DBS Checks for Teachers & Education

Q: Who needs an Enhanced DBS Check in an Educational Organisation?

In an educational organisation, an Enhanced DBS Check is required for individuals who are involved in regulated activity with children. This typically includes:Teachers and Teaching Assistants: Anyone directly responsible for educating or supervising children.Support Staff: Such as lunchtime supervisors, classroom helpers, and learning mentors who have regular contact with pupils.Volunteers: Those who work unsupervised or regularly with children in schools or early years settings.Administrative Staff: If they have unsupervised access to children or handle sensitive information related to pupils.School Governors and Trustees: When they have regular contact with children or access to confidential information.Contractors and Third-party Staff: If they work frequently on school premises and have contact with children, such as cleaners or maintenance workers.After-school Club and Holiday Scheme Staff: Those supervising or caring for children outside regular school hours.The Enhanced DBS Check will also usually require a check against the Children’s Barred List to ensure individuals barred from working with children are not employed.

DBS Checks for Teachers and Education and Early Learning

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DBS Checks for Teachers and Education

Types of organisations that need DBS Checks for Teachers and Education Staff

There are a range of services within Education and Early Years that require DBS Checks for education and childcare staff.

These include, but are not limited to:

Schools, including primary, secondary, independent, and special schools, require DBS checks for teachers, ancillary staff and volunteers who work with children. This includes teachers, teaching assistants, administrative staff, support workers, lunchtime supervisors, and governors who have regular or unsupervised access to pupils.

Nurseries and Early Years Centres provide care and education for young children, fostering their development in a safe and nurturing environment. Staff working in these settings require DBS checks to ensure they are trustworthy and capable of safeguarding children, as part of their safe recruitment responsibilities.

Primary and Secondary Schools offer education to children and young people across various age groups. Teachers, teaching assistants, support staff, and volunteers all need DBS checks to protect pupils and comply with statutory safeguarding requirements.

Childminders and Home-based Childcare Providers deliver personalised care and early education within a home environment. DBS checks are essential for these providers to ensure children’s safety and support safe recruitment practices.

Special Educational Needs (SEN) Schools and Services support children with additional learning needs or disabilities, offering tailored education and care. Staff working in SEN settings must undergo DBS checks to safeguard vulnerable learners effectively.

After-school Clubs and Holiday Play Schemes provide childcare and enrichment activities outside normal school hours. All staff and volunteers involved need DBS checks to ensure safe environments for children.

Child and Family Support Services offer assistance and guidance to families and children facing challenges. Professionals working in these roles require DBS checks to maintain safeguarding standards.

Educational Psychologists and Therapy Services deliver specialised support to children within educational settings. These regulated professionals must have DBS checks to protect children’s welfare.

School Transport Services involving drivers and escorts who work closely with children require DBS checks to ensure children’s safety during travel.

Governors and School Volunteers who regularly engage with children or have unsupervised access must undergo DBS checks to maintain safe school communities.

Youth Clubs and Community Education Providers offer educational and recreational activities to young people. Staff and volunteers are required to have DBS checks to safeguard participants.

Ensure Safety and Compliance with DBS Checks for Education and Early Years

We specialise in providing DBS Checks for education professionals and those working in nurseries and early learning settings. Whether you’re recruiting new staff, onboarding volunteers, or managing existing employees in schools, nurseries, or childcare centres, our comprehensive background screening helps safeguard children and ensures your organisation meets all legal and regulatory requirements.

A DBS check for education is a thorough background screening process that reveals any criminal records, cautions, or other relevant information about individuals applying to work with children and young people in educational or childcare environments. This check is vital for protecting pupils, toddlers, and the wider school community by ensuring that only trustworthy and suitable individuals have access to these sensitive settings.

In nurseries and early years centres, where safeguarding is paramount, having staff who have passed rigorous DBS checks reassures parents and regulators alike that children are safe and cared for by responsible professionals. Our DBS checks help schools and nurseries maintain a secure environment, comply with statutory safeguarding obligations, and foster trust within their communities.

Whether it’s teachers, teaching assistants, nursery practitioners, administrative staff, or volunteers, our DBS screening service supports your commitment to creating safe, nurturing, and compliant learning environments for every child.

The Children's Barred List Explained

The Children’s Barred List is an official register in the UK that contains the names of individuals who are legally barred from working with children. It plays a vital role in safeguarding by preventing unsuitable individuals from being employed in positions that involve direct contact with children, such as roles within education and early years settings. Anyone listed on the Children’s Barred List is prohibited from undertaking regulated activity with children, which includes many positions in schools, nurseries, and childcare centres.

