A Guide to Ofsted DBS Check Guidance for Education
As well as evaluating teaching standards and student success, another priority of Ofsted is to keep people safe in the educational establishments they oversee and inspect.
Therefore, Ofsted has clear policies and requirements regarding DBS Checks in education and educational establishments.
This article will describe the Ofsted DBS Check requirements and how to understand them.
DBS Checks In Education: Safe Recruitment
Ofsted helps to govern the way that schools, colleges, nurseries, and other educational establishments recruit people.
In order to ensure high standards in educational recruitment, Ofsted sets out recruitment guidelines that help to identify and deter individuals that may pose a risk to the safeguarding of children.
DBS Checks help to determine whether applicants are suitable to work at a school, college, nursery, or similar educational establishment.
Regulated Activities with Children
Most people that work in an educational setting will need to get an Enhanced DBS Check and barred list check, as they are engaged in what is known as a regulated activity.
The children’s barred list is a list of people that are not allowed, by law, to work with children. It is illegal for someone to knowingly apply for a role working with children if they are on the barred list or for an education provider to knowingly hire such an individual.
A person is considered to working in a regulated activity if they do one or more of the following:
- Train, instruct, teach, or supervise children frequently in a school or college
- Employees or volunteers who work in a setting that involves contact with children in an unsupervised way
- Provide personal or intimate care to a child or children.
The above criteria means that all teachers and people that run afterschool clubs, as well as other roles such as healthcare assistants that visit schools will be eligible for an Enhanced DBS Check with barred list check.
Educational Employees Who Are Not Involved In Regulated Activity
Employees that work in roles that are not considered to be regulated activities may still need to get an Enhanced DBS Check, depending on their duties.
Employees in most schools, nurseries, and colleges will need an Enhanced DBS Check as they’ll be in frequent contact with children, whether supervised or not.
The ules also apply to any outside contractors that come in to work at a school and have contact with children, regardless of frequency.
Do Volunteers Need A DBS Check?
A volunteer that works in a regulated activity needs to get an Enhanced DBS Check with a children’s barred list check.
If a volunteer is fully supervised while involved in a regulated activity, for example, helping children to read whilst a teacher is there, then they are not considered to be involved in a regulated activity, as it must be unsupervised work.
What About School Governors?
School governors must have Enhanced DBS Checks, since the government enacted new legislation in 2016.
However, they will only need a children’s barred list check if they are involved in regulated activity as part of their school governance duties.
When Should DBS Checks Be Renewed?
Ofsted, the governing body for schools in the UK, stipulates that DBS Checks should be renewed every 3 years at least.
Summary of DBS Checks In Education
DBS Checks for educational establishments are important for safeguarding of children.
Most educational roles will require an Enhanced DBS Check and any that are classed as regulated activities will also require a children’s barred list check.
To find out more about DBS Checks in schools and other educational establishments, get in touch today.
