Disclosure and barring service (DBS) policy

Anyone who is over 16 years old and lives in the fostering household needs to have an enhanced and barred Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check every 3 years.

The following people also need to be DBS checked every 3 years:

• people moving into the fostering household
• anyone who visits or stays at the fostering household regularly
• babysitters who are used on a regular basis (6 times a year or more).

Your fostering social worker will arrange new DBS checks 4 months before your current ones are due to expire.

Emergency situations

Where a child needs to be looked after in a one-off situation that could not have been foreseen, the adult does not need to have a DBS check.

You should record the details in the child's diary record and let your fostering social worker and the child's social worker know as soon as possible.

Visiting friends and family

If a child is visiting extended members of your family or going to play at a friends house, the people they are visiting do not need to have a DBS check. The same applies if they come to visit you.

If people visit you for one-off overnight stays they do not need to be DBS checked.