New DBS requirements for supervised volunteers and staff working with children

Charities that work with children need to be aware of changes to the rules on regulated activities, which are planned to come into force on 1 September 2026.

On 4 August, the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) published new guidance on the removal of the “supervision exemption” for volunteers and staff who work with children.

Currently, volunteers (and some paid staff in non-school settings) who look after children are exempt from needing full DBS checks, as long as they are supervised by someone else in regulated activity, such as a schoolteacher.

The new law will remove this exemption. This means that from 1 September all volunteers and staff will be in “regulated activity” if they teach, train, instruct, care for, or supervise children, either overnight or for more than three days in any 30-day period. 

This change will impact a large range of volunteer roles, such as classroom reading volunteers, youth group volunteers and sports coaches. It could also affect some paid staff, for instance, an outdoor activity instructor who was previously exempt due to being supervised. 

It will be against the law for a barred person to engage in regulated activity, or for someone, such as an employer, to allow a barred person to carry out regulated activity.  The change only impacts regulated activity with children.

In practice, this means that from 1 September charities will need to ensure that all volunteers and staff who fall within the new wider definition of “regulated activity” have had an Enhanced DBS Check with a Children’s Barred List check.

The Department for Education has already provided guidance for schools, colleges and childcare providers on the upcoming change, which is also included in KCSIE 2026. You can read our recent article on the key changes this introduced for schools.

What should you do now?

Charities whose work involves children should review their safeguarding arrangements for supervised volunteers and staff before 1 September. This should include:

• Identifying volunteers and staff who may potentially fall within the new definition of regulated activity from 1 September. 
• Considering suitable mitigations to address any risks. This may simply mean ensuring enhanced DBS and children’s barred list checks are in place for all relevant volunteers and staff from 1 September. It could also involve practical measures, such as taking steps to avoid volunteers becoming involved in regulated activity. This used to be achievable through supervision alone, but from 1 September it may instead mean having more robust processes in place to ensure volunteers are not regularly involved in activities with children, so they do not meet the threshold of more than three days in any 30-day period (or overnight). 
• Updating the charity’s safeguarding policies and procedures to take account of the changes. 
• Checking the DBS and Charity Commission websites for updates to relevant guidance. At the time of writing, for instance, the DBS eligibility checker shows the pre-1 September rules, but it is expected this will be updated in due course to take account of the new rules. The Charity Commission’s safeguarding guidance for charities has also not yet been updated.

Finally, it is worth noting that the legislation which makes the change, section 139 of the Crime and Policing Act 2026, has not yet been implemented, despite the guidance having been published. This means the change still needs to be formally made before 1 September, so there may yet be further updates and guidance about the changes in the coming weeks.