paid or unpaid employment, those who teach, train, instruct, care for, or supervise them, or those who provide them with advice and guidance as part of their employment are not in regulated activity with children. This means that they are not eligible for a Standard, Enhanced, or Enhanced with Barred List(s) DBS check. If the child is under 16 and in any kind of employment, then the person teaching, training etc. them would be in regulated activity (if the period condition is met).

Working or volunteering for a charity

Not all roles working or volunteering for a charity are eligible for a Standard, Enhanced, or Enhanced with Barred List(s) DBS check.

Assistance around how to work out whether eligibility for DBS checks exists, can be found in the DBS eligibility guidance.

Below are some examples of different types of charity roles, and the type of DBS check they may be eligible for.

Trustees of children’s charities

Any trustee of a children’s charity can be asked to apply for an Enhanced DBS check in the child workforce. For the trustee role, there is no eligibility for an Enhanced with Children’s Barred List DBS check.

For DBS purposes, a charity is a children’s charity if the charity workers or volunteers include those who carry out work that falls into the legal definition of regulated activity with children. Regulated activity with children is defined at Annexe A of this leaflet.

However, a trustee of a children’s charity may also carry out other roles for that charity. Before they are appointed, (or if their role changes) organisations should assess any other responsibilities against the eligibility criteria to see whether the activities being done fall under the definition of regulated activity with children. This would allow them to ask the trustee to apply for an Enhanced DBS check in the child workforce, with a check of the Children’s Barred List. If the trustee is also in regulated activity, both roles should be made clear in the ‘Position Applied For’ field on the DBS check application form.

Charity retail workers

Anyone working in retail, such as charity shops, can apply for a Basic DBS check regardless of whether they are working with children or not. Whether organisations can apply for Standard, Enhanced, or Enhanced with Barred List(s) DBS checks on their workers, depends on who they are working with, what activities they are doing for them, and how often they do them.

For someone working in retail to be eligible to apply for a Standard, Enhanced, or Enhanced with Barred List(s) DBS check, they must be undertaking activities which meet the eligibility criteria for those checks. In specific circumstances described below, the age of the child affects eligibility.

Where someone has specific responsibility for any of the below, and they do this on more than 3 days in any 30-day period, this is regulated activity:

• Teaching, training, instructing, caring for, or supervising a child who is under the age of 16 in relation to their employment
• Providing a child under the age of 16 with advice or guidance on their emotional, educational, or physical well-being in relation to their employment

Where someone has specific responsibility for any of the below however, this is not regulated activity due to the age of the child:

• Teaching, training, instructing, caring for, or supervising a child who is age 16 or 17 in relation to their employment
• Providing a child who is 16 or 17 with advice or guidance on their emotional, educational, or physical well-being in relation to their employment

The regular day-to-day manager or supervisor of a shop worker who is in regulated activity with children is also in regulated activity with children. This means the manager or supervisor can be asked to apply for an Enhanced DBS check in the child workforce, with a check of the Children’s Barred List.

More information and guidance around eligibility for individuals working in the child workforce can be found in the DBS eligibility guidance.

Next are some scenarios, to further explain eligibility.

Scenario 1

A charity shop worker has responsibility for training and supervising a 15-year-old who is volunteering at the shop two days a week as part of a Duke of Edinburgh award placement. She is in regulated activity with children. This means she can be asked to apply for an Enhanced DBS check in the child workforce, with a check of the Children’s Barred List. In this scenario, the shop worker’s supervisor would also be in regulated activity and can be asked to apply for the same level of DBS check.

If the charity shop worker only does this one day a month, she can still be asked to apply for an Enhanced DBS check in the child workforce, but this would be without the Children’s Barred List check.

Other people working in the shop alongside the 15-year-old are not eligible for a Standard, Enhanced, or Enhanced with Barred List(s) DBS check. They can apply for a Basic DBS check.

Scenario 2

A charity shop worker has responsibility for training and supervising a 17-year-old two days a week. The law says that the activities she is undertaking are not regulated activity with children because the individual is aged 17 and is in work.

She does not do anything else that would make her eligible for a Standard, Enhanced, or Enhanced with Barred List(s) DBS check. This means she can be asked to apply for a Basic DBS check.

