Source: Department for Education published on this website on Wednesday 1 July 2026 by Jill Powell
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
The Guidance is for schools, colleges and childcare settings to understand what they need to do to comply with the change to regulated activity that will come into force on 1 September 2026. This is due to changes made by the Crime and Policing Act 2026.
The Act changes the definition of regulated activity by removing the supervision exemption. Under that exemption, unpaid activities such as teaching, training, instructing, or caring for or supervising children were not classed as regulated activity if supervised by someone who was in regulated activity (for example, a class teacher).
This means that all such activity is now considered to be regulated activity if it is carried out frequently, or if it meets the period condition. The period condition means:
- on more than 3 days in a 30-day period
- overnight
All volunteers engaging in regulated activity will need to have an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check with children’s barred list information.
This change will come into force on 1 September 2026.
