DBS Checks for School Cleaners in 2026: What Schools and Contractors Need to Know

Do school cleaners need a DBS check?

For schools, academy trusts and cleaning contractors, the safest answer is not a blanket "yes" or "no". The appropriate level of DBS check depends on the role and the circumstances in which the cleaner works.

Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) 2026 says schools and colleges should ensure contractors working on site have been subject to the appropriate level of DBS check. Current Disclosure and Barring Service guidance also specifically recognises ancillary roles such as cleaners working in educational establishments.

This guide explains the practical position for school cleaning contracts in England. It is general information, not legal advice, and schools should check the current Department for Education and DBS guidance when deciding the correct check for a role.

Why cleaners are specifically relevant to DBS guidance

The Disclosure and Barring Service's September 2026 guidance on regulated activity with children includes people working in specified establishments such as schools.

The DBS guidance gives cleaners as an example of an ancillary role. A cleaner can be carrying out regulated activity with children through work in a specified establishment when the relevant statutory criteria are met — including frequency, opportunity for contact with children and the nature of the work.

That is important because the level of DBS check available depends on the legal eligibility of the role.

What KCSIE says about contractors

KCSIE 2026 contains specific contractor provisions.

In practical terms, schools should:

• set their safeguarding requirements out in the contract;
• make sure contractors and contractor employees have the appropriate DBS check;
• control contractors who have not had the required checks;
• determine appropriate supervision where necessary; and
• check contractor identity when they arrive.

For cleaning contracts, those points should be reflected in recruitment, mobilisation, relief cover and site-access procedures.

Read the wider KCSIE 2026 guide for school cleaning contractors for the full operational context.

Enhanced DBS with a Children's Barred List check

An Enhanced DBS check with a Children's Barred List check is available where the role is eligible, including where the person is carrying out regulated activity with children.

The current DBS guidance explains that ancillary staff such as cleaners can fall into regulated activity through work in a specified establishment where all the relevant criteria are met.

This is why the actual working arrangement matters. A job title alone does not establish the legal level of check.

Enhanced DBS without a barred list check

KCSIE also distinguishes contractor roles that do not amount to regulated activity but provide an opportunity for regular contact with children.

Those circumstances can still require an Enhanced DBS check, but without Children's Barred List information.

Again, the correct check is based on legal eligibility rather than a contractor simply choosing the highest-sounding level.

What if the cleaner has no opportunity for regular contact with children?

KCSIE recognises that some contractor roles may not create an opportunity for regular contact with children. In those circumstances the school or college should decide whether a basic check is appropriate.

This could be relevant to some short-duration, out-of-hours or specialist works, but the school should base the decision on the real role and working arrangements rather than assume that "after school" automatically means no safeguarding risk.

Cleaning during school hours versus out of hours

Shift timing can materially affect the circumstances of a cleaning role.

A cleaner who routinely works in a school while pupils are present may have a different contact opportunity from a specialist operative who attends once during a closed holiday period.

That does not mean shift timing alone determines DBS eligibility. Frequency, location, contact opportunity, role and other statutory criteria all matter.

Schools should therefore describe the proposed work accurately when checking eligibility.

What about relief cleaners?

Relief and temporary cover are where otherwise good contractor controls can break down.

A school should understand:

• who is allowed to attend as cover;
• whether the replacement's DBS status has been verified at the appropriate level;
• how the contractor confirms the replacement is the person who was checked;
• whether the person has received the relevant safeguarding/site induction; and
• how the school is notified before or when the personnel change occurs.

An urgent absence should not turn into an informal exception to the safeguarding process.

What about mobile cleaners working across several schools?

Multi-site working needs deliberate governance because one employee may attend several schools or trust sites.

The fact that a cleaner works across a number of locations does not remove the need to assess the role properly. Schools and contractors should consider the actual pattern of work and current DBS eligibility guidance.

For multi-academy trusts, a central contractor compliance register can make oversight easier, while each school still controls local access and induction arrangements.

Should a school ask to see the DBS certificate?

The school needs assurance that the appropriate checks have been completed, but the exact evidence and recordkeeping process depends on the engagement route and the school's own responsibilities.

Schools should follow KCSIE and current DBS guidance on what must be checked, confirmed and recorded rather than routinely collecting more personal information than necessary.

Is the DBS Update Service the same as having a DBS check?

No. The DBS Update Service is a mechanism that can allow the status of an existing certificate to be checked where the conditions for using it are met. It does not remove the need to establish whether the certificate is at the correct level and workforce for the new role.

Contractors should have a controlled process rather than rely on employees simply saying they are "on the Update Service".

ICS Cleaning's education-site standard

ICS's current education cleaning service uses enhanced DBS checking for operatives deployed to education sites and safeguarding awareness training before starting.

That is our operational standard for school delivery; it should not be confused with a statement that the law requires exactly the same DBS level for every cleaning role in every circumstance.

Our approach also includes site-specific induction covering safeguarding, the school layout and the agreed cleaning specification.

Read How ICS Cleaning Supports Safer Schools for the wider process.

Questions schools should ask prospective cleaning contractors

A procurement or review should go beyond "Are your cleaners DBS checked?"

Ask:

1. How do you decide which DBS check is appropriate for each school role?

2. Who verifies the result before the person is deployed?

3. How is DBS status recorded and controlled?

4. How are relief and temporary staff handled?

5. What happens if a required check is pending?

6. How do you notify the school when personnel change?

7. What identity checks and sign-in arrangements apply on arrival?

8. What safeguarding induction is completed?

9. How do you deal with specialist or subcontracted staff?

10. What evidence can you provide during mobilisation and contract review?

Schools can generate a fuller procurement checklist with the School Cleaning Tender Assistant.

Build better safeguarding questions into your cleaning tender

Use the School Cleaning Tender Assistant to structure questions on DBS, relief staff, safer recruitment, induction and contractor oversight.

Open Tender Assistant