Organisations, schools, colleges and community groups that work with children are being reminded of an important safeguarding change that comes into force on 1 September 2026.
The UK Government has confirmed that the supervision exemption within the definition of regulated activity has now been removed. This means that many volunteers who regularly work with children will now be classed as undertaking regulated activity, even if they are supervised by another member of staff.
What does this mean?
From 1 September 2026, volunteers carrying out activities such as teaching, training, instructing, caring for or supervising children will be considered to be in regulated activity if they:
- Work with children on more than three days in a 30-day period, or
- Volunteer overnight.
As a result, these volunteers must have an Enhanced DBS check with Children’s Barred List information before undertaking regulated activity. Enhanced DBS checks for volunteers continue to be free of charge.
Who is affected?
The change primarily affects volunteers, as paid staff working in regulated activity with children were already required to meet these safeguarding requirements.
Schools, colleges, childcare providers and voluntary organisations should now review their volunteer roles and recruitment processes to ensure they comply with the updated legislation before the new academic year begins.
It’s important to note that occasional volunteers, such as parents helping at a one-off school trip or PTA event, are generally not affected unless they meet the frequency or overnight criteria.
Community VISION encourages all organisations that rely on volunteers to review their safeguarding procedures and ensure appropriate DBS checks are in place to help keep children safe.
Read the full Government guidance:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-or-volunteering-in-regulated-activity-with-children/regulated-activity-removal-of-the-supervision-exemption-comes-into-force-1-september-20
Share this:
Discover more from Community VISION CIO
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.