Surf Life Saving Wales
The DBS Process
SLSA Wales - Charity No. 1157762
Principles of Safeguarding
The welfare of the child is paramount
(Children’s Act 1989)
Following the strengthened Children’s Act 2004, the Government's aim is for every
child, whatever their background or their circumstances, to have the support they
need to
• Be healthy
• Stay safe
• Enjoy and achieve
• Make a positive contribution
• Achieve economic well-being
SLSA Wales - Charity No. 1157762
Importance of the Role of CPO
The Child Protection Officer within a club holds a position of great importance and responsibility.
In light of the recent news in the press about child abuse in football clubs safeguarding policies
need to be robust and accountable.
It is vital that the Child Protection Officers, who have been voted into that role are
 aware of the contents of the Surf Life Saving Wales, Child Protection Policy,
 Promote and enforce the policies in the Surf Life Saving Wales Child Protection Policy
 are familiar with the processes / documents to use in safeguarding scenarios
 maintain standards of safeguarding as noted in the Child Protection Policy and are visible to
their members.
SLSA Wales - Charity No. 1157762
Importance of the Role of CPO
It is also vital that they are contactable by the Lead CPO and responsive to
emails. Without this there is no other link to the clubs.
If a CPO ever wanted to stand down from this role, they should notify their
committee and the Lead Officer at the earliest time to avoid there being no
safeguarding presence in their respective clubs up until a time whereby a
suitable volunteer comes forward.
SLSA Wales - Charity No. 1157762
So who are our Surf Life Saving Wales Child Protection
Officers?
Aberavon – Liz Thomas
Aberporth – Lisa Pritchard
Aberystwyth – Jo Hollowood
Centurions – Richard Butler
Cold Knapp – Angela Slee
Crannog – Leanne Taylor
Kenfig Sands – Lyle Bluck
Langland Bay – Helen Cheley
SLSA Wales - Charity No. 1157762
Llanelli – Sarah Gerard
Llantwit Major - Wendy Olsen
Mumbles – Bethan Wall / Yvonne
Surgay
Newgale – Stuart Penfold
Newport – Elin Jones
So who are our Surf Life Saving Wales Child Protection
Officers?
Pen y Bont – Sara Thomas Rees
Poppit Sands – Delyth Clegg
Porthcawl – Marina Atherton
Porthcawl Surf - TBC
Porthmawr – TBC
Rest Bay – Lesley Page
Rhoose – Stephanie Williams
Rhosneigr – Pauline Vella
SLSA Wales - Charity No. 1157762
Sker & Pink Bay – Dianna Tudor
Southerndown – Rhian Jones
Tenby – Karl Amos
Whitmore Bay – Zoe Phillips
What is a Disclosure and Barring Service
(DBS) check?
The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) helps employers make safer recruitment decisions
and prevent unsuitable people from working with vulnerable groups, including children.
Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks are now called Disclosure and Barring Service
(DBS) checks.
You may need to check someone’s criminal record if they apply for certain jobs or voluntary
work, for example working with children or in healthcare
to foster or adopt a child.
SLSA Wales - Charity No. 1157762
What is a Disclosure and Barring Service
(DBS) check?
Who can ask for a DBS check?
Only employers and licensing bodies can request a DBS check. Job applicants can’t do a
criminal records check on themselves. Instead, they can request a criminal disclosure from
Disclosure Scotland (you don’t have to be from Scotland to do this).
How many years does a DBS check go back?
DBS checks show all convictions whether spent or unspent. However, if a person had only one
non custodial conviction it will only appear for 6 years if they were under 18 when convicted. If
they were over 18 when convicted it will appear for 11 years.
SLSA Wales - Charity No. 1157762
For a volunteer with Surf Life Saving Wales and any other organisation that has
roles involving children 17 years and under an Enhanced and Barred check is
done in all circumstances
Q. What is an Enhanced check?
A Criminal Record Check at Enhanced Disclosure level, often referred to as a
Enhanced DBS, is the highest level required for positions that can involve caring
for, training, supervising or being in sole charge of children or vulnerable adults.
SLSA Wales - Charity No. 1157762
Q.
What is Barred list check?
The lists contain information on whether the applicant is barred from working with
either of the two groups. An individual may only be checked against one or both
barred lists if their job role is classified as a 'Regulated Activity' with children and/or
adults under the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006.
SLSA Wales - Charity No. 1157762
Anyone working in Regulated Activity which is work a barred person cannot undertake
Checking the barred status of anyone entering Regulated Activity is a legal requirement.
Q. Are you sure that all your members have been checked against the Children’s Barred
list?
On their DBS certificate under DBS Children’s Barred list information, it should say
none recorded. If it says not requested then you haven’t asked for this to be checked and
will need to ask the member to complete another check.