Fundraising events

As an activity itself, fundraising for a charity generally does not make an individual eligible for a Standard, Enhanced, or Enhanced with Barred List(s) DBS check unless the criteria within sections 1 to 4 of Annexe A are met and someone else is making a suitability decision about the fundraiser. In this case, fundraisers would be in regulated activity with children and would therefore be eligible for an Enhanced DBS check in the child workforce, with a check of the Children’s Barred List. If they met the relevant criteria of sections 2, 3 or 4 but were carrying out the role less frequently, they would not be in regulated activity, but would still be eligible for an Enhanced DBS check, just without a Children’s Barred List check.

Someone who is marshalling an event, such as a sponsored walk or 5km run where only children participate, could be a volunteer or employee of the charity, so eligibility may exist for the charity to request a DBS check if they carry out the activities mentioned in scenario one, above. If they do not carry out these activities, the charity can ask the individual to apply for a Basic DBS check.

As a participant in this type of event, an individual will not be volunteering for or employed by the charity, so the charity cannot request Standard, Enhanced, or Enhanced with Barred Lists DBS checks on these individuals.

Roles in schools

Volunteering in schools

Those volunteering in schools may be eligible for a Standard, Enhanced, or Enhanced with Barred List(s) DBS check, depending on the activities they carry out and whether they are supervised by someone who is in regulated activity.

If the individuals volunteering in schools are carrying out any of the activities in parts 1 to 4 in the definition in Annexe A, they are in regulated activity with children and the charity/school can request an Enhanced DBS check in the child workforce with a check of the Children’s Barred List.

If they meet the criteria in part 4 of Annexe A, but they are supervised by someone else who is in regulated activity with children, then they are not in regulated activity themselves. However, they are still eligible for an Enhanced DBS check in the child workforce, just without a check of the Children’s Barred List.

Paid workers in schools

Members of the school’s governing body, including the clerk can be asked to apply for an Enhanced DBS check in the child workforce without a check of the Children’s Barred List.

Those who teach, train, instruct, care for, supervise, or provide advice or guidance to children, will be in regulated activity if they carry out these activities on more than 3 days in any 30-day period. This means they can be asked to apply for an Enhanced DBS check in the child workforce with a check of the Children’s Barred List. If they carry out the activities less frequently, they can apply for an Enhanced DBS check without a check of the Children’s Barred List.

Other people in schools who are not carrying out the activities above, such as cleaners or admin staff, can also be asked to apply for an Enhanced DBS check with a check of the Children’s Barred List if they meet the criteria in part 4 of Annex A.

Charities providing care to children

Anyone providing personal care or healthcare by, or under the direction or supervision of a healthcare professional is in regulated activity with children regardless of how frequently they do this. They can be asked to apply for an Enhanced DBS check in the child workforce with a check of the Children’s Barred List.

Those providing any form of treatment or therapy for children that is not personal care or healthcare, for example complementary therapies like acupuncture, hypnosis, or massage can be asked to apply for an Enhanced DBS check in the child workforce without a check of the Children’s Barred List if they do this work with children on more than 3 days in any 30-day period.

Counselling and mentoring roles

Any role, whether paid or unpaid, that involves providing counselling or mentoring to children relating to their physical, emotional, or educational well-being will be in regulated activity if it is carried out frequently enough i.e. on more than 3 days in any 30-day period, or once at any time between 2am and 6am (with the opportunity for face-to-face contact with children). This gives eligibility for an Enhanced DBS check in the child workforce with a check of the Children’s Barred List. Again, anyone managing or supervising a counsellor on a regular day-to-day basis would also be in regulated activity and be eligible for the same level DBS check.

If the counselling/mentoring is provided less frequently, the counsellor will not be in regulated activity but, can be asked to apply for an Enhanced DBS check in the child workforce, just without a Children’s Barred List check. This does not extend to anyone managing or supervising the counsellor in this scenario.

Faith-based positions

As with nearly all charity positions, faith roles are not named in legislation and so are not automatically eligible for a Standard, Enhanced, or Enhanced with Barred List(s) DBS check.

Those making suitability decisions should consider the activities that the people working/volunteering for faith organisations are carrying out, who they are carrying them out for, where they are carried out and how often, to determine eligibility.

