Childcare providers: who needs a DBS check
Who needs a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, the type required, and how to get one.
Applies to England
Introduction
Ofsted has a legal responsibility to make sure that everyone involved in looking after children is suitable.
The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) is a government body that carries out checks for public- and private-sector organisations to help them make safer recruitment decisions. It also maintains lists of people who are barred from certain kinds of activity involving children, adults or both. These are called the ‘barred lists’.
DBS checks (previously known as CRB or criminal record checks) usually take about 6 weeks to process. You will need to pay a fee to get a DBS check.
Once your check has been carried out, you will get a certificate that you can show to parents or employers. You will need the certificate to register with Ofsted.
Who needs a DBS check
Everyone who is registering to provide childcare will need to get a DBS check.
Other people associated with your registration may also need a check, depending on what kind of provider you will be registered as.
If the registered provider is an organisation, everyone who is associated with the provision of childcare will usually need a DBS check. If the childcare is being provided in a home, anyone who lives or works in the home where childcare is provided will usually need a DBS check.
Full details on who needs to register for each provider type are given below.
If you already have a DBS certificate
You may be able to use an existing DBS certificate if it meets the requirements for your role.
We can usually accept existing certificates of this type if you are signed up to the DBS Update Service.
If you are not signed up to the DBS Update Service, we can only accept your certificate if both of the following apply:
- It is dated in the last 3 months.
- You obtained it through the Ofsted DBS application service.
If you are already registered with Ofsted
Ofsted may accept an older certificate if you are already registered with us and you are moving to a role that has the same DBS requirements.
If you are moving to a role that requires a home-based DBS check, you must ensure that your DBS check is home based.
What type of DBS check each type of person needs
You must make sure that everyone who needs one has the right kind of DBS check.
If you are applying for a new registration, you must have the correct type of DBS check before you submit your application. If you do not, your application will be delayed.
The usual type of DBS check for working with children is:
- ‘enhanced’
- with ‘children’s barred lists’
- for the ‘child workforce’
- issued in the last 3 months (unless you are subscribed to the DBS Update Service)
There is a particular check for those who operate childcare in their home. We refer to that as the ‘home-based’ check.
Types of childcare
Types of childcare include:
- Childminder based at home (‘childminder with domestic premises’) – up to 4 people (including you) looking after children, partly or always in someone’s home.
- Childminder based outside the home (‘childminder without domestic premises’) – up to 4 people (including you) looking after children somewhere that is not someone’s home.
- Childcare on domestic premises – 5 or more people looking after children, mostly or always in someone’s home.
- Childcare on non-domestic premises – any number of people looking after children somewhere that is not someone’s home.
Who needs a DBS check and what type of check they need are explained below.
Childminder based at home
You will need a home-based check if you work (or may work) in your own home.
Anyone else living in the home who is over the age of 16 (including anyone who stays overnight on a regular basis) will also need a home-based DBS check.
Other people requiring the usual type of DBS check are:
- anyone helping to provide childcare in your home (childminder assistants)
- anyone who regularly does any kind of work in the home while children are present, but is not caring for children (for example, a cleaner)
Those who will be caring for children with you cannot start work until they have had their suitability confirmed by Ofsted.
You do not need a DBS check for anyone who:
- is a friend or relative who comes round occasionally and will not have unsupervised contact with children
- works in the home when childcare is not taking place (for example, cleaning in the evenings or at weekends)
As well as the above checks being carried out and provided to Ofsted, you – as the provider – must check the DBS and barred list information of any potential employee before they have unsupervised contact with children.
Childminder based outside the home
Anyone who will be providing childcare with you on your premises, including childminder assistants, needs the usual type of DBS check
The following types of people do not need a DBS check:
- people working on your premises who are not caring for children (such as cooks or cleaners)
- anyone else providing childcare that is not part of your registration (such as another registered childcare provider working from the same location)
- visitors or anyone working temporarily on the premises (for example, builders)
Ofsted is responsible for completing suitability checks of anyone who works with and/or has regular contact with children. Those who will be caring for children with you cannot start work until they have had their suitability confirmed by Ofsted.
Childcare on domestic premises
For this registration type, the ‘registered person’ (or, if it is an organisation, everyone who makes up the registered person) will need a DBS check. If they live in the home where childcare will be provided, they will need a home-based check. Otherwise they will need the usual type of DBS check referred to above.
If the registered person is an organisation, the people who make it up are as follows:
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For a company set up solely or mainly to provide childcare, this will be everyone listed at Companies House as being legally responsible for the company, such as a director.
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For a charity set up solely or mainly to provide childcare, this will be the trustees listed at the Charity Commission as being legally responsible for the charity.
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For a partnership, this will be all the partners, unless you are registering on the voluntary part of the General Childcare Register only, in which case only the nominated individual will require a DBS check.
