What regulated activity is for
Regulated activity is the legal line that decides who can be barred from working with children. The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) keeps a children’s barred list. A barred person commits an offence if they work in regulated activity, and so does an employer who knowingly lets them. Only roles in regulated activity can have a check of the barred list.
The full definition is in Schedule 4 of the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006. It has been amended by the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 and now by the Crime and Policing Act 2026. Keeping children safe in education 2026 (KCSIE) sets it out for schools in Part three.
The definition, in three parts
KCSIE 2026 says regulated activity with children includes:
- Paid or unpaid work that involves teaching, training, instructing, caring for or supervising children, giving advice or guidance on their physical, emotional or educational wellbeing, or driving a vehicle only for children.
- Any other paid work in a “specified place”, which includes schools and colleges, where the work gives the opportunity for contact with children.
- Relevant personal care or health care, at any frequency. Personal care means help with eating and drinking because of illness or disability, or with toileting, washing, bathing and dressing because of age, illness or disability.
Work under 1 or 2 is regulated activity only if it is done frequently, or on more than 3 days in any 30-day period, or overnight. A footnote explains that overnight means at any time between 2am and 6am with the chance of face-to-face contact with children. Paid work in a school that is occasional and temporary, and doesn’t involve any of the activities in 1, is not regulated activity.
What changed on 1 September 2026
Until 31 August 2026, the law had a “supervision exemption”. Someone doing teaching, care or supervision work who was themselves supervised, regularly and day to day, by another person in regulated activity was not in regulated activity. Schools could not check whether a supervised volunteer was barred.
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse found this left gaps. Section 139 of the Crime and Policing Act 2026 removed the exemption from Schedule 4, and the Commencement No. 2 Regulations (SI 2026/939) brought it into force on 1 September 2026. The Home Office says the change means everyone in these roles can now have the highest level of DBS check, “regardless of whether they are working under supervision”.
KCSIE 2026 reflects this. The old Annex E on supervision has gone, and so has the DBS flowchart, which the DfE says was no longer accurate (Annex C, summary of changes).
Who is in regulated activity in a school
| Role | In regulated activity? | KCSIE 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Teachers, teaching assistants and most other staff | Yes, in most cases. They need an enhanced DBS check with children’s barred list information | Paragraph 318 |
| Volunteers who teach, train, instruct or supervise children on more than 3 days in 30, or overnight | Yes, even if supervised | Paragraph 383 |
| Volunteers who help occasionally | No. Carry out a written risk assessment | Paragraphs 387 to 390 |
| Contractors | Depends on the work. Those with regular contact but not in regulated activity get an enhanced check without the barred list | Paragraphs 369 to 370 |
| Governors | Not for governance itself, only if they also do regulated activity | Paragraph 392 |
| Host families for homestays the school arranges | Yes, for the period of the stay | Paragraph 412 |
Anyone giving personal care, such as helping a child with toileting, is in regulated activity even if they only do it once.
Volunteers: what to do now
KCSIE 2026 paragraphs 383 to 390 set out the steps:
- New regular volunteers. Get an enhanced DBS check with children’s barred list information. If someone volunteers at several settings and only meets the 3 days in 30 test across all of them, the settings should agree who applies for the check (paragraph 384). The DBS Update Service is free for volunteers.
- Existing volunteers brought into regulated activity on 1 September 2026. The school must check their barred list status, through an enhanced DBS check with barred list information. A standalone barred list check can be used if you want them to carry on while the certificate is awaited (paragraph 385).
- Early years. In settings covered by the EYFS, volunteers must not start until the school has the enhanced certificate with barred list information (paragraph 386).
- Volunteers not in regulated activity. Carry out and record a written risk assessment. A volunteer with no checks must never be left unsupervised or allowed to work in regulated activity (paragraphs 387 to 390).
Why it matters beyond checks
Two more duties follow from regulated activity:
- Referral to the DBS. If someone in regulated activity is dismissed or removed because of safeguarding concerns, or would have been if they hadn’t resigned, the school must refer them to the DBS. Failing to refer when the criteria are met is a criminal offence (KCSIE 2026 paragraph 190). Since 1 September 2026 this covers supervised volunteers too.
- The mandatory reporting duty. The Crime and Policing Act 2026 will require people aged 18 or over in regulated activity with children in England to report child sexual abuse. That duty isn’t in force yet. See the mandatory reporting duty.
To see which checks a particular role needs, use the safer recruitment checks tool. For how to record them, see the single central record.