Service
Safeguarding Volunteer Audit
A fixed-fee Volunteer Audit & Safeguarding Policy Update — a rapid, practical review for churches, mosques, madrassahs, charities and community organisations that work with children and young people, ready for the law changing on 1 September 2026.
What’s changing
The “supervision exemption” is going
From 1 September 2026, the Crime and Policing Act 2026 removes the supervision exemption from regulated activity with children. Volunteers who teach, instruct, care for or supervise children at the frequency thresholds will need an enhanced DBS check with children’s barred-list information — even when supervised. Days will count cumulatively across different organisations, so helpers who also work with children elsewhere may cross the threshold without you knowing. If your policy relies on “they’re always supervised, so no check needed,” it will be out of date.
Not sure where you stand? Start with our free Volunteer Safeguarding Check-Up for an instant overview — then this audit does the work in full.
What stays unregulated
Not every helper needs a check
Knowing who is not caught matters just as much. The Act removes the supervision exemption — it does not make everyone who helps with children subject to a check, and it creates no new “unregulated” category. It simply changes which activities become regulated; anything outside the new definition stays unregulated and needs no enhanced DBS check with children’s barred-list information.
For the activities affected — teaching, training, instructing, caring for or supervising children — the role is only regulated if it also meets the frequency, or “period,” condition:
- on more than 3 days in any 30-day period, or
- overnight, at any time between 2am and 6am.
If it doesn’t meet that frequency, it stays unregulated. So, in line with GOV.UK guidance, these examples stay outside the rules:
- Parents or carers who help out only occasionally.
- Parents helping at an occasional PTA (parent-teacher association) event.
- Parents helping on a school day-trip — as long as it is not overnight.
- Any volunteering role that stays under the 3-days-in-30 threshold and involves no overnight contact.
One exception to keep in mind: a few activities — such as personal or intimate care — count as regulated activity however often they happen, so the frequency test does not apply to them. If you’re unsure which side of the line a role falls, that is exactly what the audit settles.
What you receive
The paperwork, done for you
Volunteer audit
We review every children's and youth work role against the new legal definition — frequency, overnight contact, activity elsewhere — and give you a simple red / amber / green report.
Gap analysis & action plan
A prioritised, dated list of exactly what needs doing, for whom, and by when — including who needs an enhanced DBS check with barred-list information (free of charge for volunteers).
Policy update
Your safeguarding policy revised for the new law — supervision-exemption wording removed, a parents-and-visitors section added, and safer-recruitment provisions.
Recruitment pack
Updated application and annual declaration forms (including the new 'do you work with children elsewhere?' question), a visitor sign-in sheet, and role descriptions.
Trustee briefing note
A plain-English summary your trustees can minute — evidencing that the charity identified the change, assessed its position and acted. Your protection if a regulator, insurer or denominational body ever asks.
Fixed fees
Clear pricing, no surprises
A short scoping call confirms the right package before any commitment. Volunteer counts refer to those in children’s and youth work.
Essentials
£495
Up to 15 children's/youth volunteers · single site
Audit of your volunteer register, RAG report, policy updates, action plan and trustee briefing note.
Enquire about EssentialsStandard
£795
16–40 volunteers · one or two sites
Everything in Essentials, plus a recruitment-pack rebuild (forms, declarations, role descriptions), a 60-minute online leader briefing, and 30 days of follow-up support.
Enquire about StandardExtended
£1,150
40+ volunteers · multiple sites or activities
Everything in Standard, plus multi-site or multi-congregation coverage, DBS application support for the whole team, and presentation of findings at a trustees' meeting.
Enquire about ExtendedAdd-ons
- Safeguarding training session for leaders and helpers — £250
- Processing of individual enhanced DBS applications (the DBS check itself is free for volunteers; this is our handling fee) — £12 per application
- Ongoing safeguarding compliance retainer — from £45 / month
All fees exclude VAT where applicable.
How it works
Done inside two weeks
- Day 0
Book
A 15-minute call, engagement confirmed, and a secure request list issued — volunteer rota, current policy, existing DBS records.
- Days 1–5
Audit
We assess every role and every helper against the new definition and prepare the RAG report and action plan.
- Days 5–10
Update
Revised policy and recruitment pack delivered; DBS applications initiated for anyone needing a check.
- By day 14
Brief
A walkthrough with your safeguarding lead (and trustees, on the Extended package) so everyone knows the new rules and why they matter.
Booked before 1 September, we prioritise the red-rated roles first so no one is volunteering unlawfully on day one. Already past the date? The audit works exactly the same as a catch-up — the priority is simply to identify and regularise affected roles immediately.
Book your audit
A short scoping call confirms the right package. We work at the meeting point of charity law, governance and faith communities every day — delivered in plain English, with the paperwork done for you.
This service reviews safeguarding recruitment compliance against the law of England and Wales. It is a governance and compliance review, not legal advice on live incidents or allegations; where a specific concern about a child has arisen, follow your reporting procedures and statutory guidance immediately.