Do I Need a DBS Check for Youth Club Work?
You are likely to need either a Standard or Enhanced DBS Check if you are working at a youth club, with children under 18 years old or vulnerable adults. People attending a Youth Club are vulnerable and need safeguarding and protecting, to keep them safe from harm. By DBS Checking anyone who works in this environment, gives peace of mind to parents, guardians, the business, and other staff, that the children trusted to their care at the youth club will be safe.
What Does a Standard DBS Check Report?
A standard DBS will check your past criminal history to see if you have any unspent or spent convictions, cautions, reprimands, or final warnings. You cannot request a standard DBS yourself; it would have to be the youth club employer who requests this on your behalf. This check helps employers to know whether someone is trustworthy and dependable to hire in their organization. Typically, job roles, such as solicitors, accountants, security and health and social care roles may need at Standard DBS Check. In a youth club setting, if there are cooks, administrators or maintenance staff who do not work directly with the young people, then they may need at Standard DBS Check.
What Does an Enhanced DBS Check Report?
Like the Standard DBS, this is not a Check you can request yourself; your employer needs to request this on your behalf. This is a more thorough check, which will check for everything that a Standard DBS does such as unspent and spent convictions, cautions, reprimands, and warnings. It will also report on any locally held police information that may be relevant to your job role; and the Barred Lists may be looked at. If you have been placed on a barred list due to past behaviour that may include neglect abuse, and violence towards children or vulnerable adults, then you are barred from working with these groups, and would not be suited for youth club work. In a youth club setting, if your work directly with the young people, then you are likely to need an Enhanced DBS Check.
Youth Centres and Youth Clubs
A Youth Centre may be a place of safety where young people can gain support and advice; or a place to socialise and conduct recreational activities. With Youth Centres, the employer holds the responsibility to ensure staff are DBS Checked.
A Youth Club could be run by volunteers, and there may be no employer. In this case, the employee or volunteer has responsibility to be DBS Checked. If any employee or volunteer is conducting regulated activity with children, then they need an Enhanced DBS Check.
What Does Regulated Activity mean?
Regulated Activity with children includes teaching, instructing, training, caring for them or supervising them, giving them guidance and advice on their well-being, and driving vehicles containing children unsupervised. If in your role at the Youth Club you will be doing these activities more than three times within 30 days, then you will require an Enhanced DBS Check with Barred Lists. If you are on a Barred List, you are not allowed to conduct regulated activities.