1 September 2026: What Employers Need to Know About DBS Checks and Regulated Activity

The rules determining who carries out regulated activity with children changed on 1 September 2026. For schools, nurseries, childcare providers, sports organisations, charities and other organisations working with children, this is an important safeguarding and recruitment change.

The supervision exemption has been removed from the definition of regulated activity with children in England and Wales.

At the same time, Keeping Children Safe in Education 2026 has come into force and the Disclosure and Barring Service has published new eligibility guidance to help organisations determine the correct level of DBS check for different roles.

For employers, now is the time to review existing safeguarding and due diligence arrangements.

What changed on 1 September 2026?

Previously, someone who taught, trained, instructed, cared for or supervised children frequently could fall outside regulated activity if they were sufficiently supervised by another person who was already carrying out regulated activity.

This was particularly relevant to supervised volunteers.

From 1 September 2026, that supervision exemption no longer applies.

Where the other regulated activity conditions are met, a person may therefore be carrying out regulated activity with children even though someone else supervises them.

This can include paid workers and volunteers.

The change is not limited to schools or education. It can affect organisations including:

Schools and colleges

Nurseries and childcare providers

Sports clubs and coaching organisations

Youth organisations

Charities

Community groups

Outdoor activity providers

Other organisations where people regularly work with children

What does this mean for DBS checks?

The change can affect the level of DBS check available for a role.

Previously, a person whose role was excluded from regulated activity solely because they were sufficiently supervised could potentially have an Enhanced DBS check without access to Children's Barred List information.

Where that role now meets the conditions for regulated activity, the organisation may be able to obtain an Enhanced DBS check with a Children's Barred List check.

This is significant because regulated activity is work that a person included on the relevant barred list must not carry out.

It is also unlawful for an organisation knowingly to permit a barred person to undertake regulated activity.

However, the DBS has clarified an important point: the legislative change itself does not create a blanket requirement for organisations to obtain new DBS checks for everyone affected.

Employers and organisations remain responsible for assessing the role, determining whether a DBS check is appropriate and establishing the level of check for which the role is legally eligible.

Which roles should employers review?

Organisations should pay particular attention to people who were previously considered outside regulated activity specifically because their work with children was supervised.

For example, this could include a regular school reading volunteer supervised by a teacher or an assistant sports coach working under a head coach.

Frequency still matters.

An occasional volunteer does not automatically enter regulated activity simply because the supervision exemption has disappeared. Employers must assess the activities undertaken, where they take place and how frequently they occur against the regulated activity criteria.

That is why employers should assess the role itself, rather than assuming that every person who has contact with children requires the same DBS check.

New DBS eligibility guidance

The Disclosure and Barring Service also published new eligibility guidance on 1 September 2026.

The guidance is designed to help organisations determine whether roles qualify for:

Basic DBS checks

Standard DBS checks

Enhanced DBS checks

Enhanced DBS checks with Barred List information

The DBS makes clear that the recruiting organisation is responsible for determining the appropriate level.

This matters because employers cannot simply request the highest level of DBS check as a precaution. Applying for a Standard, Enhanced or Enhanced with Barred List check where the role is not legally eligible can itself breach the law.

A clear job description and an accurate understanding of the duties performed are therefore increasingly important parts of safer recruitment.

Keeping Children Safe in Education 2026 is now in force

For schools and colleges in England, Keeping Children Safe in Education 2026 also came into force on 1 September, replacing the previous version.

One practical change concerns safeguarding information for staff.

All staff must now read Part One in full. The previous shorter Annex A version has been removed.

The Department for Education says this means all staff now follow the same safeguarding expectations, including staff who do not work directly with children.

Schools and colleges should therefore ensure that safeguarding induction, policies, training records and staff acknowledgements refer to the current 2026 guidance.

What should employers do now?

Organisations working with children should consider carrying out a safeguarding and due diligence review.

This should include identifying roles previously treated as outside regulated activity because of supervision, checking whether those roles now meet the regulated activity criteria, reviewing the level of DBS check held and considering whether further checking is appropriate.

Job descriptions and volunteer role descriptions should accurately reflect what people actually do, how frequently they do it and the children with whom they have contact.

Recruitment procedures, DBS policies and safeguarding documentation should also be updated where they still refer to the old supervision exemption.

Schools and colleges should separately ensure that their safeguarding arrangements reflect Keeping Children Safe in Education 2026.

Due diligence is not just a recruitment exercise

Pre-employment checks are often treated as something that happens once, immediately before someone starts work.

For regulated and safeguarding-sensitive employers, that approach can leave gaps.

Roles change. Responsibilities change. Guidance changes. Documents expire. Eligibility requirements can change.

Effective due diligence therefore requires employers to understand not only whether a check was completed, but why it was required, what level was appropriate and whether anything has changed since.

Leo HR helps employers bring recruitment, due diligence and ongoing compliance together in one place. From DBS and Right to Work checks to employee records, expiry monitoring and compliance reminders, Leo HR helps employers maintain the evidence behind safer employment decisions.

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