STORY
Safeguarding rules governing people who regularly work with children have changed from 1 September. The supervision exemption has been removed from the legal definition of regulated activity with children in England and Wales, with corresponding changes also being introduced in Northern Ireland.
People who regularly teach, train, instruct, care for or supervise children may now be considered to undertake regulated activity even when another suitable adult supervises them. This can include school reading volunteers, assistant sports coaches and instructors at outdoor activity centres.
The change applies where the relevant work takes place on more than three days in a 30 day period or once overnight between 2am and 6am. Organisations can seek an Enhanced DBS check containing Children’s Barred List information for eligible roles, although the change does not mean that every occasional volunteer automatically requires a new check.