Do all my holiday club staff need a DBS check? A guide for camp providers in 2026

What is a DBS check?

DBS stands for the Disclosure and Barring Service. The service provides a background check of a person’s criminal record so you can make a safe and informed decision when recruiting.

What does a DBS check tell you?

A DBS check tells you about a person’s criminal history and nothing more. It says nothing about character, judgement or behaviour around children.

The certificate also only covers convictions held in the UK. So if your applicant has lived overseas, you might have to do some additional checks.

While it’s a useful tool to help you make an informed hiring decision, a DBS check should always be used in conjunction with other safeguarding practices.

⭐ Eequ Pro Tip: Make sure you have a safeguarding policy drawn up for your organisation so your employees understand their roles and responsibilities in keeping children safe at your camp.

What are the different types of DBS checks?

There are four types of DBS checks you can apply for.

Basic DBS check — only shows convictions and conditional cautions that are unspent.
Standard DBS check — also shows some spent convictions and cautions. But these are ‘filtered’ so some offences, like minor offences or youth cautions, are still not disclosed. Don’t worry, serious offences like violent or sexual crimes will never be filtered out.
Enhanced DBS check — in addition to the information provided by a standard check, an enhanced check includes relevant information from the police. This means that if a police officer believes they know something that is important to the role, i.e. working with children, they can share it even if there was no conviction.
Enhanced with Barred Lists DBS check — this is the most detailed check. It provides all the information above but also checks that the applicant is legally allowed to work with vulnerable groups, including children.

What DBS check do I need as an activity provider?

As an activity provider working with children, you will likely need an Enhanced DBS check for most of your employees. In some cases, you might also need a Barred Lists check.

The Barred List prevents people from working in something called ‘regulated activity’. The criteria for an activity to be ‘regulated’ depends on the type of job you are doing and how often you interact with children.

Your employees will need a Barred Lists check if they are working with children in any of these ways at least three times in a 30-day period or once overnight:

Teaching, training, instruction, care for or supervision of children (i.e. a sports coach)
Advising children about their educational, emotional or physical wellbeing (i.e. a wellbeing team member)
Driving a vehicle for children

They will also need a Barred Lists check if they are providing healthcare or personal care to children, even if this is only performed once.

If your activity is carried out in a ‘specified establishment’, anyone who works there might also need a Barred Lists check, even if they are not in a teaching or supervising role. A specified establishment is an institution set up mainly for the purpose of educating or supervising children, such as a school, children’s centre, or nursery.

Anyone who works in these places will need a Barred Lists check if:

They work there more than 3 days in a 30-day period, or once overnight
They have the opportunity to have contact with children
They work there for the purpose of the establishment
It is not temporary or occasional work
It is not a supervised volunteer role

So a cleaner or gardener who works regularly in a school, with the opportunity to interact with the children, would also need a Barred Lists check.

If your employees do not meet the criteria for a Barred Lists check (i.e. will be teaching or supervising children less than three days in a 30-day period), they will only need an Enhanced DBS check.

What are my legal obligations?

Legally, you don’t have to request a DBS check for your employees unless they meet the conditions for regulated activity outlined above. However, parents/carers might expect you to background check all staff who have contact with children, regardless of whether it’s a legal requirement.

When an employee will be carrying out any regulated activity, you have a duty to refer them to DBS for a Barred Lists check. This is a legal requirement that is essential to safeguarding the children at your camp.

Paid employees in regulated activity cannot start working until their DBS and Barred Lists check has been completed. The rules are slightly different for volunteers; we go into this in more detail below.

Remember that a DBS check is the bare minimum and does not guarantee a safe club on its own.

⭐ Eequ Pro Tip: An Enhanced DBS check can take about six weeks to be processed, so make sure to start the application process well in advance of your camp start date!

What about volunteers, parents and visitors?

Up until 31 August 2026, volunteers may not need a Barred Lists check if they are reasonably supervised by someone who has already been properly vetted. “Reasonable” considers the regularity of the supervision and the circumstances of the activity.

However, new guidance is coming into effect this year in order to improve safeguarding practices. As of 1 September 2026, volunteers who meet the criteria for working in regulated activity will also need a Barred Lists check even if they are sufficiently supervised.

