The definition of regulated activity with children changed on 1 September 2026. Organisations should now review roles that involve work with children, particularly where an earlier DBS eligibility decision relied on supervision.
The change removed what was commonly called the supervision exemption. Relevant teaching, training, instruction, care or supervision of children can therefore be regulated activity even when the person carrying it out is supervised, provided the other legal conditions are met.
This should not be presented as a volunteer-only issue. The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) says its regulated activity guidance applies whether individuals are paid or unpaid. The practical outcome still depends on the activities, setting, frequency and circumstances of the role.
There is an important education-specific nuance. Department for Education (DfE) guidance for schools, colleges, and childcare settings says paid staff who have contact with children are already in regulated activity and that volunteers are the main group affected by the September change.
For HR, recruitment, safeguarding and compliance teams, this makes a review of relevant roles and previous DBS eligibility decisions particularly important.
Please note: This article provides general information based on published DBS, government and DfE guidance. It is not legal advice. Eligibility must be assessed against current official guidance and the specific role.
What changed on 1 September 2026?
Regulated activity is work that a barred person must not do. Where a person is in regulated activity with children, an organisation will be able to ask for an Enhanced DBS check in the child workforce with a Children’s Barred List check.
Before 1 September 2026, certain people who taught, trained, instructed, cared for, or supervised children frequently enough could fall outside regulated activity if they were sufficiently supervised by someone else who was in regulated activity. This supervision rule applied to both paid staff and volunteers.
That supervision exemption has now been removed. If someone carries out these activities often enough, or overnight, they can be in regulated activity with children even when they are supervised.
The other conditions still matter. For these activities, DBS defines “often enough” as more than three days in any 30-day period, or once overnight between 2am and 6am. The change does not mean that everyone who works with children is automatically in regulated activity.
What counts as regulated activity with children?
The DBS regulated activity guidance is the practical starting point. It describes the activities, establishments and positions that can make a role eligible for an Enhanced DBS check with a Children’s Barred List check, and states that the guidance applies to paid and unpaid individuals.
Depending on the circumstances, regulated activity can include:
- teaching, training or instructing children
- caring for or supervising children
- providing certain advice or guidance about a child’s educational, emotional or physical wellbeing
- providing healthcare or relevant personal care
- certain driving activities involving children
- regularly managing or supervising someone who carries out regulated activity
- certain work in specified establishments
Different rules apply to different activities. Some must take place on more than three days in a 30-day period, or meet the overnight condition. Certain healthcare and personal care activities can be regulated activity even if carried out only once. Work in a specified establishment has its own criteria.
How those conditions combine can produce different outcomes, even between roles that appear similar on paper. The DBS examples below show this in practice.
What could this look like in practice?
The DBS has published several examples showing how the removal of the supervision exemption can affect different roles. These are useful because they demonstrate why employers need to consider the activity, frequency and circumstances of the role, rather than looking only at whether somebody is paid or volunteering.
Four examples (adapted from the DBS guidance):
Example 1: A weekly reading volunteer
A parent volunteers at a primary school every Monday morning, listening to children read. A teacher is always nearby and supervises the volunteer.
Before 1 September 2026, the parent was not in regulated activity with children because the school considered them to be sufficiently supervised.
That supervision exemption has now been removed. Because the parent carries out the activity frequently enough, the role is now regulated activity with children and they can be eligible for an Enhanced DBS check with Children’s Barred List information.
Example 2: An occasional art volunteer
Another parent helps with art activities at the same primary school, but only volunteers once a month. A teacher is present and supervises them.
This role is not carried out frequently enough to meet the period condition for regulated activity.
The removal of the supervision exemption therefore does not make this role regulated activity with children.
The individual may still be eligible for an Enhanced DBS check without a Children’s Barred List check, depending on the circumstances of the role.
Example 3: A community music club volunteer
A volunteer helps at a children’s community music club twice a week. They assist with lessons and supervise children while the main instructor is present.
Previously, the volunteer may have fallen outside regulated activity if the club determined that the main instructor provided sufficient supervision.
From 1 September 2026, that supervision no longer provides an exemption. Because the volunteer instructs or supervises children frequently enough, the role is now regulated activity with children.
