FAQ: How Often Should DBS Checks Be Renewed In Schools?

How often should DBS checks be renewed in schools? Ofsted, the regulatory body governing childcare and education in the UK, doesn’t have any specific yearly requirement, but will still penalise schools if they don’t think safeguarding is up to scratch.

So how often should DBS checks be renewed in schools?

How Often Should DBS Checks Be Renewed In Schools: What works for other schools?

The majority of schools interpret Ofsted’s guidance as “staff DBS checks need renewing every 3 years, at a minimum”. This works for Ofsted, who permit it. However, many schools renew their staff DBS checks more frequently. Reasons for this include:

Potentially getting a better grade during Ofsted inspections

• Safeguarding is one of Ofsted’s most important considerations, so more regular DBS checks can be a way to demonstrate extra care and attention in this area.

Keeping a closer eye on staff criminal records

• DBS checks disclose the applicant’s criminal record up to the date it was completed. But a lot can change in 3 years! Many organisations request regular DBS checks at shorter intervals, so they can be sure their staff haven’t been up to no good since the last one.

How Often Should DBS Checks Be Renewed In Schools: The DBS Update Service

Lots of schools use the DBS’s Update Service to keep their staff DBS check up-to-date in perpetuity.

Applicants can register their DBS certificate and pay a yearly subscription of £13 for the DBS to keep their certificate legally valid. This validity lasts as long as the subscription is being paid, and the applicant has no changes to their criminal record.

For employers that require regular DBS checks for staff, it’s often more cost-effective than submitting a new DBS application every year-or-so. It’s certainly a lot easier too.

One nuisance with the Update Service is that the DBS won’t actually inform employers if their applicants’ criminal records change (invalidating the certificate). The employer has to regularly log into all of their applicants’ accounts and manually check for changes.

This is a boring, time-consuming, and repetitive task – but here at Aaron’s Department, we’ve got a solution…

How Often Should DBS Checks Be Renewed In Schools: Our Automatic Update Service Checker

For £1 per month per applicant, once per day, our Automatic Update Service Checker will log into your staff’s Update Service accounts and check for changes. You’ll get an email as soon as we detect a change.

This is a huge time saver, and lets you sit back and forget about DBS checks completely. We’ll let you know whenever you need to act on something!

If you’ve already got staff on the Update Service, we can add them to our system no-issues, even if they didn’t get their certificate through Aaron’s Department.

If you’re interested, sign-up is free, and if you’ve any questions feel free to ask away using the contact details below:

Summary: How Often Should DBS Checks Be Renewed In Schools?

In summary, schools are required to renew staff DBS checks every 3 years. Otherwise, they risk being penalised during inspections for poor safeguarding. The 3-year limit isn’t specified in any official Ofsted guidelines, it’s simply what schools have found works for them. Many schools get their staff DBS-checked more frequently.

Often, schools put their staff on the DBS Update Service to keep their staff checks up-to-date for as long as their criminal record remains unchanged.

Further Reading

If you’ve found our post, “FAQ: How Often Should DBS Checks Be Renewed In Schools?” helpful, you may also find these pages useful:

• Ofsted’s DBS check requirements
• How far back do DBS checks go?
• A guide to the DBS Barred Lists

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About The Author

John Schofield-Antoncich

John has processed more applications than days he has been alive, and has become the DBS expert. Got a question? He knows the answer!

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