The Vetting and Barring Scheme will cover activities where someone is formally involved with children and/or vulnerable adults.

It does not cover informal relationships between family and friends.

Definition of regulated activity

Involves contact with children or vulnerable adults and is:

Of a specified nature - e.g. teaching, training, care, supervision, advice, treatment

In a specified place - e.g. schools, children's homes & hospitals, adult care homes, juvenile detention facilities.

Is a specified role e.g. fostering, directors of children's services

and occurs Frequently - once a week or more (or once a month or more for health and social care involving personal care)

Intensively - takes place on 4 or more days in one month

and/or overnight -  between 2 - 6 am

Anyone undertaking regulated activity will need to register with the scheme. For more about when they will have to do this click here.

What is the definition of a child?

 Anyone under the age of 18

Exceptions to regulated activity

• Family and personal relationships
• Teaching etc, 16 - 17 year olds in employment settings
• Ancillary First Aid  - provided by an employee as an ancillary part of their job
• Fostering by a barred person, where the placement was already in progress at the point of barring and where the LA judges it is in the child's interest that the placement continues.

Exceptions to the requirement to register and check registration

Regulated activity undertaken by

• Someone under 16
• A 16 - 18 year old as part of a school/college programme

Regulated activity provided for

• Under 16s in employment settings
• 16/17 year olds in mixed age sport and leisure
• under 18s in Higher Education

Workers (paid or unpaid) working in different specified settings but only infrequently in each.

Regulated activity undertaken by a visitor from overseas in relation to vulnerable groups from overseas i.e. a German school teacher bringing a group of German students over to the UK.

Volunteer host families for school organised exchanges lasting less than 28 days where the child's parents agree the selection of the family.

Charity Trustees

Private employment

It will not be mandatory for domestic employers (e.g. parents) to check their employees (e.g. home tutors), but they can do so if they wish to.

A barred person must not take up this kind of employment

Self Help groups

Self help groups do not have to register

Service user or advice groups do not have to register

Confused?

Visit http://www.childrensworkforcematters.org.uk/vetting-and-barring for the latest news, updates and details of where to access support

Still confused?

Contact the ISA direct. Tel: 0300 123 1111 or email info@vbs-info.org.uk .