A long wooden table set up before a club session with small plywood robot kits, coiled cables and closed plain laptops
AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.
christiantechnologyclubs

WHAT DBS GUIDANCE SAYS

The right check
for the role.

CHECKED and recruited safely

  • Role first, check second
  • Count the days
  • Free for volunteers
  • Part of safer recruitment, not all of it

The role decides the check, not the club.

Volunteers at a children's coding club, a robotics evening or a drop-in tech help session may all be asked for a DBS check. Which level is allowed depends on what they do and how often, and the law sets the limits.

Updated

Match a role

THE SHORT ANSWER

Four levels,
set by law.

An organisation can only ask for the check
the role is legally eligible for.

LEVELS

Basic to barred lists

A basic check shows unspent convictions; standard adds spent ones; enhanced adds relevant police information; the top level also checks the barred lists.

Match a role

FREQUENCY

How often matters

Teaching or supervising children on more than 3 days in any 30-day period, or overnight between 2am and 6am, is regulated activity.

See the numbers

VOLUNTEERS

No fee for volunteers

If an eligible role meets the DBS definition of a volunteer, the application is free. The Update Service is free for volunteers too.

Steps to take

General information only, not professional safety advice. If someone is in immediate danger, call the emergency services.

MATCH A ROLE

What will the
volunteer do?

Pick the role closest to yours. The bar shows the highest level of check the DBS guidance says the role can be asked for in England and Wales.

Role check

Choose a role
Sets up laptops and serves tea, no teachingBasic check

Anyone can apply for their own basic check. Standard and enhanced checks need the role itself to carry out eligible activities.

Teaches a children's coding session once a monthEnhanced, no barred list

Contact with children below the frequency for regulated activity counts as work with children: enhanced check, without the Children's Barred List.

Teaches or supervises children on more than 3 days in 30Enhanced with barred list

This is regulated activity with children, so the role can be asked for an enhanced check including the Children's Barred List.

Moderates the club's online chat for childrenEnhanced with barred list

Moderating a chat room likely to be used wholly or mainly by children on more than 3 days in any 30-day period is regulated activity.

Source: Disclosure and Barring Service, Working with children in the charity sector and overseas aid organisations (GOV.UK, 2026), Annexe A.

Based on DBS guidance on working with children in the charity sector (2026). Roles vary: check DBS eligibility guidance for yours. Not legal advice.

TWO NUMBERS WORTH KNOWING

Count the days,
skip the fee.

One figure that decides regulated activity,
one on what volunteers pay.

3+ days

Days in any 30-day period that tip into regulated activity

More than 3 days in any 30-day period of teaching, training, caring for or supervising children. The children need not be the same each time.

FREQUENCY · DBS

£0

Yearly cost of the Update Service for volunteers

The DBS Update Service costs £15 a year, but there is no charge for volunteers. It keeps standard and enhanced certificates up to date.

UPDATE SERVICE · GOV.UK

A DBS check has no official expiry date. GOV.UK says it is up to the organisation to decide when a new check is needed.

FOUR STEPS FOR A CLUB

Checks inside
safer recruitment.

A plain blank lanyard badge resting on a wooden table beside a closed folder
AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.

The NSPCC describes safer recruitment as a set of practices, and a DBS check is only one of them.

  1. Describe the role

    Write down what each volunteer will actually do and how often, because that decides eligibility.

  2. Check the volunteer definition

    Unpaid apart from approved expenses, and benefiting someone other than a close relative. Then tick the volunteer box.

  3. Have an ex-offenders policy

    GOV.UK says anyone carrying out criminal record checks must have a policy on employing ex-offenders and show it on request.

  4. Induct with child protection

    The NSPCC says all new staff and volunteers should have an induction that includes child protection.

ACROSS THE UK

Different nations,
different services.

An adult's hands fixing a wheel onto a simple plywood robot chassis with a small screwdriver
AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.

DBS covers England, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. Checks for roles decided in Scotland go through Disclosure Scotland, and in Northern Ireland through Access NI.

DBS checks do not cover time someone lived outside the UK. GOV.UK says to check the rules in the country they lived in.

Questions

Questions people ask

Must every club volunteer have a DBS check?

The law does not say when a check must be done, only when one can be applied for. Organisations set their own policy within those limits.

Is a DBS check free for volunteers?

Yes, for an eligible standard or enhanced check where the role meets the volunteer definition. Students on a qualifying course and work-experience placements do not count as volunteers.

Can we check someone just in case they help with children later?

No. DBS says standard and enhanced checks should only be applied for when the eligible activities are part of the person's everyday responsibilities.

Does a DBS certificate expire?

There is no official expiry date. It is accurate at the time of the check, and organisations decide when to ask for a new one or use the Update Service.

Who is barred from regulated activity?

Anyone on the Children's Barred List must not apply for regulated activity with children. Knowingly allowing a barred person to do it is an offence.

Sources

Where the facts come from

  1. DBS: Working with children in the charity sector and overseas aid organisations (GOV.UK)
  2. GOV.UK: Check someone's criminal record, types of check
  3. GOV.UK: DBS Update Service
  4. NSPCC Learning: Safer recruitment

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