The organisation should therefore consider whether an Enhanced DBS check with Children’s Barred List information is required in line with the relevant guidance.
Example 4: A paid outdoor activity instructor
The change is not limited to volunteers.
Consider a paid instructor at an outdoor activity centre who leads climbing and canoeing sessions for groups of schoolchildren four days a week. Teachers are present and a senior instructor supervises their work.
Before 1 September 2026, the instructor may not have been in regulated activity if the centre determined that the senior instructor provided sufficient supervision.
That exemption has now been removed. Because the instructor teaches or instructs children frequently enough, they are now carrying out regulated activity with children.
The organisation should therefore consider whether an Enhanced DBS check with Children’s Barred List information is needed.
Taken together, the DBS examples show why employment status alone does not determine the outcome. The activities being carried out, their frequency, and the circumstances of the role all need to be considered when assessing regulated activity and DBS eligibility.
Who is affected?
The change can affect both paid staff and volunteers where teaching, training, instruction, care, or supervision of children was previously outside regulated activity because sufficient supervision was in place.
The DBS examples above show why each role must be considered individually. Frequency, overnight activity, and the nature of the work still determine whether the role meets the definition of regulated activity.
For schools, colleges and childcare settings, there is an important distinction. DfE guidance says paid staff who have contact with children are already in regulated activity, so volunteers are the main group affected in those settings.
Organisations should therefore use DBS guidance as the general eligibility framework and apply any relevant sector-specific guidance when reviewing individual roles.
Who should review their recruitment process?
The change is relevant well beyond schools. Organisations that engage people to work with children may need to review affected roles, including:
- schools, multi-academy trusts, colleges and childcare providers
- charities and community organisations
- sports clubs, governing bodies and children’s activity providers
- healthcare and care organisations
- youth services and mentoring programmes
- organisations using contractors, sessional workers, or volunteers to provide services directly to children
If your organisation employs, engages, or uses volunteers to work with children, relevant roles should be considered against the updated DBS guidance.
Three questions every employer should ask
1. What activities does the person actually carry out?
Record the duties that matter for DBS eligibility. Does the person teach, train, instruct, care for or supervise children? Do they provide healthcare, personal care, advice or guidance? Do they manage someone in regulated activity? Establish where the work happens and whether a specified establishment is involved.
2. How often and in what circumstances will they do it?
Check frequency and any overnight activity. For some activities, the period condition is more than three days in a 30-day period or once overnight between 2am and 6am where there is an opportunity for face-to-face contact. Other activities do not require the same frequency.
3. Are we requesting the correct level of DBS check?
An Enhanced DBS check and an Enhanced DBS check with Children’s Barred List information are not interchangeable. Barred list information should only be requested where the organisation is legally entitled to it. Revisit historic decisions that relied on supervision and keep a record of the guidance and role information used.
Download our Regulated Activity Checklist Review
EBC Global’s Regulated Activity Checklist Review helps HR, recruitment, compliance and safeguarding teams benchmark their current process. It prompts teams to check whether relevant roles have been reviewed, eligibility decisions have been updated and the appropriate DBS route is being used.
Download the Regulated Activity Checklist Review PDF →
The checklist is a practical review tool to use alongside official DBS and government guidance.
Why a documented job role review is crucial
Labels such as ‘coach’, ‘mentor’, ‘assistant’, ‘volunteer’ or ‘support worker’ rarely contain enough information to determine DBS eligibility. Two people with the same title can perform different duties; two people with different titles can carry out the same regulated activity.
A useful role record should capture:
- the activities the person will perform
- the children or age group involved
- the setting and whether it is a specified establishment
- frequency and any overnight activity
- healthcare, personal care or management responsibilities
- whether the role is paid, unpaid, voluntary, temporary or occasional
- the workforce and official eligibility guidance used
- the level of DBS check selected and the reason for that decision
Recording these facts creates a clearer basis for the screening decision and makes it easier to review that decision if the role or guidance changes.
What does the change mean for the Children’s Barred List?
