The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) has introduced a national campaign to raise awareness of the legal duty for organisations to submit referrals when individuals involved in regulated activity pose a safeguarding risk.
The initiative is initially focused on the South East of England, with a specific emphasis on faith-based organisations, where in recent years referrals have accounted for only 0.51 % of all submissions.
The 12-week campaign includes a range of activities designed to inform and support organisations and employers. These include free virtual workshops led by the DBS South East Regional Outreach Adviser, in-person drop-in sessions, pop-up clinics, and the release of 60-second explainer videos via social media and YouTube.
The content covers key topics such as: what constitutes the legal duty to refer, what regulated activity is, when a referral must be made, what happens after referral, and the consequences of non-compliance.
In-person sessions are scheduled at locations including Reading, Tonbridge, Brighton and Southampton.
The campaign also provides downloadable resources, such as guidance, a flowchart of the referral process, and a leaflet titled “Barring Referrals – How and when to make one”.
Organisations are encouraged to participate by registering for workshops or clinics, viewing the explainer videos, and following the campaign online using hashtags such as #FaithInSafeguarding and #DutyToRefer.
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