DBS and Occupational Health

A number of courses within the School of Health and Society include a placement which involves engaging in what is known as a Regulated Activity. This Regulated Activity relating to adults and/or children is subject to receipt of satisfactory Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) clearance.

Your offer of a place on one of these courses is subject to receipt of satisfactory DBS clearance. This condition will remain in place irrespective of whether you have registered as a student or commenced your studies. The University has the right to withdraw the offer of a place to anyone who fails to provide a satisfactory DBS check. Moreover, failure to declare a conviction etc that is subsequently revealed on a DBS check may also affect your offer of a place. The University accepts no responsibility for any adverse consequences which result from the University withdrawing your offer of a place on the course or cancelling your registration and removing you from the course (as the case may be). When you have accepted a place at the University, prior to your commencement, we will email you instructions on how to apply for DBS clearance through the University’s online system. The online system is run by Atlantic Data Ltd and access is controlled by a login process, with all information provided through a secure website and all personal data transmitted using encryption.

The University currently does not accept DBS Enhanced Certificates from any other registered bodies. However, if you subscribe to the DBS Update Service, and your DBS Certificate is the same level of check required for your course, and not for a volunteer position, we will check your up-to-date status online with the DBS.

When you receive your DBS Enhanced Certificate please keep it for future use, you can choose to subscribe to the DBS Update Service, however this is currently not a requirement of the University. If you decide to subscribe to the DBS Update Service you must do so within 30 days from the date of issue of your DBS Certificate. A fee is charged for this Service and this is paid directly to the DBS.

The University of Salford fully complies with the DBS Code of Practice which sets out obligations for everyone participating in the Disclosure process.

The role of the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) is to help us as a University make safer recruitment decisions by checking the background of our applicants and collecting details of any convictions, cautions, reprimands, bind-overs and final warnings.

To get your DBS clearance from the University, you will need to complete the following processes:

1. You will receive an e-invitation from dbs@salford.disclosures.co.uk called 'Activation of Disclosure Service Account’. Follow the instructions in the e-invitation to log in to your online application.
2. Complete your application by choosing three documents from the DBS list of acceptable documents to prove your identity. You'll need to upload images of these original identity documents and submit your application. Please ensure all documents display the same name, names in the same order and same spelling in each of the three documents. Uploaded images must be legible and include the entire document (front and back).
3. Once you've submitted your application, Atlantic Data will undertake a virtual ID check and submit your form to the DBS for checking. Images that do not comply to these strict criteria will be rejected. It is important to check your account until your application has passed the ID verification stage. This should take up to five working days. If your application does not pass ID verification stage within one week, please contact student onboarding.
4. When DBS have finished their checks, they will post an Enhanced Certificate your current address. This process usually takes six weeks but can take longer. Do not delay starting your application.
5. Please keep your Enhanced Certificate for the duration of your course, as you may be asked for it when you begin each of your placements.
6. The University is informed of your clearance via this system, so you do not need to send us a copy of your certificates.

You need to have at least started your application before induction week as failure to have an enhanced DBS certificate may impact you being able to be released for placement. Further information is available from studentonboarding@salford.ac.uk and our DBS Information Sheet. 

If you are a student and you are registered on a course which does not require DBS clearance as part of the entrance criteria, but you do require DBS clearance for a placement, please ask your Programme Leader/Placement Tutor to contact studentonboarding@salford.ac.uk