The Children’s Barred List is maintained by the DBS. A barred person must not carry out regulated activity from which they are barred, and an organisation must not knowingly permit them to do so.
Removing the supervision exemption means that relevant supervised roles can now fall within regulated activity and become eligible for an Enhanced DBS check with a Children’s Barred List check. It does not make barred list information available for every role involving contact with children.
This distinction is important: the Act changes eligibility for the highest-level check in affected roles, but it does not by itself create a universal requirement for every employer to carry out that check. Separate requirements may apply in regulated sectors. Organisations should follow the rules relevant to their setting and obtain legal advice where necessary.
What should organisations do now?
- Identify relevant roles. Include employees, volunteers, contractors, and other positions involving work with children.
- Prioritise decisions that relied on supervision. Review roles previously kept outside regulated activity because day-to-day supervision was in place.
- Capture the eligibility facts. Document duties, setting, frequency, overnight activity and any healthcare, personal care or management responsibilities.
- Use current official guidance. Start with DBS eligibility guidance and apply the relevant sector-specific material, including DfE guidance for schools, colleges and childcare settings.
- Update screening workflows. Make sure the right check is triggered, and barred list information is requested only where the role is eligible.
- Keep an audit trail. Record the decision, its evidence and who approved it, then set a review point when duties or guidance change.
- Brief decision-makers. Ensure HR teams, safeguarding leads, hiring managers, and volunteer coordinators understand the post-September position.
Technology should support recruitment compliance
The change also highlights a wider screening challenge: the eligibility decision and the application workflow need to remain connected. Email, spreadsheets and disconnected systems can make it difficult to see why a check was selected or whether role information has been reviewed.
Well-configured employment screening software can help organisations standardise workflows, manage DBS applications, maintain records and audit trails, improve visibility across teams and locations, and coordinate DBS checks with other pre-employment screening.
Technology should not determine legal eligibility from a job title. Its value is in making a properly informed human decision more consistent, visible, and manageable.
How EBC Global can help
EBC Global supports organisations with employment background checks, DBS workflows, and wider pre-employment screening through Employment Check Pro and API integrations. Support can include:
- DBS workflows, including RO/RB processes designed to support accuracy and governance
- job role and DBS eligibility reviews
- structured pre-employment screening workflows
- Employment Check Pro background screening software
- API-based screening integrated with recruitment technology
- complimentary recruitment screening process reviews
The aim is to help organisations build screening processes around the roles they actually recruit for while keeping decisions aligned with current DBS and government guidance.
A focused response to the September change
The removal of the supervision exemption is a targeted but important change. Organisations should identify roles whose earlier eligibility assessment relied on supervision, check them against current DBS and sector guidance, and update the screening route where necessary.
A consistent role-review process will help employers make proportionate decisions without applying a blanket rule to every employee or volunteer who works with children.
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Official sources
FAQs
What changed to regulated activity with children on 1 September 2026?
The supervision exemption was removed. Relevant teaching, training, instruction, care or supervision of children can now be regulated activity even where the person is supervised, provided the other applicable conditions are met.
Does the change apply only to volunteers?
No. DBS regulated activity guidance says it applies whether individuals are paid or unpaid. However, DfE guidance for schools, colleges and childcare settings says paid staff who have contact with children are already in regulated activity and that volunteers are the main group affected in those settings.
Do all supervised volunteers now need an Enhanced DBS check with Children’s Barred List information?
No. The role must meet the definition of regulated activity. Organisations must consider the activity, setting, frequency and other relevant conditions. Occasional help may remain outside regulated activity.
What is the frequency condition for relevant activities?
For certain activities, the period condition is more than three days in a 30-day period, or once overnight between 2am and 6am where there is an opportunity for face-to-face contact with children. Different rules apply to healthcare, personal care and some other activities.
What is the difference between an Enhanced DBS check and a Children’s Barred List check?
An Enhanced DBS check can include relevant police information. Children’s Barred List information is an additional check available only for legally eligible roles, including roles in regulated activity with children.
Should organisations review existing role decisions?
Yes, particularly where a pre-September 2026 decision relied on supervision. Organisations should reassess the role using current official guidance and document the basis for the updated decision.