Parents and visitors won’t need a DBS check unless they are carrying out any of the regulated activities we’ve already discussed. For example, if a parent volunteers to drive a group of children to and from an activity camp on more than three days in a 30 day period, they meet the requirement for an Enhanced DBS check with Barred Lists check. But if they are just observing the activities and do not come into any contact with children, they do not.

What is the DBS Update Service and should I use it?

It can be expensive to process DBS checks which can feel frustrating if an individual has already got a DBS certificate from their previous employment.

To help streamline the process, you can ask your employees to subscribe to the DBS Update Service. This lets you view existing Standard or Enhanced certificates for free, if the same level and type of check is required.

The subscription costs £16 annually for employees. You can only view their certificates with their consent.

It’s a great tool that can save you time and money while speeding up safeguarding processes.

⭐ Eequ Pro Tip: An Enhanced DBS with Barred Lists check costs £49.50 plus administrative costs, so it might be more cost effective to ask your employees to sign up to the Update Service.

How do I read a DBS certificate when it comes back?

A DBS certificate can look more complicated than a simple ‘pass’ or ‘fail’. It will detail any information about a person’s criminal record that is relevant to the level of check you requested.

If an Enhanced certificate comes back clear, it means the individual has no spent or unspent past convictions.

If they do have unspent convictions, these will be listed along with the date of the conviction, the name of the court, and the offence they were convicted of.

A separate section will confirm whether the individual is on a barred list. It is against the law for anyone on a barred list to work in a role involving the groups they are barred from.

Is a DBS check enough on its own?

The short answer is no. A DBS check is a useful tool to make sure your employees don’t have a relevant criminal history, but it’s not a blanket statement of good character. Make sure to do your due diligence and collect references from previous employers to screen for other potential red flags that won’t show up on a DBS.

It’s also not enough to rely on checks conducted before your employees start working. Collecting feedback from children and families throughout the course of the camp ensures information is kept up to date. You should also make sure your team understands your internal reporting procedure so any safeguarding concerns can be identified and acted upon early.

Many providers also implement a supervision period for new starters to regularly check in on their progress and troubleshoot any issues. This allows you to keep an eye on staff conduct and ensure safeguarding training is properly understood.

Safeguarding doesn’t stop at a DBS check. It’s only a small part of an ongoing safeguarding policy which should include training, feedback and reporting throughout the course of your camp.

FAQs

Can any staff member start before their certificate comes back?

Paid staff members in regulated activity should not start working until their Enhanced DBS and Barred Lists check comes back.

Up until 1 September 2026, volunteers can technically start before their certificate comes back, provided they are never left unsupervised with children, but this is always a risk. Once the new law comes into effect, the same rules apply as for paid staff members in regulated activity.

Employees who do not interact with children, for example accountants or admin staff, can start before their certificate comes back if necessary. However it’s always a good idea to wait for the checks to be completed before onboarding in case the certificate flags something serious.

What should I do if a certificate comes back with something on it?

If the certificate shows that an individual is on the barred list, you must reject their application immediately.

If the certificate lists past convictions or cautions, it is up to your discretion what to do with this information. For example, if an individual has a past conviction for speeding, you might decide that is not relevant to the position they have applied for.

It’s important to consider factors like the nature of the conviction and the time passed since it was received. Think about whether the information disclosed makes any difference to the safety of your camp.

How often do I need to renew a DBS check?

DBS checks don’t technically expire, but it’s generally good practice to renew them at least every three years.

Asking your staff to sign up to the Update Service can save time and money and ensure DBS certificates are regularly updated.

Who pays for a DBS check?

As an employer, you are generally expected to pay for the DBS check, but this is not a legal requirement. DBS checks for volunteer roles are free of charge.

Key links:

Safeguarding culture is important to nurture in your organisation. We know that good safeguarding takes time and attention, and no platform can change that. What Eequ can do is take everything else off your plate, collecting bookings, payments, registers, parent communications and more all in one place, keeping your focus where it matters most. See how Eequ works for activity providers here.

Accurate as of 16 June 2026. Always check GOV.UK for the latest guidance.