Carry out a risk assessment to identify the level of risk
You should carry out a risk assessment and use your professional judgement to determine what checks (if any) are needed.
Your risk assessment should consider:
- The nature of the work, including:
- Whether it will be considered 'regulated activity'
- The level of supervision involved (see section below for more detail on this)
- What you know about the volunteer, including formal or informal information offered by staff, parents and other volunteers
- Whether the volunteer is able to provide references from other employment or voluntary activities
- Whether the role is eligible for a disclosure and barring service (DBS) check and if it is, what level is appropriate
Keep a record of your risk assessment.
This is set out in paragraphs 305 to 307 of Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) 2023.
Download our template risk assessment
KeyDoc: template risk assessment for volunteer