Youth workers in the UK work closely with teenagers, children and vulnerable adults.
Often, a youth worker’s activities involve situations with young people where their interactions are unsupervised, as a result all UK youth workers are required to undergo a statutory DBS check.
A DBS check is a formal criminal record check necessary for any frontline role in the UK. DBS checks are carried out by the Disclosure and Barring Service as part of the recruitment process for all public-facing roles in the UK.
DBS checks for UK youth workers
There are four types of DBS checks in operation in the UK. The strongest DBS checks are reserved for those who work in the closest proximity to children, including youth workers and teachers.
The 1974 Rehabilitation of Offenders Act sets out the level of DBS check necessary for every frontline position in the UK. A DBS check for a youth worker is an enhanced DBS check with barred lists.
These robust checks are a crucial measure to ensure all members of the public, particularly children and vulnerable adults are properly safeguarded from those who are unsuitable to work in frontline roles.
The DBS check necessary for youth workers is the most comprehensive type of CRB check. The search will involve a check any unspent or spent convictions, cautions, reprimands or warnings.
The Disclosure and Barring Service will also verify whether there is any other non-conviction information in existence with relevant police forces and if there are any entries in the children’s and/ or the vulnerable adults barred lists.
Your DBS check can only be requested by your employer. To discover more about DBS checks for youth workers, visit unlock.org.