R21 Response Accepted Self-assessed

Enhanced Disclosure for school staff

Recommendation

All posts, including those in schools, that involve working with children, and vulnerable adults, should be subject to the Enhanced Disclosure regime.

Published Evidence Summary
The following publicly available evidence relates to this recommendation:
The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006, which received Royal Assent in November 2006, ensured that all posts involving work with children and vulnerable adults, including in schools, are subject to the Enhanced Disclosure regime (Gov.uk progress, 2006). No further published evidence has been identified since 2006.
How was this assessed?
Assessed by gemini-2.5-flash on 18 Mar 2026
Checked data held on this site (government responses, progress updates, independent evidence)
External sources searched: www.gov.uk, hansard.parliament.uk, www.legislation.gov.uk
This recommendation requires implementation across many organisations. The assessment reflects central policy response, not adoption in individual organisations.
Jurisdiction
UK-wide
Response
Accepted
Accepted Home Office
22 Jun 2004

The Home Secretary made a statement to Parliament on 22 June 2004, the day the Bichard Inquiry Report was published, accepting all 31 recommendations in full. The government stated it was "in principle, accepting Sir Michael's main recommendations and will act on them immediately." Implementation led to the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 and the creation of the Independent Safeguarding Authority (now the Disclosure and Barring Service). By February 2007, 21 of the 31 recommendations had been fully or substantially completed. See Hansard, 22 June 2004.

Read Full Response
Note: Government responded with a single statement accepting all 31 recommendations. Individual per-recommendation responses were not published separately.
Progress Timeline
Home Office states: Official Report
08 Nov 2006

Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 received Royal Assent. Ensured all posts involving work with children and vulnerable adults, including in schools, are subject to the Enhanced Disclosure regime.

Source
Source
Inquiry Bichard Inquiry
Report The Bichard Inquiry Report 22 Jun 2004
View Source
Responsible Bodies
Home Office Primary
Themes & Tags
Police Vetting Inconsistencies DBS Vetting Education
Recommendation age 21.8 yrs
Last formal update 7076 days ago