ÌÇÐÄVlog

Most schools have at least one: that volunteer or parent helper who comes in every week to support pupils, usually with their reading. If you’re lucky, you might have a handful.

In my first year of teaching, my parent helper was invaluable. She helped me with my less confident readers and gave them the time, encouragement and praise that they so greatly needed.

Regular reading practice with a supportive adult can help to build confidence and fluency for those who need them most. And if I’m brutally honest, this kind of focused support is incredibly difficult for teachers to consistently provide in a class of 30.

Previously, to help out in this way, supervised volunteers have not needed the same level of safeguarding checks required for permanent staff. Getting them into school has, therefore, been a largely hassle-free process.

However, this is now set to change.

Why have the safeguarding check rules changed?

Following a recommendation from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, the Crime and Policing Act 2026 has driven several significant changes in guidance that relate to safer recruitment.

As part of this, the supervision exemption, which previously allowed schools to carry out lower-level safeguarding checks on volunteers who worked under staff supervision, has now been removed.

The inquiry found that the exemption created a safeguarding gap that could be exploited: that someone who was considered unsafe to work with children could still gain access to children through a supervised volunteering role.

From 1 September 2026, the following changes will come into effect:

• Any volunteer undertaking teaching, training, instruction or supervision of children on more than three days in a 30-day period, or overnight, will be classed as being in regulated activity regardless of whether they are supervised. They will now require an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check against the children’s barred list.
• Under the Crime and Policing Act 2026, it is a criminal offence for a person who is barred from working with children to do so, and for an employer to knowingly employ them in such a role. KCSIE 2026 reflects this change and requires schools to ensure that any volunteer within regulated activity is not barred from working with children, before they begin to volunteer.
• Schools must audit all current volunteers and reassess whether they now fall within regulated activity. Where they do, barred list status must be checked before September 2026.
• Schools must update their Single Central Record (SCR) to reflect the new requirements in KCSIE 2026. The SCR must record evidence that all required checks have been completed for every person working in a school, including staff, supply teachers, trainee teachers, volunteers, contractors and governors. The SCR must include:
  • A record of the date when each check was completed and by whom.
  • Evidence that the check was satisfactory.
  • An up-to-date record of all completed checks that is available for inspection at any given time, and maintained for each academy within a multi-academy trust.

The logic driving these changes is understandable; someone who poses a risk to children does not stop posing a risk simply because there is a teacher present in the room.

But for schools that rely on the support of volunteers, there is a question around whether a more onerous vetting process might make it more difficult to get people to agree to set foot in the classroom in the first place.

What do schools need to do now?

So, how can schools adhere to the new requirements without jeopardising vital volunteer help?

First of all, communication is key. Speak to volunteers individually to inform them of the changes and the reasoning behind the new guidance. It is important that they understand that the primary goal is to strengthen safeguarding measures, and that the changes are not about distrusting them.

You may also wish to offer to support them through the safer recruitment process, as this may seem daunting to some.

Ultimately, the new guidance is designed to make things safer and not necessarily harder for volunteers - although this may be an unavoidable outcome.

Schools are advised to prepare in advance, communicate the changes clearly to those affected and build the new process into their annual safer recruitment procedures. Taking this approach should help to minimise any fallout.

It’s important that we get this right. Our silent heroes are too valuable to lose.

Shezleen Salaam is safeguarding and pastoral lead for course development at ÌÇÐÄVlog Global

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