Be assured that if you have asked your LCPO to complete a check for a member of your
club that this level of check has been requested
SLSA Wales - Charity No. 1157762
Typed of Activities
e.g. teaching, training, instructing, caring for,
supervision, providing advice / guidance on wellbeing, or transport specifically for children
(Excludes supervised individual)
Regularly
 once a week or more
 4 or more occasions in a period of 30 days
 Overnight between 2 – 6am
or
*Such day to day supervision as is reasonable in all
the circumstances for the purpose of protecting any
children concerned – sector specific guidance on
supervision
In a limited number of specified places.
e.g. schools, children’s homes and childcare
premises
(Excludes supervised volunteers)
:
Definitions of Regulated Activity contact with
children
and
SLSA Wales - Charity No. 1157762
The club Child Protection Officer (CPO) comes into contact or is approached by a person
or member who wants to play an active part in the club which closely involves working
with members 17 years of age and under.
The CPO gives the applicant a copy of the DBS application form or directs the member to
the SLSA Wales site / members area / public documents depository / safeguarding forms
/ DBS application form, to fill in and return to the CPO for checking all sections and info
is completed correctly and clearly.
http://www.slsawales.org.uk/publicdownloads.asp
SLSA Wales - Charity No. 1157762
There a 3 forms to complete:
1. DBS application form – this contains the information needed to complete
an application on the CBS portal
2. Consent to Annual Check form – this is a legal requirement to obtain
consent from the member to annually check their DBS status or prior to
SLSAW organised events
3. SLSA Wales Code of Conduct – to ensure all members are aware of the
standards of practice expected from Surf Life Saving Association Wales
SLSA Wales - Charity No. 1157762
Please ensure correct versions are used to comply with any changes in process or
policy. The correct versions are updated on the SLSA Wales website.
Best practise is that that member does not coach until the DBS checks have been
done or is supervised at all times.
The CPO must then check the applicants identification documents (original copies)
in all instances, with no exception.
The forms are either emailed from the applicant to the Lead Child Protection Officer
(LCPO) or they are posted by the applicant or CPO to the LCPO.
SLSA Wales - Charity No. 1157762
This is a crucial part of the application process and should never be taken lightly. Even if you have
known a person for many years, your responsibility to check those original I.D. document’s are non
negotiable and not doing so is against all safeguarding procedures and principles. This is a critical
part of the CPO role.
Be in no doubt that people who mean harm to children will do what it takes to infiltrate an
organisation for their own gain and where they cannot gain access to one club, they will try another
and another. I have heard many stories of what can and has happened due to lack of vigilance and
not following process.
This cannot happen in Surf Life Saving Wales!
SLSA Wales - Charity No. 1157762
The LCPO submits an application via the Complete Background Screening portal. As the
forms including I.D. document’s are verified by the CPO, the CPO’s name will show as the
person who verified the documents.
When the check has been completed CBS sends a certificate to the applicant. They also
send an email with details of the DBS check to the LCPO. Here is where the LCPO can
check if there is any positive information contained on the form.
Not checking the ID of a member would mean that all update checks done would be based
on the ID given and if they were to be false, any positive information would not filtered
through on update checks rendering them meaningless and unsafe.
SLSA Wales - Charity No. 1157762
What Happens Next?
• Currently the LCPO is the only person to have access to the CBS portal in SLSA
Wales.
• Once the forms are received the information is entered into the Complete Background
Screening (CBS) portal
via Welsh Sports Association who run the
DBS service via CBS
SLSA Wales - Charity No. 1157762
What Happens Next?
• The LCPO receives an email once the check has been completed , with the
status of the check, the issue date and the certificate number.
• The LCPO then registers the member on the Online Update Service.
• An email is sent to the member including all of the above information as well
as notification of Update registration along with their Update Account number
SLSA Wales - Charity No. 1157762
What Happens Next
If the status comes back as complete this means that there is no positive information contained on the DBS
certificate hence no further action needed.
If the status came back as: Please wait to view applicant certificate
That means that there is positive information on the DBS certificate that just needs checking out. The CPO
will be informed of this and asked by the LCPO to ask the member to post the original copy of the DBS cert
to the LCPO. This will be returned via hand or recorded mail.
The positive information from the DBS cert is then transferred to a document that will be sent out to the
member asking for more information, such as what events led up to the prosecution etc. This is called a
Positive Record Process letter.
This is necessary to show that SLSA Wales has an accountable and robust decision making policy.
SLSA Wales - Charity No. 1157762
What Happens Next
• A decision will be made by the LCPO re suitability to work with SLSA Wales as a volunteer and the
member will be informed. If more information is needed this can be sought via police records (in
extreme cases and permission is gained) or by speaking to the member involved.
