DBS Policy

It is the policy of this nursery that enhanced DBS checks are undertaken for every member of staff working in the nursery and for any volunteer coming into nursery on a regular basis.  (The nursery does not generally have volunteers in the nursery and we do not use voluntary staff).

It is recognised that staff may join us with a DBS certificate issued while they were with their former employer.  We will undertake our own DBS check in due course, but staff may commence work in the meantime if the DBS is clear, and recent.

No staff member without a current DBS will ever be left alone with children, nor will they undertake intimate care, for example nappy changing.

We comply with the DBS code of practice regarding the correct handling, use, storage, retention and disposal of certificates and certificate information.  We also comply with our obligations under the Data Protection Act 1998 and other relevant legislation pertaining to the safe handling, use, storage, retention and disposal for certificate information.

Once a staff member has been at the setting for 3 years and we apply for their second DBS we register them for the DBS update service. The DBS’s are then checked regularly.

This information is not passed to any third party as a matter of course.  If it were to be requested by a body authorised to receive it, for example the police, Ofsted etc, a record would be kept that this information had been passed on.

Certificate information is only used for the specific purpose for which it was requested and for which the applicant’s consent has been obtained.

Once a recruitment decision has been made, we do not keep the original DBS declaration on the staff member’s file, or a copy of the same.  A note is made of the DBS number, the issue date and that the declaration shows no convictions.  This is kept in the staff member’s file and the certificate returned to them.  This is in line with current guidance and good practice.

We ask staff regularly to declare if there are any changes to their circumstances, and ask staff to sign a declaration to this effect at each supervision, which are carried out every term.

Revised May 2022

By: Michelle Sharp

Adopted as the policy of the nursery

By: Jacquelin Curtis Director,

Activeplay Nurseries Ltd