From 1 September 2026, the Crime and Policing Act 2026 changes the definition of "regulated activity" for anyone working or volunteering with children. This guide explains what you need to do to comply.
This change isn't limited to schools and childcare settings. It may apply to you if you run any environment involving children, including:
sports clubs
community groups
charities
The change applies to both paid and voluntary roles.
What's changing?
The Act removes the "supervision exemption." Previously, if you supervised an unpaid volunteer doing activities like teaching, training, instructing, or caring for children, that volunteer's work wasn't classed as regulated activity.
From 1 September 2026, this exemption no longer applies. You must now treat this activity as regulated if it meets either of these conditions:
Frequency condition: the person carries out the activity on more than 3 days in a 30-day period.
Overnight condition: the person carries out the activity overnight.
If a volunteer meets either condition, you must ensure they have an enhanced DBS check with children's barred list information.
Who does this affect?
This change applies to both paid and voluntary roles, in any setting involving children — not just schools, colleges, and childcare providers.
Paid staff: If you employ paid staff who have contact with children, they're already in regulated activity. This hasn't changed.
Volunteers: This is the main group affected. If your volunteers were previously supervised by a staff member, they may not have needed a check before. From 1 September 2026, you must get them an enhanced DBS check with children's barred list information if they meet the frequency or overnight condition.
This means the change is also relevant to you if you run a sports club, community group, or charity, and you have paid staff or volunteers working with children.
It's a criminal offence if:
a barred person engages in regulated activity, or
you permit a barred person to engage in regulated activity.
You must make sure any volunteer now in regulated activity is not barred from working with children.
How do you check that a person is not barred?
Carry out an enhanced DBS check with children's barred list information for anyone in regulated activity.
You have two options, depending on your setting. Note that the DfE service is only available to schools and colleges — if you run a sports club, community group, or charity, use the enhanced DBS check with children's barred list information directly.
Standalone children's barred list check — You can get this through the Department for Education (DfE) "check a teacher's record" service, but only if:
the person will start regulated activity before their DBS certificate arrives, or
you've recently obtained an enhanced DBS check without barred list information and there's been no break in service.
Enhanced DBS check with children's barred list information — Use this if you run a 16 to 19 Academy, an independent training provider, or a childcare setting. You can't access the DfE "check a teacher's record" service for these settings.
DBS checks for volunteers are free of charge.
What if someone volunteers in multiple settings?
If a person volunteers in more than one setting, count each day of teaching, training, instructing, caring for, or supervising a child across all settings toward the 3-day-in-30-days condition.
For example: if someone volunteers 4 days a month, even across 4 different schools, they are in regulated activity.
To manage this:
Work with other schools to agree who applies for the DBS check.
Ask the volunteer to share their check details with each school they help at.
Encourage the volunteer to join the DBS Update Service when they apply for their enhanced check with barred list information. This is free for volunteers and lets you:
keep their check up to date without reapplying, and
verify their certificate without requesting a new check.
What about overnight school trips?
If a volunteer helps on an overnight school trip, they are now in regulated activity. You must get them an enhanced DBS check with children's barred list information.
Do occasional volunteers need a check?
No. If a parent or carer helps out only occasionally, you don't need to get them an enhanced DBS check with children's barred list information.
This change only applies if someone works or volunteers in a supervised role with children:
on more than 3 days in a 30-day period, or
overnight, between 2am and 6am.
For example, you don't need an enhanced check with barred list information for a parent who helps:
at an occasional PTA event, or
on a day trip that isn't overnight.
You can still request an enhanced or basic DBS check without barred list information for these occasional volunteers, if you'd like one.
What happens if a current volunteer is barred?
If someone is barred from working with children and currently volunteers in a supervised role, they cannot continue in regulated activity. This is because barred individuals are assessed as posing a risk of harm to children.
If you identify a barred volunteer affected by this change:
They must inform you (their school, college, or childcare setting).
They must immediately stop volunteering in regulated activity.
This change is designed to increase children's safety by preventing people who pose a risk of harm from working regularly with children in any role.