Individuals are added to the Children’s Barred List following investigations that identify them as a risk to children, often due to past misconduct or harmful behaviour. The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) manages this list and carefully reviews evidence before deciding to bar someone. This ensures that only those who genuinely pose a threat to children are prevented from working in education or early years environments, where safeguarding is of utmost importance.

When recruiting for education and early years roles, employers are required to carry out an Enhanced DBS Check with a Children’s Barred List check. This enhanced check includes detailed criminal record information as well as a search against the Children’s Barred List. By doing so, organisations can confidently verify that candidates are not only free of disqualifying offences but also not barred from regulated activities involving children. This process is essential for maintaining safe learning and care environments in schools and nurseries.

The inclusion of the Children’s Barred List in Enhanced DBS Checks ensures a comprehensive safeguarding approach, providing an extra layer of protection for children in education and early years settings. It supports compliance with legal requirements under the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act and gives parents, carers, and organisations peace of mind that only suitable individuals are working with their children.

How to get for DBS Checks for Education and Early Years

CRBonline is a cutting-edge, AI-powered web platform designed to simplify how Education and Early Years organisations manage their DBS check processes online. The system automates and supports every stage, providing intelligent guidance from registration to result delivery.

Getting Started

Once your organisation signs up, you will receive secure login details. You can then add internal users, such as HR or safeguarding officers, and assign them the appropriate permissions to manage DBS Checks for your Teachers and other staff and volunteers

Initiating a DBS Check for Education and Early Years

To begin a DBS check for childcare or education roles, simply enter the applicant’s name and email address into the system. The applicant will be sent an email invitation to access their application.

Upon clicking the link and setting their password, applicants are guided through the form with AI-driven validation that helps prevent common errors such as incorrect National Insurance numbers or incomplete address histories.

ID Verification and Submission

Once the applicant submits their details, you will be notified to complete the ID verification stage. You confirm the identification documents presented, and the platform’s smart validation ensures all legal requirements are fulfilled, alerting you once the correct combination has been recorded.

You will then be prompted to specify:

The level of DBS check required (Basic, Standard, or Enhanced)
The applicant’s job role
Whether a Barred List check is necessary
If the position is voluntary
Whether the role is home-based

The AI system further reduces errors by verifying eligibility based on the information provided.

Payment Options

After finalising the check details, payment can be made through several flexible options:

Pay-as-you-go
Prepaid credit bundles
Delegated billing, where the applicant receives the invoice and pays directly—ideal for organisations where education or childcare staff cover their own DBS check costs.

Submission and Results

Once payment or credits are confirmed, the DBS application is securely and immediately submitted to the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). Both your organisation and the applicant will receive notifications, including a unique application reference number and a link to track the progress of the check in real time.

At completion:

The applicant receives the official paper DBS certificate by post.
Your organisation receives an electronic summary of the DBS results through the platform.

Throughout the entire process, the platform’s AI keeps all parties informed with timely updates, ensuring transparency and confidence at every stage.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Answers to the most popular questions we get about DBS Checks for Educational organisations

Who needs an Enhanced DBS Check in an Educational Organisation?

In an educational organisation, an Enhanced DBS Check is required for individuals who are involved in regulated activity with children. This typically includes:

Teachers and Teaching Assistants: Anyone directly responsible for educating or supervising children.
Support Staff: Such as lunchtime supervisors, classroom helpers, and learning mentors who have regular contact with pupils.
Volunteers: Those who work unsupervised or regularly with children in schools or early years settings.
Administrative Staff: If they have unsupervised access to children or handle sensitive information related to pupils.
School Governors and Trustees: When they have regular contact with children or access to confidential information.
Contractors and Third-party Staff: If they work frequently on school premises and have contact with children, such as cleaners or maintenance workers.
After-school Club and Holiday Scheme Staff: Those supervising or caring for children outside regular school hours.

The Enhanced DBS Check will also usually require a check against the Children’s Barred List to ensure individuals barred from working with children are not employed.

How long does a DBS Check for Education take?

Most Enhanced DBS Checks for education roles are completed within 10 working days.

Education-related Enhanced DBS Checks are processed through local police forces and, while some can be completed very quickly—even on the same day—these checks typically take longer than Standard or Basic DBS Checks.

