Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS): Enhanced Disclosure

It is a legal requirement for anyone who works with children and/or vulnerable adults to undergo a Disclosure and Barring Service enhanced disclosure, this was formerly known as the ‘CRB Check’.

Petroc students who undertake work placements with children and/or vulnerable adults as part of their course must have an enhanced DBS check carried out prior to starting in September.

All of our DBS applications are completed online and we use an external company called Atlantic Data to process them.

If you accept a place on a course that requires a DBS check, you will be written to during the summer with details of when we would like you to come in to college and start your DBS check application. On this date you will be required to bring your ID documents (please see full ID list below) and your payment of £53. Once your payment has been received by Atlantic Data (this can take up to two weeks), we will start your application online and if you have access to the internet at home, you will complete your part of the application online from home. If you don’t have access to the internet, then we will invite you to come back in to complete your part of the application with a member of the team.

After both parts of the application have been completed, you will receive your DBS Disclosure certificate in the post; this normally takes around one week. As Petroc will not receive a copy of this certificate, you will be expected to bring it with you when you start the course.

FAQ’s: We have put together this list of our most frequently asked questions, which we hope you will find useful in preparing for your DBS check.

1. What is a disclosure? A disclosure is a document containing information held by the police and government departments, it is used by employers and voluntary organisations to make safer recruitment decisions.

Disclosures provide an organisation with details of a person’s criminal records, including:  Convictions  Cautions  Reprimands  Warnings

2. I’ve already had a DBS/CRB check carried out for a different organisation, do I need another one?

There are currently four levels of DBS check, as outlined in the table below:

At Petroc, we can only accept an existing DBS check if it is fully enhanced and includes the barred lists check (the final column in the table above). It also needs to have been carried out within the last 3 years. We require this level of DBS check so that you can work unsupervised with children and/or vulnerable adults. If you feel that you may already have a sufficient DBS check in place, please give us a quick call so we can advise you before coming to your DBS appointment.

3. Will I need a DBS check for every year I study with Petroc? It is Petroc policy that students undertaking work placements with children and/or vulnerable adults must have a DBS check carried out every 3 years – this means that unless you study with us for more than 3 years, you will not be required to undergo another DBS check with Petroc.

4. I’ve got a criminal record – will this affect my chance of gaining a place on the course? Having a criminal record will not normally stop you from getting a place on the course. However, this obviously depends on the nature and severity of the conviction and it will ultimately be up to the programme manager to decide whether your past history would make you unsuitable for the course.

5. What ID documents do I need to provide?

So that the DBS can verify your identity, they require you to provide a minimum amount of ID documents to support your DBS check application, as detailed below:

1 x document from Group 1 AND 2 x further documents from Group 1, 2a or 2b; one of which must verify your current address (i.e. one document which shows your current address and is less than 3 months old)

Group 1

 Current valid Passport - please check the expiry date, if the passport has expired then unfortunately we cannot use it.  Biometric Residence Permit (UK)  Current Driving Licence (UK) (Full or provisional) Isle of Man /Channel Islands – PHOTOCARD AND PAPER COUNTERPART ARE REQUIRED.  Original Birth Certificate (UK and Channel Islands) - issued within 12 months of birth (not a reissue)

Group 2a

 Current UK Driving licence (old style paper version)  Current Non-UK Photo Driving Licence (valid only for applicants residing outside of the UK at time of application).  Non-original Birth Certificate (UK and Channel Islands) - (issued after 12 months of birth)  Marriage/Civil Partnership Certificate (UK and Channel Islands)  Adoption Certificate (UK and Channel Islands)  HM Forces ID Card (UK)  Fire Arms Licence (UK and Channel Islands)

Group 2b

 Bank/Building Society Statement (UK or EEA)* OR Bank/Building Society Account Opening Confirmation Letter (UK)*  Mortgage Statement (UK or EEA)  Credit Card Statement (UK or EEA)* (Non-EEA statements cannot be accepted)  Financial Statement - e.g. pension, endowment, ISA (UK)  P45/P60 Statement (UK & Channel Islands)  Council Tax Statement (UK & Channel Islands)  Work Permit/Visa (UK) (UK Residence Permit)  Utility Bill (UK)* (not Mobile Telephone)  Benefit Statement* - e.g. Child Allowance, Pension (must be addressed to the student (not a parent)  A document from Central or Local Government, Government Agency, Local Authority giving entitlement (UK & Channel Islands)- e.g. from the Department for Work and Pensions, the Employment Service , Customs & Revenue, Job Centre, Job Centre Plus, Social Security. The letter you received with details of your National Insurance number would be acceptable, as would a registration letter from the Job Centre*  EU National ID Card.  Cards carrying the PASS accreditation logo (UK and Channel Islands).  Letter from Head Teacher confirming your identity*

* These documents should be less than three months old

6. I don’t have enough ID documents, what should I do? Whilst we fully appreciate the difficulty some young people have in obtaining the minimum number of ID documents, this requirement is non-negotiable - the DBS will only accept an application from us once these documents have been produced.

If you are having difficulty finding enough ID documents, here are a few suggestions of things that you could do:

 Open a bank or building society account and either wait for your first statement or pop into a branch and ask if they will print you a statement.

 Apply for a provisional driving licence (you can apply for a provisional moped licence up to 3 months before your 16th birthday)  Apply for a new passport or renew an expired passport.  Apply for a replacement birth certificate if the original is lost.  Ask your head teacher for a letter confirming your identity (If you are currently in full-time education, we can accept a letter from your head teacher as a group 2b ID document) – this letter must be on headed paper, contain your current address and be less than 3 months old.

If you still feel you will be unable to produce the required ID documents, please contact us before your appointment so we can advise you.

7. Why does the DBS check cost £53? The price of your DBS check is £53 – this is broken down into £44 for the enhanced DBS check and a further £9 charge which is paid to Atlantic Data to process your online application. Please be assured that Petroc makes no profit from this additional charge.

Payments can be made by cash, cheque or credit/debit card – cheques should be made payable to ‘Petroc’.

If you are eligible for the Learner Support Fund bursary you may be able to get financial help towards the cost of your DBS check. Please speak to our Guidance Centre team for more information regarding the bursary:

Guidance Centre Barnstaple: 01271 338125 / [email protected] Guidance Centre Tiverton: 01884 235330 / [email protected]

Any other questions?

If you have a question or concern that hasn’t been covered here, please contact the Registry Team on the following number/email address:

Barnstaple Campus: 01271 852444 or [email protected] Tiverton Campus: 01884 235242 or [email protected]