Guidance

Working or volunteering in regulated activity with children

Guidance on the checks needed for workers and volunteers engaging in regulated activity with children.

• From: Department for Education
• Published: 10 September 2012
• Last updated: 29 June 2026
  Show all updates

  1. 29 June 2026

     Updated 'Regulated activity: removal of the supervision exemption (comes into force 1 September 2026)' to clarify that this guidance also applies to childcare providers.

  2. 15 June 2026

     Updated to reflect the removal of the supervision exemption for volunteers and workers in regulated activity with children. The change comes into force on 1 September 2026.

  3. 10 September 2012

     First published.

Applies to England

Documents

Supervision of activity with children (for use until 31 August 2026)

Ref: DFE-00016-2014

PDF, 137 KB, 3 pages

Regulated activity: removal of the supervision exemption (comes into force 1 September 2026)

HTML

Details

This statutory guidance is for:

• headteachers
• managers
• local authorities

It applies to:

• local-authority-maintained schools
• sixth-form colleges
• further education colleges

It relates to the following legislation:

• Crime and Policing Act 2026
• Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006, amended by Protection of Freedoms Act 2012
• Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups (Northern Ireland) Order 2007, Schedule 2, paragraph 5A