If you are in the UK and are intending to tutor students younger than 18, or those still at school, you must have an enhanced DBS check carried out and uploaded to Spires.

If you are not in the UK, you will need to obtain your own local equivalent criminal record or background check.

Through our partnership with The Tutors Association (TTA), we have developed the steps detailed in this article for UK based tutors to apply for an Enhanced DBS Check.

Please ensure you READ this article carefully. If you do not follow the instructions in the article, your application will be delayed and it will not be up to the Spires team or the TTA to correct your application, it is up to you to ensure that you have followed the instructions carefully.

Ensure you are sending copies of valid documents, and any pictures should have clearly legible text. If the documents cannot be read, or they are out of date, or they do not match your name, date of birth or address, they will be declined, which will delay your application.

It would be best to get your documents in order before starting the DBS application online.

You will need three documents, and one must be your valid passport. Non-UK passport holders should provide a Biometric Residency permit or government document showing proof to live/work in the UK.

The TTA have told us the best supporting documents are Photo Driving Licence (current & valid), then a document bearing the current address which the applicant entered on the Checks Direct website. This can be a Bank, Building Society, Credit Card or Utility statement which is NOT more than 3 months old.

When 3 such documents have been identified and certified, an application will go through smoothly and relatively quickly.

If the documents do not match the applicant’s input on their application, there will be delays so it’s crucial to check that the certified ID documents are correct at the outset.

If, for any reason, one of the above documents can’t be found, the more comprehensive list of accepted ID documents is listed below:

Please note that one of the documents must show your date of birth and one must show the current address, which you entered onto the DBS system, when beginning your application. Please ensure that each document is signed, certified and dated before being scanned and emailed to us.

Details are given here: https://www.gov.uk/certifying-a-document

Certified ID should be scanned and emailed to [email protected].

To begin an application, follow the steps below:

Please complete as many details requested as possible, i.e. middle name/s if they have any, especially in the form that they appear on the documents. Information entered on the application must match the documents. Any discrepancies will result in the application being delayed.

Note: Applicants have 6 months to complete their DBS application once started. After this time, the company will cancel the application without refund.

Once you have completed the application form, please email [email protected] and CC [email protected], sending copies of your certified identity documents. In the email write that you are a Spires tutor applying for an Enhanced DBS.

Please note: The images you send should be of a sensible size and the text must be easily legible.

Once the correct, certified documents are received, their details will be entered into your initial application and an email will be sent to you confirming that the application has been approved for process.

Once the DBS have completely approved your application, they will contact the TTA with your certificate number and issue date. The TTA will then forward this information on to you in a final email.

Certificates are posted directly from the DBS body by second class post. Please note that the tutor has only a 30-day window from the date of issue to apply for the update service. If they need to request a copy of their certificate, due to not receiving it, they must call The DBS directly on 0300 0200 190 – when prompted to select a number option, choose ‘2’ each time.

If you do not hear anything back, then contact the TTA on [email protected] and send them your long reference number. They can then try and help you from there.

You can upload your certificate to your profile page. We will then need to manually check this, and we check for new uploads each morning of the work week. For further details see the article on background checks.

Upon receiving your Enhanced DBS you can use this link to join the renewal service. Tutors must sign up to the renewal service, as it is far more straightforward than getting a new DBS done. It costs about £19 per year, and your check remains up to date all the time.