Supervision exemption for child work ends 1 Sep 2026
From 1 September 2026 the legal exemption that allowed people who are supervised by a qualified adult to be excluded from "regulated activity with children" is removed in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Anyone who teaches, trains, instructs, cares for or supervises children on more than three days in any 30‑day period, or works overnight, will be classed as doing regulated activity even if another person supervises them. This change means organisations can no longer rely on supervision to avoid treating a role as regulated activity; they must treat such roles as regulated and may need to obtain an Enhanced DBS check that includes a Children’s Barred List check. The rule does not affect regulated activity with adults. Organisations should identify any roles that currently rely on the supervision exemption, assess whether the work is done often enough, and arrange the appropriate DBS checks before the change takes effect.
What it means for you
If you volunteer weekly in a school and work directly with children, you will now be treated as doing regulated activity and need a DBS check that includes the Children’s Barred List.
Who this affects
Organisations with staff or volunteers working with children in England, Wales and Northern Ireland
Deadline
1 September 2026
Key points
- •Supervision exemption ends on 1 Sep 2026
- •Work >3 days in 30‑day period or overnight is regulated activity
- •Enhanced DBS check must include Children’s Barred List
- •Applies to paid staff and volunteers
Not legal advice. This summary is drawn from UK Government and reviewed by our team before publication. It is general information about the law as stated in that source, does not account for your circumstances, and does not create a lawyer–client relationship. Laws change and summaries can lag — check the original source, linked above, before relying on anything here.