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Required checks for new school staff and volunteers

Find out which recruitment checks your school is required to do on staff members, contractors, agency staff and volunteers. You'll also find checks that are not required, but good practice to carry out.

Last reviewed on 27 February 2026See updates
School types: All•School phases: All•Ref: 3512
Contents
  1. Your board won't carry out checks itself
  2. What is regulated activity?
  3. What checks should my school/trust carry out?

Your board won't carry out checks itself

In practice, your school's admin staff will carry out these checks. But the governing board has responsibility for making sure they are carried out as part of your overall safeguarding duty.

Take a look at our list of questions to ask about safeguarding for more support with monitoring recruitment checks.

If you're unsure what these different types of recruitment checks are, look at our cheat sheet. 

What is regulated activity?

It's where someone is:

This is explained in paragraph 241 of Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) 2025 (with a full