Chamber and committees

Regulated roles are defined under schedule 2 and schedule 3 of the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007 and there is guidance to assist at PVG scheme - Regulated roles guidance - mygov.scot.

It is the responsibility of the organisation providing the individual with the role to assess whether, as a necessary part of that individual’s role, the type of activity they are doing with children would meet the definition of a regulated role with children set out in schedule 2 of the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007.

Where an individual is doing a regulated role, the organisation supplying them is responsible for confirming PVG scheme membership.

For school-based volunteering managed by the school or local authority, the school or local authority must apply its own recruitment procedures, including appropriate use of the PVG scheme.

When activities arranged by a school are provided by another organisation, for example, a charity providing mental health support to pupils then suitability for the role is the responsibility of the charity. The charity must ensure that the individual is a PVG scheme member and has received a Level 2 PVG scheme disclosure before undertaking the regulated role.

A more definitive answer to this question cannot be provided as it is unclear whether the role would take place within a school or on the charity's own premises. This distinction is significant because the setting can determine whether a role is regulated, particularly where there is potential for unsupervised contact with children.

In relation to activities involving contact with children, a charity representative delivering a talk about their organisation is unlikely to be carrying out a regulated role. However, if the charity is delivering workshops designed to train or teach children a specific skill or activity or is providing recreational or physical activities, then the individual would be carrying out an activity set out in schedule 2 of the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007.