A key safeguard is ensuring the people who work and volunteer at the Group have a clear disclosure check (DBS, PVG or Access NI). All volunteers and staff working with our Groups, who carry out a regulated role, must have a disclosure check. It is a mandatory requirement that disclosure checks are renewed every 3 years, regardless of how long the applicant has been with the Group.
You cannot accept an existing disclosure check from alternative organisations, unless that applicant is currently registered with the Updates Service (England & Wales). As a Group, you will need to find a registered body to process your disclosure checks.
Issuing and Checking of Certificates
Once a disclosure check is complete, a certificate will be issued directly to the applicant. The Group must have sight of this certificate to ensure the individual is clear to carry out the role. Once checked, the applicant should keep their certificate safe – the Group are not permitted to keep a copy.
What to do if there is a content on the certificate?
If the certificate has anything recorded, the Group Safeguarding Officer should refer this to the Group Trustees who ultimately must decide if the individual is suitable to volunteer with RDA. It is important to note that if an applicant for a role with an RDA Group is shown to have a criminal record, this does not necessarily bar them from working with the RDA Group. The fact that a person has a criminal record may be irrelevant to the role for which they are applying and it is vital to ensure that individuals are not discriminated against unfairly. Please read the RDA Disclosures Policy on the engagement of a volunteer or employee shown to have a Criminal Record.
DBS (England & Wales)
The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) is a government service which helps employers and voluntary organisations make safer recruitment decisions and prevent unsuitable people from working with vulnerable groups, including children. The DBS searches police records and, in relevant cases, barred list information and then issues a DBS certificate to the applicant. There are three levels of checks offered by DBS, however only Enhanced and Enhanced with Child Barred List is acceptable for RDA groups.
Before a DBS check is undertaken, you must see 3 forms of ID from the prescribed list given by DBS. You can find details of what ID is acceptable here: DBS Official Forms of ID
DBS Update Service
The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) Update Service allows applicants to make their DBS certificates portable across varying organisations. To apply for this, go to: https://www.gov.uk/dbs-update-service
If you have a volunteer who is already registered with the Updates Service, you can check their certificate online by seeing their 3 forms of ID. This then gives you the information you need to be able to perform a status check of their certificate. It must still be an enhanced DBS certificate, and valid for the correct workforce (participants) at you group, as well as having the child barred list where appropriate.
PVG (Scotland)
If your Group is based in Scotland, your disclosure checks are handled by Disclosure Scotland through the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Membership Scheme. Disclosure Scotland supplies criminal history information, upon request, to organisations and individuals, primarily to help them make safer recruitment decisions and prevent unsuitable people from working with vulnerable groups, including children. Disclosure Scotland searches the Police National Computer and where appropriate the children’s and adults list of those barred from working with children and protected adults and then issues a certificate to the applicant.
The PVG Membership Scheme
The PVG Membership Scheme is designed to provide an efficient and portable disclosure. This service lets applicants keep their disclosure certificates up to date online and allows organizations to check a certificate with the permission of the applicant. Once an individual is a member of the PVG scheme all records will automatically be updated if any new convictions or vetting information considered relevant by the police arises.
In order to access the PVG Membership Scheme Groups need to register either through Disclosure Scotland. For more information, click here
Access NI (Northern Ireland)
If your Group is based in Northern Ireland, your disclosure checks are handled by Access Northern Ireland (Access NI). Any queries or application forms are now being accepted by a Registered Body in Northern Ireland called Riding for the Disabled NI. Please contact Belinda Millar at eastantrimrda@gmail.com for more information. When Access NI searches and checks your criminal history, they provide a disclosure certificate with any criminal records. Unspent convictions appear on a basic disclosure certificate. Cautions, spent and unspent convictions appear on a standard or enhanced certificate.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q – Does RDA process disclosure check applications?
A – No, RDA does not offer a service to process disclosure applications.
DBS: Groups in England and Wales are able to search for a Registered Body using the DBS website. We can help you get started with Disclosure Services who is an alternative company, but there is no obligation to use them.
PVG: Groups in Scotland should process applications through Disclosure Scotland, Volunteer Scotland or HorseScotland.
Access NI: Groups in Northern Ireland can process checks through RDANI, a registered body for Access NI checks. Please contact Belinda Millar at eastantrimrda@gmail.com for more information.
Q – Are disclosure checks free for volunteers?
A – All disclosure check applications for volunteers are free. However, registered bodies do tend to add apply an admin charge to applicants, due to the amount of time it takes to process and check the forms are filled in correctly.
Q – When do we have to renew our disclosure checks?
A – It is a mandatory requirement that disclosure checks are renewed every 3 years, regardless of how long the applicant has been with the Group.