The DBS eligibility guidance including our eligibility tool and workforce guides will help you to decide whether a role is eligible, and if so, which level of DBS check is suitable.

Scenario 3

Workers/volunteers working directly for a crèche based in a church hall, i.e. caring for or supervising children on more than 3 days in any 30-day period, can be asked to apply for an Enhanced DBS check in the child workforce with a check of the Children’s Barred List. This is in line with the Office for Standards in Education’s (Ofsted) registration regime.

Other people working or volunteering on the church premises whilst the crèche is open, but who are not there to work for the crèche cannot be asked to apply for a Standard, Enhanced, or Enhanced with Barred List(s) DBS check just because they are there at the same time as the children but the church can ask them to apply for a Basic DBS check if they feel this is necessary.

This also applies to childcare facilities based within other premises, such as crèches in an office or a gym.

Scenario 4

Even if a choir is made up of both children and adults, if the choir leader meets the criteria in part 2 or part 4 of Annexe A, because children are expected to attend, they are in regulated activity with children.

This means that the church can apply for an Enhanced DBS check in the child workforce with a check of the Children’s Barred List. They should not request a DBS check in the adult workforce unless the relevant criteria detailed in the ‘Working with adults in the charity sector and overseas aid organisations’ leaflet are met.

Scenario 5

Charities providing education in religious settings can ask those responsible for teaching, training, instructing, caring for, supervising, or providing advice or guidance to children to apply for an Enhanced DBS check.

If they are providing these activities on more than 3 days in any 30-day period, or once at any time between 2am and 6am (with the opportunity for face-to-face contact with children), they are in regulated activity and can also request a check of the Children’s Barred List.

Driving for a charity or as a volunteer

Drivers are only eligible for Standard, Enhanced, or Enhanced with Barred List(s) DBS checks in very specific circumstances. Whether the work is paid or unpaid does not change what level of DBS check is available. In all cases the driving must be done as part of a formal third-party arrangement, for example a school bus service, and not a personal arrangement between friends or neighbours.

Drivers are carrying out regulated activity with children if they are driving a vehicle being used only for conveying children, including their carers or supervisors, and doing this on more than 3 days in any 30-day period. If the driver meets these criteria, they can be asked to apply for an Enhanced DBS check in the child workforce with a check of the Children’s Barred List.

If they are driving a vehicle being used only for conveying children, including their carers or supervisors but less frequently, they are not in regulated activity, but are still eligible for an Enhanced DBS check in the child workforce, just without a Children’s Barred List check.

Telephone helpline workers

Helpline call handlers may be eligible for a Standard, Enhanced, or Enhanced with Barred List(s) DBS check depending on whether they are providing advice or guidance as part of their role, who they are providing it to, and how often they are providing it. Whether the role is paid or unpaid does not affect what level of DBS check they can be asked to apply for.

Scenario 6

A charity helpline is set up wholly or mainly for children and provides advice to children on their emotional, physical, and educational wellbeing. If the helpline call handlers provide this advice and guidance on more than 3 days in any 30-day period, then this is regulated activity with children. The charity can apply for an Enhanced DBS check in the child workforce with a check of the Children’s Barred List for any helpline call handler doing this work.

If the helpline call handler is providing advice and guidance to children less often, they are still eligible for an Enhanced DBS check, but this is without a check of the Children’s Barred List.

Helplines that are set up for any member of the public to access, i.e. not aimed specifically at children, can only ask their workers/volunteers to apply for a Basic DBS check.

Internet chat room moderation

Moderators of chat rooms set up to be used mainly by children can be asked to apply for an Enhanced DBS check in the child workforce with a check of the Children’s Barred List if they are doing it for the purpose of protecting the children, and they are doing this often enough.

These moderators must do one or more of the following:

• be monitoring the content of the service
• be able to remove or prevent the addition of content to the service
• control access to the service

Moderators must also:

• have access to the content of the service
• have contact with the children using the service, whether this is online or face-to -face
• do this on more than 3 days in any 30-day period

If they do not do this often enough but meet all the other conditions, they can still be asked to apply for an Enhanced DBS check in the child workforce, just without a check of the Children’s Barred List.

There is no eligibility for people who build the chat rooms or websites to be asked to apply for a Standard, Enhanced, or Enhanced with Barred List(s) DBS check. People in these roles can be asked to apply for a Basic DBS check.

