DBS checks for volunteers – new duties for schools and academy trusts

New rules require stringent checks on new and existing volunteers. Schools and academy trusts should act now to be avoid being caught out.

From 1 September 2026, people carrying out certain unpaid activities in educational settings now require an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check with children's barred list information even when they are supervised. But when does this apply, and how should schools and academy trusts approach this?

When are enhanced DBS checks required?

The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 (SVGA) makes it an offence for those appearing on the barred list to engage in 'regulated activity'. The SVGA goes on to define who is barred and defines 'regulated activity' related to children (see below).

What is a 'regulated activity'?

A person is carrying out a 'regulated activity' if they do one or more specified activities including:

• Teaching, training, instructing, or caring for or supervising children; or

• Carrying out other duties in a school, in connection with the school's purposes, with the opportunity for face-to-face contact with children.

These will only constitute 'regulated activity' if the person carries them out:

• On more than 3 days in a 30-day period; or

• Once overnight between 2am and 6am in a 30-day period.

Anyone meeting the definition above is therefore required to undergo an enhanced DBS check with children's barred list information.

What has changed?

Previously, an exemption (known as the supervision exemption) provided that an activity was not 'regulated activity' where it was unpaid and the person carrying it out was supervised by someone who was in regulated activity, for example a classroom teacher. This meant schools did not need to require supervised volunteers to undergo enhanced DBS checks with children's barred list information.

The Crime and Policing Act 2026 has now removed the supervision exemption for volunteers. From 1 September 2026, all volunteers carrying out regulated activity are required to have an enhanced DBS check with children's barred list information before they can carry out that activity.

What do schools need to do now?

Where a volunteer will be carrying out ‘regulated activity’, the school must carry out an enhanced DBS check with children's barred list information before they begin to volunteer.

Schools, colleges and childcare providers should consider carefully whether a volunteer is likely to carry out 'regulated activity'. This will include regular classroom volunteers and anyone volunteering on an overnight school trip. It may not include volunteers who volunteer more occasionally, such as supporting a parent-teacher association event or a day-trip. Schools should carry out an assessment of each case to work out whether it constitutes 'regulated activity'.

What about existing volunteers?

This applies both to new volunteers and to existing volunteers. Schools should audit their use of existing volunteers to check which of them may be carrying out regulated activity, and ensure they have carried out the enhanced DBS check with children’s barred list information.

The Department for Education's statutory guidance Keeping Children Safe in Education 2026 (KCSiE) states that a school can obtain a standalone barred list check in limited circumstances where:

• the school has recently obtained an enhanced DBS check for an existing volunteer without children’s barred list information, and there has been no break in service since that check; or

• the school wishes to allow the volunteer to carry out their volunteer role prior to obtaining the enhanced DBS check.

What if someone volunteers across more than one school?

Where a person volunteers across multiple schools, and all their volunteering taken together would meet the regularity criteria above, this will constitute regulated activity. Each school, college or other institution they volunteer with should ensure the right DBS check has been carried out. The providers may coordinate to agree which of them will carry out the check, but they all have a responsibility to ensure it has been done.

Beyond 'regulated activity'

The school's safeguarding duties do not stop at ‘regulated activity’. KCSiEemphasises that schools must carefully consider the roles of all volunteers, even if they are not carrying out 'regulated activity'. Written risk assessments should be carried out when considering what checks are required. This should cover:

• the nature of any work with children,

• what the establishment knows about the volunteer, including formal or informal information offered by staff, parents and other volunteers,

• whether the volunteer has other employment or undertakes voluntary activities where referees can advise on their suitability, and

• where the role is not regulated activity, whether another level of DBS check might be appropriate, such as:

• an enhanced DBS check without barred list information, for volunteers who would be in regulated activity but do not volunteer frequently, or

• a basic DBS check for any other volunteer who may have access to children.

Schools and academy trusts should keep careful records of checks undertaken on volunteers along with any relevant risk assessments and consideration of whether volunteer activity is regulated activity.

If you would like to discuss any aspect of this article further, please contact our Education team on 0113 244 6100.

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The information in this article is necessarily of a general nature. The law stated is correct at the date (stated above) this article was first posted to our website.

Specific advice should be sought for specific situations. If you have any queries or need any legal advice, please feel free to contact Wrigleys Solicitors.