Adults who supervise children on work experience

391. When organising work experience placements we will ensure that the placement provider has policies and procedures in place to protect children from harm.

292. Children’s barred list checks via the DBS might be required on some people who supervise a child under the age of 16 on a work experience placement. We will consider the specific circumstances of the work experience and give consideration in particular to the nature of the supervision and the frequency of the activity being supervised, to determine what, if any, checks are necessary. These considerations will include whether the person providing the teaching/training/instruction/supervision to the child on work experience will be:

• unsupervised themselves, and
• providing the teaching/training/instruction frequently (more than three days in a 30- day period, or overnight).

If the person working with the child is unsupervised and the same person is in frequent contact with the child, the work is likely to be regulated activity relating to children. If so, we may ask the employer providing the work experience to ensure that the person providing the instruction or training is not a barred person.

393. We are not able to request that an employer obtains an enhanced DBS check with children’s barred list information for staff supervising children aged 16 to 17 on work experience. If an activity undertaken by a child on work experience takes place in a ‘specified place’, such as a school or sixth form college, and gives the opportunity for contact with children, this may itself be considered to be regulated activity relating to children.