Fostering and adoption charities

Adoption

Adopting a child is not regulated activity, but those arranging the adoption can ask prospective adoptive parents and any household members aged 18 and over to apply for an Enhanced DBS check in the child workforce with a check of the Children’s Barred List.

Foster carer

Foster carers can be asked to apply for an Enhanced DBS check in the child workforce with a check of the Children’s Barred List. This is because foster care is named in the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 as regulated activity with children. The foster carer is paid and so is not entitled to a free-of-charge check.

Fostering household members

As fostering household members are living with someone who is carrying out regulated activity in their home, household members aged 18 and over are eligible to be asked to apply for an Enhanced DBS check in the child workforce with a check of the Children’s Barred List. Household members are not in regulated activity though. As the foster carer is paid, this application will not be free-of-charge. In private fostering circumstances, a DBS check can be requested on household members aged 16 and over.

Respite carers and backup support roles

If they are named and assessed as part of the overall fostering registration arrangement and meet the requirements of regulated activity (refer to Annexe A), respite carers and those in backup support roles can be asked to apply for an Enhanced DBS check in the child workforce with a check of the Children’s Barred List. As the foster carer is paid, these applications are not free-of-charge. This is regardless of whether the applicants are paid to provide the respite or supporting roles.

If these roles are not named and assessed as part of the fostering registration and are just a personal arrangement with the foster parents, then there is no eligibility for a Standard, Enhanced, or Enhanced with Barred List(s) DBS check.

Fostering/adoption service or agency staff

Those working in fostering or adoption who have contact with the children or access to sensitive or personal information about children can be asked to apply for a Standard DBS check.

Fostering/adoption panel members

Members of a fostering or adoption panel can be asked to apply for an Enhanced DBS check in the child workforce without a check of the Children’s Barred List.

Charities and aid organisations working overseas

Where someone is employed or volunteers to work over overseas for a charity, they may be eligible for a DBS check if the suitability decision is made in England or Wales.

A Basic DBS check can be requested for any overseas aid work and some roles may be eligible for a different level of check.

If an individual currently lives outside the UK, or has previously lived outside the UK, a DBS check may not provide a complete view of their criminal record because DBS cannot access criminal records held overseas.

Overseas criminal records checks are known as ‘certificates of good character’. The process for obtaining these checks varies from country to country and you will have to apply in the country itself or to the relevant embassy in the UK.

More information on how to get a criminal record check overseas, can be found in the Home Office ‘Criminal records checks for overseas applicants’ guidance.

If an organisation asks for a certificate of good character for an individual from the UK, this is referred to as a police certificate and can be obtained through ACRO Criminal Records Office.

Scenario 7

An organisation is recruiting doctors to provide healthcare to children in Zambia. The suitability decision will be made in London. If they are recruiting individuals from England, Wales, the Channel Islands, or the Isle of Man, they can ask them to apply for an Enhanced DBS check in the child workforce with a check of the Children’s Barred List. This is because providing healthcare as a regulated healthcare professional is regulated activity. If the decision is being made overseas, an ICPC should be requested instead of a DBS check. If the individual has previously lived or worked in other countries, a certificate of good character could also be requested from those relevant countries.

Scenario 8

The same organisation is also recruiting doctors in Zambia to provide healthcare to children. The suitability decision is still being made in London so the organisation can ask them to apply for an Enhanced DBS check in the child workforce with a Children’s Barred List check. This is because providing healthcare as a regulated healthcare professional is regulated activity. If the individual in Zambia has never visited the UK, a DBS check is unlikely provide an accurate view of their criminal record. It is therefore advisable to request a certificate of good character from their home country.

Scenario 9

An organisation in England is recruiting volunteers to help build a community centre in Belize. If the suitability decision is being made in England, Wales, the Channel Islands, or the Isle of Man they can be asked to obtain a Basic DBS check as the work they will be undertaking does not allow for a Standard, Enhanced, or Enhanced with Barred List(s) DBS check. If the suitability decision is being made in Belize, then they can ask for a police certificate via ACRO Criminal Records Office if the individual is from the UK or a certificate of good character from their home country.

Annexe A: Definition of regulated activity with children

Regulated activity is something that must not done by a person who is barred. If someone is included on the Children’s Barred List, they must not apply to work in a role that involves regulated activity with children.

