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DBS Check Policy

Last Updated Jun 15, 2026

DBS Check Policy

Policy Owner: Designated Safeguarding Lead | Last Reviewed: March 2026 | Next Review: March 2027

1. Purpose

This policy outlines NSEMM’s requirements for Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks as part of our commitment to safeguarding children and vulnerable adults.

2. Scope

This policy applies to all staff, volunteers, trustees, and contractors who have regular contact with children or vulnerable adults through NSEMM activities.

  • Police Act 1997 ss.113A-113BA (Enhanced DBS certificates and barred list access)
  • Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 (barring arrangements and regulated activity, including Sch 4 definition; duty to refer under s.35)
  • Protection of Freedoms Act 2012
  • Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975
  • Keeping Children Safe in Education 2025 (best-practice alignment for independent educational providers)
  • DfE OOSS guidance: Keeping children safe during community activities, after-school clubs and tuition (updated February 2026)

4. Types of DBS Check

4.1 Enhanced DBS with Barred List Check

Required for roles that constitute regulated activity under SVGA 2006 Sch 4. Online 1:1 tutoring of children is regulated activity (“any form of teaching, training or instruction” of a child; frequency threshold met at more than 3 days in any 30-day period, or at weekly intervals). Roles in scope:

  • All tutoring and teaching roles
  • Community Education Fund (CEF) volunteers and organisers with direct student contact
  • Designated Safeguarding Lead
  • Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer (operational leadership with unsupervised access)
  • Volunteer roles involving unsupervised direct work with young people

4.2 Enhanced DBS (without Barred List)

Required for roles with regular contact with children or sensitive safeguarding information, but where the role does not constitute regulated activity. Per Police Act 1997 s.113BA and SVGA 2006, barred-list checks are restricted to regulated activity; applying them outside that scope is unlawful. Roles in scope:

  • Trustees and board members (governance-only roles; not regulated activity)
  • Administrative roles with access to sensitive safeguarding information
  • Roles with regular supervised contact with children or vulnerable adults

4.3 Standard DBS

Required for roles with occasional indirect contact with children or young people, as assessed through the recruitment risk assessment process.

4.4 Basic DBS

Required for back-office and support roles with no meaningful contact with children, where an Enhanced or Standard check is not warranted by the role profile.

4.5 Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) Prohibition-from-Teaching Check

All tutoring and teaching roles are subject to a TRA prohibition-from-teaching check via the Employer Access service before commencement. This is separate from the DBS check. A person subject to a prohibition order must not be engaged in a teaching or tutoring capacity.


5. Recruitment Process

  • DBS checks must be completed before an individual starts in a regulated activity role.
  • In exceptional circumstances, a risk assessment may allow supervised work to begin while a DBS check is being processed.
  • All offers of employment or engagement are conditional upon a satisfactory DBS check.
  • See the Safer Recruitment Policy for the full recruitment process.

6. Duty to Refer (SVGA 2006 s.35)

NSEMM has a statutory duty under SVGA 2006 s.35 to refer an individual to the DBS where:

  • the individual has been removed from regulated activity (or would have been removed had they not resigned, retired, or had their engagement terminated), AND
  • NSEMM believes the harm test is met (the individual has harmed, or poses a risk of harm to, a child or vulnerable adult).

Failure to refer when the duty is triggered is a criminal offence. The Designated Safeguarding Lead is responsible for determining whether the harm test is met and initiating any referral. This duty applies regardless of whether the DBS process has been completed.

7. DBS Update Service

  • NSEMM encourages staff and volunteers to register with the DBS Update Service.
  • Where an individual is registered with the Update Service, NSEMM will conduct a status check annually.
  • Staff not registered with the Update Service will have a new DBS check every three years.

8. Handling DBS Disclosures

  • A criminal record does not automatically bar an individual from working with NSEMM.
  • A risk assessment will be conducted by the Designated Safeguarding Lead and HR considering the nature, circumstances, and relevance of the offence.
  • Decisions are made on a case-by-case basis and documented.

9. Record Keeping

  • DBS certificates are not retained by NSEMM.
  • A secure record of the DBS check date, certificate number, and outcome is maintained in the Single Central Record (SCR). The SCR is the definitive record of all pre-employment checks and must be updated within 24 hours of any check being completed.
  • Records are kept in line with the Data Retention Policy.

10. Overseas Applicants

Applicants who have spent 6 months or more in any single country outside the UK in the last 5 years must provide a certificate of good conduct or equivalent from the relevant country (or as much information as is available where no formal certificate exists), in addition to a UK DBS check. This threshold aligns with DfE OOSS guidance (Keeping children safe during community activities, after-school clubs and tuition, updated February 2026).

12. DBS Routes: Employed and Self-Employed Tutors

NSEMM’s tutors are engaged as employed workers. NSEMM does not currently engage self-employed sessional tutors; this provision is retained so that, should such an engagement ever arise, the appropriate DBS route (the January 2026 umbrella-body route for self-employed tutors) is available.

Policy Details

Published Apr 26, 2026