DBS and other required checks for governors and trustees

Last reviewed on 15 June 2022
School types: All · School phases: All
Ref: 44864

Find out what checks are required for governors, members and trustees, so you can make sure your school is compliant with the latest statutory safeguarding guidance.

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Academies

Contents

  1. Get a summary of the requirements
  2. Academy members, trustees and local governors
  3. Chair of trustees in an academy
  4. Clerks and associate members 

Get a summary of the requirements

Download our summary of the requirements for pre-employment checks for academy members and trustees, chairs of trustees, and members of local governing boards. 

KeyDoc: summary of checks for governors - academies

Get more detail on the required checks for different types of governors and trustees below. 

Who's responsible for the checks? 

The trust and the chair. However, in practice it's usually a trust or school administrator that applies for the checks, depending on your board's structure.

For local governing boards, the actual process of applying for checks is usually done by the school.

Academy members, trustees and local governors

The requirements below are outlined in paragraphs 318 to 325 of Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) 2022. 

What checks are required?

An enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check To include a barred list check if the

Also in this topic: Safeguarding checks and the SCR
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