EduCare Advent Care-ndar - Day seven
Did you know that Harrods employ a team of six Santa’s for their much loved Christmas Grotto? Whilst many people cannot replicate the sheer pomp and pageantry of the Harrods experience, if you are recruiting your own Father Christmas, you need to understand your Safer Recruitment obligations.
Does Santa need a DBS check?
The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) is to help employers to make safer recruitment decisions and prevent unsuitable people from working with vulnerable people, including children.
People need to be checked if they are to work in ‘regulated activity’ with vulnerable people.
Regulated activity when working with children comprises:
- unsupervised activities: teach, train, instruct, care for or supervise children, or provide advice/guidance on wellbeing, or drive a vehicle only for children
- work for a limited range of establishments (‘specified places’), with opportunity for contact: e.g. schools, children’s homes, childcare premises.
It does not include work by supervised volunteers.
When we look at the case of employing Father Christmas for a Christmas Fair it is important to note that the above work is only considered regulated activity if it is done regularly.
So, strictly speaking, Santa does not need a DBS check if he is only coming into the grotto once per year. However, given the nature of the role, and the caution we all exercise with regards to Child Protection issues, organisations should use their own judgement when deciding on the scope of what individual roles require.
When is a joke not a joke? Come back tomorrow and open door 8 to find out.
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