DBS checks for Schools, Teachers, Tutors and Other Education Providers

DBS Checks are a key aspect of safeguarding compliance in the education sector. Teaching and supervising children or young people on a regular basis gives education staff a duty of care second only to parents and guardians. DBS Checks give those hiring in the education sector the information they need to protect the welfare of their students from those that may wish them harm.

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Enhanced DBS Checks

Enhanced DBS Checks are the baseline requirement for nearly every job role in the education sector. This level of check shows an individual's full criminal record history. This includes cautions, warnings, reprimands, spent and unspent convictions, an optional search of the Barred Lists, as well as any relevant notes from the police.

Enhanced DBS Checks aren’t just a requirement for staff. Visitors, contractors or volunteers frequenting education premises on a regular basis must also have an Enhanced DBS Check carried out. These checks are in place to ensure that students are protected from being exposed to potentially dangerous or barred individuals.

Barred Lists & Regulated Activity

The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) maintain the Barred Lists. These lists contain the names of ‘barred’ individuals. Those named are barred from working with certain vulnerable groups. The Children’s Barred List (also called the List 99) is a list of all the individuals barred from carrying out ‘regulated activity’ with children.

As they work with children and young people, the majority of staff in education environments are carrying out regulated activity. Regulated activity is work that a barred person must not do. This means the Enhanced DBS Checks carried out on these staff must include a search of the Children’s Barred List.

Tutors, Coaches and Extra-Curricular Education

Education isn’t limited to formal classroom teaching. Private tutors, coding coaches, study groups and other out-of-school-setting (OOSS) education providers all have a duty to safeguard the children and young people in their care. An OOSS provider is classed as any institution or provider that provides tuition, training, instruction, or activities to children in England without their parents’ or carers’ supervision that is not a:

school
college
16-19 academy
provider caring for children under 8 years old, which is registered with Ofsted or a childminder agency”

When dealing with education outside of traditional school environments, the eligibility for the DBS Check can get a little more complex. There are certain instances where an Enhanced DBS Check isn’t appropriate and you could even be breaking the law by trying to gain one. If you want to be sure you’re remaining compliant, give us a call and we can have a chat with you about your requirements. Just click the button below to request a callback from one of our experts

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DOWNLOAD OUR LATEST EBOOK ON IMPLEMENTING SAFE AND COMPLIANT DBS CHECKS IN EDUCATION

In this guide, we’ll examine the mandatory requirements for DBS Checks in education and other relevant background checks.

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Why Personnel Checks

Personnel Checks support schools, colleges, academy trusts and further education providers of all sizes with their DBS Check and screening requirements. Processing background checks for nearly two decades, we have one of the lowest error rates and fastest turnaround times of any screening business in the UK. With Personnel Checks you can be confident that you have the information you need to protect those under your care and supervision.

If you’re ready to join the community of thousands, that already trust us with their DBS Checks, get in touch! Click the button below to request a callback or feel free to give us a call on 01254 355659 for a no-obligation consultation with an account manager.

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Frequently asked questions

In the education sector, nearly every person requires an Enhanced DBS Check to be compliant with Ofsted rules and basic safeguarding requirements. This includes full-time staff, parent volunteers, governors, building contractors and anyone else who is potentially having contact with children and young people frequently enough.
The usual minimum frequency is more than 3 times within a 30 days period. However, there are other rules that apply which mean this frequency doesn’t need to be met. This includes roles like parent chaperones present on an overnight school trip.
If you’re unsure whether a role meets the eligibility criteria for an Enhanced DBS Check, get in touch and we can discuss this with you in more detail.
Some education providers work with a range of ages, including students that are aged 18 or older. It is easy to think that this would mean that the DBS Checks carried out on your staff would need the Adult’s Workforce and Barred List checks included. This isn’t the case for most staff members.
The Adult Workforce and Barred Lists are reserved for roles that entail supporting, caring for or teaching vulnerable adults. In education, this means these checks only apply to staff involved with caring and supporting SEND students who are 18+.
The eligibility criteria for these checks can be complex. Some roles only require the Adult Workforce to be included. Others need both the Barred Lists and the Workforce.
If you are unsure about whether your staff meet the relevant criteria, give us a call and we can discuss this in more detail.
The cost of a DBS Check varies depending on which level of check is being applied for. Our list prices are:
Basic DBS Check: £43.10
Standard DBS Check: £52.20
Enhanced DBS Check: £75.90
Volunteer DBS Check: £26.40
What you see is what you get. We have no hidden fees and we don’t charge extra for ‘fast-track’ services that don’t exist.
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If you employ or contract anyone to work on a school or college site, outside of usual hours then a DBS Check may not be needed.

This is only the case if there is absolutely no way for there to be any possible contact between the individual and a child. If you are not 100% confident that there is no potential overlap, then a DBS Check should be carried out.
For example, building contractors working on a school during the summer holidays when there are no children present would not necessarily require a DBS Check.

If however there were summer schools, youth clubs or any other groups attended by children on-site at the same time, an Enhanced DBS Check would be required.
Education providers have no statutory requirement to complete new DBS Checks on existing staff members in continuous service. New checks must be carried out in the following circumstances:
- They are beginning a new role giving them greater access to children or have more responsibility
- There has been a break of more than three continuous months between leaving their old role and taking up a new one
- There are concerns about the person which may affect their suitability
- They have never had a DBS Check
This last point is included by Ofsted because individuals who were registered with them before the introduction of the DBS scheme were not obligated to have one carried out.