Commentary on Sections Children’s centres Section 200: Children’s centres: safeguarding children
640.The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 (“the SVG Act”) provides for the Independent Barring Board established under section 1 (but in practice now called the Independent Safeguarding Authority (“ISA”)) to maintain lists of persons barred in relation to work with children or vulnerable adults, and to monitor persons who have applied to be subject to monitoring. The SVG Act also sets out the type of work in relation to which monitoring is required, and which persons on the barred lists may not undertake. It also provides for a range of offences to enforce the monitoring requirement and the effect of barring.
641.This section amends paragraph 3(1) of Schedule 4 to the SVG Act to add children’s centres to the list of establishments used for determining whether an activity is capable of being “regulated activity” for the purposes of the SVG Act. As a result of this amendment, a person who carries out an activity in a children’s centre will be engaging in regulated activity if the activity also meets the other criteria set out in paragraph 1(2) of Schedule 4 (which deal with matters such as the frequency of the activity, and whether it affords the person opportunity for contact with children).
642.Whilst many of the roles being carried out by people working at a children’s centre (such as the provision of childcare) would already be regulated activity by virtue of other types of activity covered by paragraph 2 of Schedule 4, for example, the effect of this amendment is that everyone involved in working or volunteering at a children’s centre (and who meets the other criteria in paragraph 1(2) of Schedule 4) will be engaged in regulated activity. The SVG Act prevents people who are barred from working with children from engaging in regulated activity, and requires people engaged in regulated activity to be subject to monitoring by the ISA.
643.The requirements of the SVG Act relating to people engaged in regulated activity will be phased in over time and be subject to certain transitional provisions. The Government will publish clear and timely information to notify those affected when requirements will begin to apply to them.