Do You Need a DBS Check to Become a School Governor?

Are you looking to give back to your community? Perhaps your children or grandchildren attend a local school and you’d like to get involved with its management and continual development? Then why not become a school governor?

This is a voluntary position which will require you to attend frequent meetings, as well as school events. That means working with adults and children; so, do you need a DBS check to become a school governor?

Applying to Become a School Governor

 
Schools are expected to run the appropriate checks when recruiting staff to any position within the establishment. All of which should be recorded in the school’s Single Central Record, a key document that Ofsted will expect to see maintained during their inspections. The Single Central Record is the responsibility of the school governors.

Whether you need to run DBS checks for governors is therefore at the governing body’s discretion. There are currently no statutory requirements for DBS checks to be carried out on school governors before they take up their position. That is, however, unless they have regular, unsupervised contact with the students.

A governing body or local authority can request a soon-to-be governor has an enhanced DBS check, but unless the governor will take part in regulated activity with children, they cannot insist on checking the barred list. Under this ruling the DBS may decline any applications to do so.

There is the general understanding that, although these checks are not mandatory, if one is requested and the applicant refuses to comply, they can be disqualified from continuing the process to become a governor.

Some schools may consider criminal background checks an essential part of the recruitment process for any role within the school as they analyse an individual’s suitability for the role. These checks may also bring to light any child protection issues and question a person’s trustworthiness. Academies are especially strict on this. If this is the case, the Chair of Governors is responsible for obtaining these checks before appointment.

How You Can Apply for DBS Checks Online Today

 
If you’re a Chair of a governing body, you may like to run checks on all of your volunteers. This is quick and easy when you use our services.
Here at CBS we run regular DBS checks for school governors. We don’t charge a registration fee and there are no monthly charges. You pay as you go.

Submit your disclosure applications online today at your one-stop-shop for DBS checks and background screening services!