Introducing the Partnership and Engagement team, and our new Regional Outreach service

Over the next four weeks, the Disclosure and Barring Service will be promoting the role of our Partnership and Engagement team, alongside the role of our new Regional Safeguarding Outreach Officers. This campaign will also focus on maximising understanding of the legal duty to refer throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

A central hub has been created, which will be updated over the course of the next four weeks, to include information about our Outreach Officers, what region they each cover, the support they provide, and how to contact them if you’d like to find out more.

Part of this campaign will also include a spotlight on one of our Regional Safeguarding Outreach Officers, Allister Woods, and the work he is doing in Northern Ireland.

The Partnership and Engagement team work regularly with other organisations, looking at how we can collaborate and share key messages amongst the safeguarding community. Their work includes national and sector-based engagement, and events with organisations such as British Ice-skating, British Wheelchair Basketball, and universities – specifically for students that will be engaging in regulated activity.

The team are also responsible for planning and delivering the DBS Conference.

Other pieces of previous, and upcoming, work include:

• sessions with university students studying Social Care with The Greater Lancashire Teaching Partnership and Teeside University – a significant part of these sessions focused on barring referrals and the legal duty to refer
• workshops with staff responsible for submitting DBS checks at the University of Manchester – the sessions included on overview of the DBS checking process and looked at the different levels of DBS checks, regulated activity and barring referrals
• speaking about barring referrals and the legal duty to refer at a number of events, including the Department for Education’s ‘Prevent Independent Learning Providers Network’ event, and the London Safeguarding Children Partnership Managers Meeting
• delivering a barring-focused event to Foster Care Providers and Foster Panel Members

Follow along with this work on the official DBS Twitter account @dbsgovuk, and get in touch if you have any questions or would like to find out more.