Revisions made to DBS checks

The need for additional checks on whether staff were disqualified from working with children because people who lived in the same house as them were disqualified from working with children – known as ‘disqualification by association’ has been revised.

The Childcare Act continues to apply to all early years settings (up to and including reception classes in education settings) and to childcare settings for under 8s (this does not include education but does include, for example, breakfast clubs and after school clubs for the purposes of childcare).

The disqualification by association provision has been removed where childcare is provided in non-domestic settings and where safeguarding measures are well observed and followed. Therefore, schools and academies are no longer required to establish whether a member of staff providing, or employed to work in, childcare is disqualified by association. Schools must not ask their staff questions about cautions or convictions of someone living or working in their household.

As a result of the changes, the DfE has issued new statutory guidance which can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/disqualification-under-the-childcare-act-2006.