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For committee-run childcare, this will be all the committee members.
If your company, charity or partnership is not set up for the main purpose of providing childcare, only the nominated individual will need a DBS check.
Anyone else living in the home who is over the age of 16 (including anyone who stays overnight on a regular basis) will also need a home-based DBS check.
Other people requiring a DBS check need the usual type of check listed above:
- anyone helping to provide childcare in your home (childminder assistants)
- anyone who regularly does any kind of work in the home while children are present, but is not caring for children (for example, a cleaner)
You do not need to let us know about anyone who:
- is a friend or relative who comes round occasionally and will not have unsupervised contact with children
- works in the home when childcare is not taking place (for example, cleaning in the evenings or at weekends)
As well as the above checks being carried out and provided to Ofsted, you – as the provider – must check the DBS and barred list information of any potential employee before they have unsupervised contact with children. You are responsible for ensuring that anyone who has not had their suitability confirmed by Ofsted does not have unsupervised contact with children and is not included in staff-to-child ratios.
Childcare on non-domestic premises
For this registration type, everyone who comes under the ‘registered person’ will need the usual type of DBS check referred to previously.
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For a company set up solely or mainly to provide childcare, this will be everyone listed at Companies House as being legally responsible for the company, such as a director.
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For a charity set up solely or mainly to provide childcare, this will be the trustees listed at the Charity Commission as being legally responsible for the charity.
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For a partnership, this will be all the partners, unless you are registering on the voluntary part of the Childcare Register only, in which case only the nominated individual will require a DBS check.
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For committee-run childcare, this will be all the committee members.
If your company, charity or partnership is not set up for the main purpose of providing childcare, only the nominated individual will need a DBS check.
Employees who work at the provision do not need a DBS check as part of the Ofsted registration, unless they form part of the ‘registered person’. However, as a provider of childcare on non-domestic premises, you are responsible for making sure that they are suitable, and will need to ensure that they have the appropriate DBS check.
Nanny
If you register with Ofsted as a nanny, you will need a DBS check:
- If you are a live-in nanny, you will need the home-based DBS check.
- If you do not live in the home where you work, you will need the usual DBS check.
How to get a DBS check
To apply for a DBS check, you will need:
- a debit or credit card
- your home address(es) for the past 5 years and the dates you have lived at each address
The details that you include on your DBS application must match the details you are providing as part of your registration application.
Once you have applied for the DBS check, you will need to download and fill in an identity checking form. Make sure you follow the instructions carefully.
You need to ask a professional – like a teacher, nurse or accountant – to fill in and sign section B of the form. This has to be a UK resident you have known for at least a year. It cannot be a relative or someone you live with. If you can’t find anyone to sign the form, you can use the Post Office document certification service.
You will need ID documents like your:
- passport
- driving licence
- utility bill
- bank statement
When you have filled out this form and had it signed you will need to scan it, along with the required documents, and email them to ofsteddbs@securitywatchdog.org.uk or post them all to the address on the form.
You should get your certificate within 6 weeks. It can sometimes take a lot longer, for example if you have lived in different places in the last 5 years.
If you are still waiting after 6 weeks, you can contact the DBS.
What Ofsted does with your DBS check
Once you have received your DBS certificate:
- if you are applying as part of a new registration, you will need to include your DBS number in your application
- if you are applying as part of an existing registration, you can include this on your application or contact us to let us know the number on the certificate
If we need you to send us the original certificate by post, we will let you know.
If we need to discuss anything on your DBS check, we will contact you.
Household members or those working on the childminding premises
If you will be living or working with a childminder, childminder without domestic premises or provider of childcare on domestic premises, you should give them the 12-digit number on your DBS certificate.
If they have not yet registered with Ofsted, they will need to provide the number to Ofsted when they apply to register. If they have already registered, they will need to provide the number to Ofsted and tell us that you are living or working on the premises where the childcare takes place.
DBS Update Service
We strongly recommend that you sign up for the DBS Update Service to keep your certificate up to date. If you choose to subscribe to the DBS Update Service, you must do so within 30 days of your certificate being issued.
If you are not on the update service, we will only accept your DBS certificate if you applied for it through the Ofsted DBS Application portal, and the issue date is within the last 3 months. This means that, if there are issues or mistakes that delay your application, you may have to get a new DBS check.
If you join the service, you can then use your DBS certificate for any new jobs or roles with children. You won’t have to apply for a new certificate each time as long as the level of DBS you currently have meets the requirements. It also means that if we need to repeat your DBS check in the future, for example if your circumstances change, we may be able to do this without you having to pay a fee for a new check.
Further information
The DBS provides further guidance: Home-based positions flowchart for child and adult workforces