Thanks for signing up for Family Camp, or even better signing up as an adult volunteer. Don’t worry though, the first one of those things doesn’t always lead to the second 😉

If you have signed up for Family Camp, we mentioned in the signup info that all adults staying overnight at camp must have a valid DBS done through Scouts. This is a safeguarding requirement and there is simply no avoiding it. If we do not receive a DBS result before camp, you cannot join us.

The process for completing a Scout DBS has changed in the past 6 months, so even if you think you know the process, follow this guide. There are differences.

Stage 1

If you or any members of your Family Camp party are not already in our membership system, or you have an expired Scout DBS and we need to recover your record, you will be asked to complete (or ask them to complete) this simple form to capture their basic details: https://forms.gle/o5J5oJYZsbAz9LVn6

Stage 2

Once we have registered an adult on the system they will be required to log in and accept some terms and conditions for the system. They will receive an email asking them to log in and do this. We know that these emails go to junk quite often, so keep an eye out. We will also email you to let you know registration is complete.

There is a simple guide to the steps you need to take in the membership system on the Scouts website here: https://www.scouts.org.uk/volunteers/volunteer-experience/digital-tool-guides/quick-start/

Stage 3

When we see that you have logged in and completed all the steps we will be able to kick off the DBS process. Again, this will send an email to you but from a different system called Atlantic Data. We will also email you to prompt you to look for the Atlantic Data email.

When you log in you should be able to follow the section of the official Scout guidance on this page. The section you need is called “Step-by-step: How to complete disclosure request ‘all in one’ route through Atlantic Data”. This guide is pretty extensive but boils down to:

  • Select two ID documents: we strongly recommend UK passport and UK driving licence
  • Select another document: this is used for proof of address and we’d recommend council tax or bank statement
  • Give further details such as National Insurance Number and address history for the past 5 years
  • Complete the final declaration
  • Submit

We don’t get a notification when you complete that last step, but we’ll keep an eye on the system.

Stage 4

We’ll then check which documents you gave details of and we will be in touch by email to validate these.

Stage 5

We wait for a DBS check to come back. This can be as quick as a couple of days, but can take weeks if you have a lot of former addresses or an address in a police force area who are slow to respond to DBS queries. This is out of our control.

We don’t get any notification when a check comes back, but we will check the system regularly. You will receive a paper certificate in the post, probably a week or two after the system updated at our end.

Should there be an adverse response from DBS or no response is received by the week before camp we will let you know that you are unable to take up your place at camp.

This seems like a lot of effort but in reality it takes very little time on your part. We’ll be processing 30-40 checks in the run up to camp so we know the pain of dealing with the system.

If you have any problems with the process please email dbs.queries@bartonscouts.co.uk and we’ll get back to you ASAP.