If you are employing someone to look after your children, you might want that person to undertake a DBS check to give you peace of mind.
If the arrangement between you and the nanny is a personal arrangement, you can ask them if they already hold an enhanced DBS certificate. Failing this, they can apply for their own basic DBS check on the government website here if they live in England or Wales, or with APCS here if they live in Scotland or overseas (including the Republic of Ireland). Please note, unfortunately you cannot apply for the basic check on behalf of the nanny, they must apply for their own check.
If the arrangement between you and the nanny is a formal arrangement, for example, you have found the nanny through an agency, the agency should have already carried out an enhanced DBS check on them prior to employment.
There can be some confusion as to whether the individual hiring a nanny can apply for an enhanced DBS check.
In England and Wales, an individual cannot register themselves as an umbrella body, or as an employer, with the Disclosure & Barring Service. Only employers, organisations or umbrella bodies can apply for enhanced DBS checks. This is why, unfortunately, you as an individual cannot carry out an enhanced DBS check on your nanny.
In Scotland, individuals can apply for a Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) scheme check for this type of role. This is similar to the enhanced DBS check in that it can be applied for by those supervising children on a regular basis. For more information on PVG checks, please see the Disclosure Scotland website.
I am a nanny, or another type of childminder – how do I get an enhanced DBS check?
If you are working in one of the following roles:
- Nanny
- Childminder
- Living at Childminding Premises
- Working at Childminding Premises
- Lives and works with childminder
You can apply for an enhanced DBS check directly through the official Ofsted DBS Application portal, please see the link to this here for more information.
If you have any questions regarding DBS eligibility, or would like to find out more about what APCS can do for you or your business, please give us a call on 0151 638 6158 or email [email protected].