• In more serious cases, the matter is brought before a Case Management Team consisting of the
LCPO, Senior Board Member and another safeguarding expert from another NGB.
• The main question to be answered is: Does this person pose a threat of any kind, to
children in their club or SLSA Wales?
SLSA Wales - Charity No. 1157762
SLSA Wales - DBS Database
In keeping with the Data Protection Act, only relevant information is kept about members and
their DBS records.
The current main SLSA Wales DBS database was set up, and is maintained and kept securely
and password protected by the Lead Child Protection Officer.
The SLSA Wales database contains the following information:
 Member name and surname
 Date of Birth – needed for registration
 Club –
 Club role – to determine level of check
 MIS number – must be a member and hold relevant insurance
 Contact details – in case more information is needed
SLSA Wales - Charity No. 1157762
SLSA Wales - DBS Database
E-mail address – needed for Update registration
Consent to Annual check form completed – Yes / Pending (legal requirement and mandatory
Code of conduct signed – Yes / Pending (mandatory)
Date application processed online – to follow up if CBS are providing quick service
DBS certificate number – for online registration and records
Registered for Update Service – Yes / Pending (this is a requirement of all members if they want
a DBS check with SLSA Wales and all DBS forms state this)
 Certificate Status – clear or positive information
 Issue date – needed for annual check date by LCPO or CPO






SLSA Wales - Charity No. 1157762
Annual Update Status Checking
As we have not asked members to pay the annual fee to CBS for update checking, this will come down
to both the CPO and LCPO perform annual checks on members DBS status.
This is the link to use however you must have the members permission hence the Consent to Annual
Check forms . This is a legal requirement
https://secure.crbonline.gov.uk/crsc/check?execution=e1s1
You don’t need to register to do this, this facility is available from Gov.UK/ DBS
The status information you may see are the following and their meanings
SLSA Wales - Charity No. 1157762
Annual Update Status Checking
This Certificate did not reveal any information and remains current as no further information has been
identified since its issue.
This means that the individual’s Certificate contains no criminality or barring information and no new
information is available.
 Just complete another check in a years time
This Certificate remains current as no further information has been identified since its issue.
This means that the individual’s Certificate did contain criminality or barring information and no new
information is available.
 The positive information process would have been followed already.
This Certificate is no longer current. Please apply for a new DBS check to get the most up to date
information.
This means that the individual’s Certificate should not be relied upon as new information is now available
and you should request a new DBS check.
 In this instance a new DBS certificate would need to be applied for via the LCPO in the usual way.
SLSA Wales - Charity No. 1157762
DBS Returns
The task of returning a club DBS return every April, August and
December by the CPO was very hit and miss and often confusing for some.
There were lots of reasons why the whole process was onerous for the CPO and
the LCPO.
There is no longer a requirement for clubs to do this due the central database held
and maintained by the LCPO who puts all the checks through and so has all the
information needed to populate the database.
SLSA Wales - Charity No. 1157762
DBS Returns
Once the process of getting all members who require a DBS on the Update Service is
complete I will send CPO’s copies of their section of the database for checking the
following:
 Are all members who require a DBS listed on the return.
 Are there any members who can be taken off the return.
 All I ask is that CPO’s respond to the e-mail, nothing else.
What you do with your copies is up to you for your record keeping purposes as the main
database for all clubs are held centrally with the LCPO and are maintained and updated
regularly as new checks come in. An up to date copy is always available on request
SLSA Wales - Charity No. 1157762
Any questions?
If so, please contact
Julie Wisden – Lead Child Protection Officer on
Tel Number 07853 000457
[email protected]
SLSA Wales - Charity No. 1157762
Any questions?
Please remember, all members who hold a role in their respective clubs that requires a DBS
check need to be registered with the Update Service. If they hold a DBS cert, however new or
old, and they haven’t registered they need a new one to be able to be registered.
The process is simple
1. Get members to complete an application form if new or not on the Update Service and send
it to LCPO
2. The application gets processed and details sent back to member and CPO by LCPO of
status, issue date , certificate number and Update Service account number
3. LCPO completes SLSA Wales DBS database.
4. DBS return gets sent to CPO’s at set times for checking all relevant members are included.
SLSA Wales - Charity No. 1157762
Surf Life Saving Wales Child Protection Policy
Surf Life Saving Wales Child Friendly Child Protection policy
All documents relating to safeguarding as well as
Code of conducts
Event photography poster
SLSAW Photography Guidance
http://www.slsawales.org.uk/publicdownloads.asp
A printable copy of these slides for hand outs is available on request to the SLSAW
Lead CPP Officer
SLSA Wales - Charity No. 1157762