Organisations working with children face a significant safeguarding change from 1 September 2026. The Crime and Policing Act 2026 removes the supervision exemption from the definition of regulated activity, bringing many volunteer roles within scope for enhanced vetting and barring checks.
This article explains what is changing, why it matters, and the practical steps organisations should take to prepare.
The Crime and Policing Act 2026 introduces a significant change to the definition of regulated activity with children by removing the long-standing "supervision exemption". The change comes into force on 1 September 2026 and affects organisations working with children across England.
Regulated activity is defined by the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 and identifies work from which barred individuals must be excluded. Historically, some volunteers carrying out activities such as teaching, training, instructing, caring for or supervising children were not considered to be engaged in regulated activity where they were under reasonable day-to-day supervision by an individual already undertaking regulated activity.
The new legislation removes this exemption, meaning that supervision will no longer determine whether many volunteer roles fall within the scope of regulated activity. Instead, the focus will be on the nature and frequency of the activities being carried out.
Under the previous framework, a volunteer who regularly worked with children could fall outside regulated activity if suitable supervision arrangements were in place. This meant that organisations were often unable to obtain a Children's Barred List check for those individuals, even where they had regular contact with children.
From 1 September 2026, individuals who frequently:
will generally be considered to be undertaking regulated activity regardless of whether they are supervised by another adult.
The change primarily affects volunteers because paid staff undertaking these activities were already likely to be engaged in regulated activity. As a result, many volunteer roles that previously fell outside the regulated activity framework will now fall within it.
Before September 2026, a volunteer helping children with reading once a week in a school may not have been undertaking regulated activity if they were supervised by a teacher. From September 2026, that same volunteer is likely to be considered to be undertaking regulated activity regardless of supervision and will therefore require an Enhanced DBS check with Children's Barred List information.
The reforms are intended to strengthen safeguarding arrangements and address concerns that barred individuals could still access volunteer roles involving substantial contact with children.
Enhanced Safeguarding
Removing the supervision exemption creates a clearer and more consistent safeguarding framework. Individuals carrying out the same activities will be subject to the same regulatory requirements regardless of the supervision arrangements in place.
Greater Access to Barred List Checks
Where a volunteer is undertaking regulated activity, organisations will be able to obtain an Enhanced DBS check including Children's Barred List information. This helps organisations identify individuals who are prohibited from working with children before they commence their role.
As a result, organisations can verify whether volunteers carrying out regulated activity are barred from working with children. The reforms seek to address a safeguarding gap by allowing appropriate barred list checks where volunteers are carrying out regulated activity.
Increased Public Confidence
The reforms reinforce public confidence in safeguarding arrangements by ensuring that individuals who work regularly and directly with children are subject to the highest level of pre-engagement vetting, irrespective of the supervision arrangements in place.
While the change is relatively straightforward in principle, organisations will need to review their existing arrangements carefully ahead of the changes coming into force on 1 September 2026.
Review Volunteer Roles
Schools, nurseries, childcare providers, youth organisations, sports clubs, faith organisations and charities should review volunteer positions to determine whether they now fall within the definition of regulated activity.
Volunteers are likely to be undertaking regulated activity where they teach, train, instruct, care for or supervise children on more than three days within a 30-day period, or overnight. Roles previously excluded because of supervision may now require an Enhanced DBS check with Children's Barred List information.
Update Recruitment Procedures
Organisations will need to ensure that recruitment and onboarding processes reflect the new requirements. Volunteers undertaking regulated activity will require an Enhanced DBS check with Children's Barred List information before engaging in the role.
Review Policies and Training
Safeguarding policies, volunteer management procedures and staff training materials should be reviewed and updated to ensure they accurately reflect the new legal position. Organisations should also ensure that managers understand which activities now constitute regulated activity.
Additional Administrative Burden
Some organisations may experience an increase in administration and compliance costs as a greater number of volunteers become eligible for barred list checks. However, these requirements are likely to be viewed as proportionate in light of the safeguarding benefits that the reforms are intended to achieve.
Legal Responsibilities
It remains a criminal offence for a barred person to engage in regulated activity and for an organisation knowingly to permit a barred person to undertake such work. It is therefore essential that organisations correctly identify those roles that now fall within the definition of regulated activity.
The removal of the supervision exemption is one of the most significant changes to the regulated activity framework since the reforms introduced by the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. By shifting the focus from supervision arrangements to the nature of activities being undertaken, the Crime and Policing Act 2026 simplifies the assessment of many volunteer roles and strengthens safeguarding protections for children.
While the reforms are likely to increase DBS checking requirements for many organisations, they provide a clearer and more consistent safeguarding framework. Organisations that review volunteer roles, recruitment practices and safeguarding procedures now will be well placed to comply with the new requirements when they come into force on 1 September 2026.
Anna Churchill - Senior Associate
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