If someone who knows they are barred from regulated activity with children applies for work that meets the definition of regulated activity below, they are committing an offence; as is anyone who allows them to work in a role involving regulated activity knowing that they are barred. Both could be liable for up to 5 years imprisonment and/or a fine.

An organisation that has any number of roles that meet the definition of regulated activity is known as a ‘regulated activity provider’. These organisations have a legal duty to make referrals to DBS when they believe a person has caused harm or poses a future risk of harm to vulnerable groups, including children. They also must provide information to DBS when requested to do so by us and may be fined unless they have a reasonable excuse for not providing the information.

Regulated activity can fall into one of 4 parts below:

Part 1

The following activities only need to be carried out once to be regulated activity with children:

• Providing personal care – which is:
  • physical help with, or prompting and then supervising a child in connection with eating or drinking because the child needs it due to their illness or a disability
  • providing any form of training, instruction, or guidance to a child in relation to eating or drinking because the child needs it due to their illness or a disability
  • physical help with, or prompting and then supervising a child in connection with toileting, washing or dressing because the child needs it due to their age, illness, or a disability
  • providing any form of training, instruction, or guidance to a child in relation to toileting, washing or dressing because the child needs it due to their age, illness, or disability
• Providing healthcare by, or under the direction or supervision of a regulated healthcare professional

Part 2

The following activities need to be carried out on more than 3 days in any 30-day period, or once at any time between 2am and 6am (with the opportunity for face-to-face contact with children) to be regulated activity with children:

• Teaching, training, or instructing children, unless the teaching, training or instruction is incidental to teaching, training or instruction of people who are not children; if the individual doing these activities is supervised by someone else who is in regulated activity with children, then they are not in regulated activity themselves so are only eligible for an Enhanced DBS check without a Children’s Barred List check
• Caring for or supervising children, unless the care or supervision is incidental to care for or supervision of people who are not children
• Providing any form of advice or guidance wholly or mainly for children relating to their physical, emotional, or educational well-being; this does not include anyone providing legal advice to children

Individuals do not need to be in contact with the same children over this time frame – it can be with any number of different groups/individuals.

Part 3

The following activities need to be carried out on more than 3 days in any 30-day period to be regulated activity with children:

• Moderating an internet chat room which is likely to be used wholly or mainly by children
• Driving a vehicle specifically for children, including anyone supervising or caring for the children, as part of a formal third-party arrangement

The following activities are also regulated activity with children:

• Regular day-to-day management or supervision of a person carrying out regulated activity with children
• Being a foster carer

Part 4

If charity workers/volunteers are not carrying out any of the activities explained in parts 1 to 3, they could still be carrying out regulated activity with children if they do their work in certain establishments and meet certain criteria.

The establishments are:

• an educational institution exclusively or mainly for the provision or full-time education of children
• a pupil referral unit
• an alternative provision academy in England only
• a provider of nursery education
• a detention centre for children
• a secure accommodation service for children in Wales only
• a children’s home or a home provided under the Children Act 1989
• a care home wholly or mainly for children in Wales only
• a children’s centre (managed by or on behalf of, or under arrangements made with, an English local authority, through which early childhood services is made available, and at which activities for young children are provided, by way of early years provision or otherwise)
• relevant childcare premises
• a children’s hospital in Wales only

If the charity workers are working in any of the establishments listed above, they must also meet all the criteria below:

• They work there on more than 3 days in any 30-day period, or once overnight between 2am and 6am with the opportunity for face to face contact with the children
• They have the opportunity, because of their job/role, to have contact with the children in the establishment and
• They work there for the purpose of the establishment
• It is not temporary or occasional work

If they are unpaid, to be regulated activity they must not be supervised by someone else who is in regulated activity. If they are in a paid role, they can be supervised by someone else and still be in regulated activity.

These criteria are aimed at ancillary roles, such as admin staff, cleaners etc.

Work with children

Where an individual is not in regulated activity but still has contact with children, they can still be eligible for an Enhanced DBS check without a check of the Children’s Barred List. This is described as ‘work with children’. This includes situations where the individual would be in regulated activity but do not do the activity often enough. You can find out more about this in the DBS child workforce guide.