DBS Conference 2026: safeguarding rules explained

On 1 September 2026, the Disclosure and Barring Service opened registration for its Annual Conference 2026, a free virtual event running on 6 and 7 October. That sounds like a diary notice, but it arrives at a moment when safeguarding rules, recruitment checks and partnership working are all under fresh attention. (gov.uk) For The Common Room reader, that is the point worth keeping. Safeguarding is not only for policy teams or senior leaders. It affects schools, youth groups, care settings, sports clubs and charities, because each of those places has to decide who can work with children or adults, what checks are lawful, and how concerns should be acted on. (gov.uk)

**What DBS does:** DBS says it helps employers make safer recruitment decisions by processing DBS checks and by maintaining the children’s and adults’ barred lists. It also makes decisions about whether a person should be barred from regulated activity, which is why the organisation sits so close to questions of trust, safety and fairness. (gov.uk) It is also worth knowing that not every check is the same. DBS says there are four levels of check, and for some eligible roles an Enhanced check can include Children’s or Adults’ Barred List information. Employers cannot ask for those checks just because they would like more detail; eligibility is set in law. (gov.uk)

The timing of this conference matters because a key legal change has just taken effect. From 1 September 2026, the supervision exemption for regulated activity with children was removed. That means some people who were previously treated as supervised and outside regulated activity may now count as being in regulated activity if they teach, train, instruct, care for or supervise children often enough, or overnight. (gov.uk) DBS gives simple examples that make this easier to picture: a weekly school reading volunteer supervised by a teacher, or an assistant coach working with children twice a week, may now need an Enhanced DBS check with Children’s Barred List information. This change is about regulated activity with children only; DBS says the definition for adults is not changing. (gov.uk)

That helps explain why day one of the conference is built around safeguarding, legislative change and partnership working. DBS says the sessions will cover mandatory reporting, safer recruitment, barring decision-making and the part effective partnerships play in protecting children and vulnerable adults. (gov.uk) **What it means:** if you recruit staff or volunteers, manage referrals, or help write safeguarding policy, the big question is no longer only "Do we care about safety?" It is "Do we understand the rules well enough to make sound decisions when roles, responsibilities and risks overlap?" This conference looks designed to answer that more practical question. (gov.uk)

Day two shifts to information sharing, digital transformation and public protection. DBS says that part of the programme includes safeguarding adults, the DBS Strategy, customer experience and the role of regulators in safer recruitment and safeguarding. (gov.uk) That might read as technical language, but it matters in ordinary settings. Safeguarding systems only work when information is handled lawfully, services are clear enough for people to use, and different bodies can work together without missing warning signs. DBS's 2026 to 2027 business plan also says the organisation is focusing on improved services, closer work with partners and the careful use of technology, so the agenda matches the direction it has set for itself. (gov.uk)

DBS says speakers will include Dr Gillian Fairfield and Dr Jeff James CBE, and that sessions will also be delivered with the Information Commissioner’s Office and the Ann Craft Trust. For readers who do not spend every week inside safeguarding briefings, that mix of names tells you something useful: this is not only about background checks, but also about data, regulation and how organisations protect adults as well as children. (gov.uk) There is a wider lesson here too. Safer recruitment is never just one tick-box moment before somebody starts work. It depends on recruitment practice, lawful information sharing, barring decisions, and whether organisations act when concerns are raised. Put those pieces together and the conference starts to look less like an event notice and more like a live explainer on how safeguarding works in practice. (gov.uk)

The conference is open to anyone working in or interested in safeguarding, including people from statutory services, voluntary organisations and partner agencies. DBS says the full agenda and registration are on the DBS Conference 2026 page, and that updates will also appear on LinkedIn. (gov.uk) If you work in a school, a charity, a youth project or a care setting, the best reason to pay attention is simple. Policy changes can seem distant until they change who needs a barred list check, what counts as regulated activity, or how your organisation is expected to respond when something feels wrong. This October conference will not settle every debate, but it should help turn a complicated set of rules into something clearer and more usable. (gov.uk)