The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 (Prescribed Period and Appropriate Officer) (Wales) Regulations 2010

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 (“the 2006 Act”) provides the legislative framework for a new vetting and barring scheme for people who work with children and vulnerable adults. Section 13 of the 2006 Act requires that a check be made in relation to any person appointed to the governing body of an educational establishment. It is an offence to fail to carry out a check. These Regulations prescribe, for the purposes of section 13, the period within which that check must be carried out and the appropriate officer responsible for carrying it out.

Accordingly, the prescribed period is within four months of the date on which a person appointed to the governing body of an educational establishment consented to the appropriate officer making a check and provided any information required to make that check to the appropriate officer. The appropriate officer for an independent school is the proprietor and, for a further education institution, is the principal. In respect of all other educational establishments the appropriate officer is the chief education officer of the local authority.