The fastest turnaround we have observed for an Enhanced DBS Check in education settings is around 90 minutes.

Standard DBS Checks for education staff tend to be quicker, with most returned within 3 to 5 working days.

What is the Children's Barred List?

The Children’s Barred List is an official register in the UK that contains the names of individuals who are legally barred from working with children. It is maintained by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) as part of the country’s safeguarding framework.

Being on the Children’s Barred List means a person is prohibited from engaging in regulated activity involving children due to concerns about their suitability, typically following investigations related to harmful or inappropriate behaviour. This helps protect children by ensuring that individuals who pose a risk cannot legally be employed in roles such as teaching, childcare, or other positions where they have direct and unsupervised contact with children.

Employers conducting Enhanced DBS Checks for positions involving children receive information about whether an applicant is on this barred list. This check is a critical safeguard to prevent unsuitable individuals from working with children and is a legal requirement for many roles in education, childcare, health, and social care settings.

Do non-Teaching Staff require a DBS?

Yes, contractors and workpeople on school sites usually need an Enhanced DBS depending on the nature of their work and their contact with children.

If they are engaged in regulated activity—meaning they have unsupervised and frequent contact with children—they require an Enhanced DBS Check with a Children’s Barred List check. Examples may be cleaners, catering staff.

This applies to both regular staff or contractors that work during school hours or in areas where children are present without supervision.

If a contractor is only going to be onsite for a very short amount of time, like a couple of days, then the organisation may assess that a DBS is not required.

Regular external contractors such as electricians etc, that are either visiting regularly, or likely to be onsite for more than a few days also probably need an Enhanced DBS.

What is the DBS Update Service, and does it apply to DBS Checks for Education?

The DBS Update Service is a subscription-based service provided by the Disclosure and Barring Service that helps education professionals and employers keep DBS checks up to date and easily verify their status online. It effectively turns a one-time Enhanced DBS certificate into a continuously monitored record.

This service can be used for any DBS Check level, including those for teachers, teaching assistants, school support staff, and volunteers working with children.

After receiving an Enhanced DBS certificate, an individual can subscribe to the Update Service for £16 per year. The subscription must be activated within 30 days of the certificate’s issue date or during the DBS application process using the unique reference number.

Once subscribed, the same DBS certificate can be used across multiple educational roles, provided each role requires the same level of check and falls under the same workforce category, such as working with children in schools or early years settings. The subscription needs to be renewed annually to remain active.

Employers, with the individual’s consent, can carry out a free online status check to verify whether the Enhanced DBS certificate is still valid. The system will indicate if “This Certificate is up to date” or notify if the “Certificate needs to be renewed” or if they should “Contact DBS” due to any changes that might require further action.

To perform a status check, employers will need the certificate number, the individual’s full name, and date of birth, along with their permission.

More information can be found here.

What is Regulated Activity relating to Children?

Regulated activity relating to children is a legal term defining the kinds of work or roles that involve frequent or intensive contact with children, which require enhanced safeguarding checks under UK law.

Regulated activity includes:

Teaching, training, instructing, caring for, or supervising children regularly.
Providing advice or guidance on physical, emotional, or educational well-being.
Driving a vehicle only for children (e.g., school transport).
Unsupervised work frequently or intensively with children, including overnight stays.

Key Points:

Frequency matters: Usually, this means work is done regularly (once a week or more) or intensively (4 or more days in a 30-day period).
Supervision: Work supervised by someone who themselves is in regulated activity may not count as regulated activity.
Purpose: The activity must be connected to children and involve a degree of responsibility or authority over them.

Anyone doing regulated activity with children must have an Enhanced DBS Check with a check against the Children’s Barred List to ensure they are suitable to work with vulnerable young people.

How long is a DBS Check in Education valid for?

A DBS Check in education, or any other sector, does not have an official expiry date. It only reflects the individual’s criminal record status up to the date the certificate was issued.

This means the information on the DBS certificate is accurate as of that specific date. Unlike a passport, it doesn’t expire after a fixed period, but it also will not capture any new offences or cautions that occur afterward. Because of this, schools and early years providers should consider the issue date and determine whether a new check is necessary based on the age of the certificate and the requirements of the role.

In education and early years settings, it is considered best practice—and sometimes required by regulatory bodies or safeguarding policies—to renew DBS checks regularly, often every three years, to ensure ongoing safeguarding compliance.