Find out more about the legal responsibilities of Scottish volunteers and PVG. Along with step by step guidance on how volunteers can apply for PVG membership with the support of their local Membership Secretary.
Legislative Changes From 01 April 2025
From April 2025 legislative changes are being made to the Scottish PVG membership scheme. The new legislation is the ‘Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020’.
www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2020/13/contents
1.From 01 April two new offences will come into force:
- It will become an offence for anyone carrying out a regulated role* to do so whilst not a member of the PVG scheme;
- Organisations to offer any type of regulated role to an individual unless they have received a PVG scheme disclosure.
*Woodcraft Folk leaders and helpers (includes parent helpers) are considered regulated roles
PVG membership & results must be in place before a volunteer starts their position. Individuals found to be volunteering without a PVG could incur penalities. This can include both a membership secretary and/or Woodcraft Folk if deemed negligent.
Volunteers who have already been helping at group nights without a PVG will have a grace period of 3 months from April to apply for their scheme membership. We’ll be emailing all individuals on our records without a PVG to remind them to apply if they’re still active in Woodcraft Folk.
If you recruit a new volunteer who already has scheme membership for working with children (for another position outside Woodcraft Folk) , they’ll be able to start carrying out their role straight away providing a scheme update application is in process.
The legislation does not allow for supervised roles or induction/taster sessions that would give the volunteer the opportunity to have contact with children.
As part of volunteer recruitment groups are welcome to invite prospective volunteers to observe one group night. However they must not partake in any childcare/ regulated role and must be supervised at all times. This includes but is not limited to:
- Taking part in games or activities
- Personal care
- Supervision of children
- Providing refreshment
- Joining group circles
- Being identified as a person of responsibility
More advice about ‘observers’ is provided as part of our screening policies and guidance woodcraft.org.uk/resources/screening-vetting/
PVG Membership & Woodchip Groups
Parent/carers attending a woodchip group to support the participation of their child are not required to have PVG membership. However there must be a minimum of two leaders at the woodchip activity and they will legally be required to have PVG membership.
PVG Membership – Invited guests and instructors
Freelance instructors and invited guests leading activites which meet the PVG membership criteria should provide their own ‘Confirmation of PVG check’ before they attend the session. From 01 April it will be an offence for an instructor to carry out a regulated role without PVG membership.
PVG Legislation Changes Webinar (recorded March 2025)
2. From April 2026 PVG membership will need to be renewed every 5 years
There will be an implementation process to move existing PVG members over to the new renewal based process and all volunteers will be notified when their subscription is up for renewal.
3. No PVG checking for under 16’s
Under 16’s are able to continue to volunteer under supervision. Young volunteers turning 16 who are required to have a PVG to continue their role will be able to apply whilst they’re 15 at the discretion of Disclosure Scotland.
4. Stay legally compliant – Keep your PVG Record up to date
Please note if you’re a PVG scheme member and you change your name or gender, by law you must tell Disclosure Scotland within three months of doing so.
Make sure the details you’ve shared with Disclosure Scotland at the point of application are current (e.g. address / email address / contact number). This ensures they can contact you quickly if needed and information is sent to the right place. To contact Disclosure Scotland email dsupdate@disclosurescotland.gov.uk.
For more information on the legislative changes to PVG membership you can go to www.disclosure.gov.scot/disclosure-act-summary
Step by step guidance on how to apply for a PVG
The online application process is an easy 3 step process. Upon request application forms are sent directly to volunteers for completion using only a very simple template form. The results of the online check are sent to the applicant electronically and they’re required to share this information with the Woodcraft Folk membership team.
This guidance document is for both Membership Secretaries and applicants.
STEP 1 — Membership Secretary Guidance (only)
Once you’ve identified who needs to apply for a PVG, you’ll need to download an ‘Online application request form’ to complete and submit. You’ll need to liaise with your volunteers to complete the relevant sections of the form.
- Download a copy of our Online Application request form
- You can submit up to a maximum of 10 application requests per form
- The following fields must be completed on behalf of the applicant:
- Title, First name, Middle name, Surname
- Date of birth
- Applicants address
- Valid email address, this is where the application link will be sent so please make sure there are no misspelling or typos.
- Application type – select one of the following acronyms:
- Scheme Record to join (SRJ) – Applicant is joining the scheme for the first time
- Scheme Record Update (SRU) – The applicant is already a member of the scheme for the regulated work group you are checking
- Existing Member Scheme Record (ExSR) – The applicant is already member of the scheme
- You’ll need to witness the identity documents for each applicant. Click here to view our PVG ID checking guidance. Documents witnessed must be listed in the ‘ID verification’ column for each applicant on your form.
- Once completed return the form to membership@woodcraft.org.uk for processing. This usually takes 24-48hrs. All volunteer applications are free of charge.
For further guidance on the PVG application process, go to www.volunteerscotland.net/news/new-online-result-service-is-live and download their written guidance.
STEP 2 – Guidance for the applicant ‘Completing the application’
Once the request for an application has been submitted you will receive your online application form link by email from Disclosure Scotland via disclosurescotland@notifications.service.gov.scot.
You will only have 14 days to complete your application. A reminder email will be sent to you 2 days prior to your application link being cancelled. Please check your junk inbox if you do not receive your application link within 14day as the email might be there. If you do not complete your application form it will be cancelled and a new application request would need to be submitted by Woodcraft Folk, so please do try and complete your application upon receipt.
STEP 3 – Guidance for the applicant ‘Sharing your results‘
- On full completion of your application you will be notified via email from Disclosure Scotland that your online results are ready to be viewed and shared.
- You will need to either log in or create a Scot Account to view your results and share digitally or by paper.
- You’ll then be given the option to share your online results with Woodcraft Folk. Please do this asap so that we can complete the screening element of your membership application. You can also request that paper results be shared with us.
- If we’re unable to access your results we will ask that you reshare your link or request you send a paper copy.
All volunteers must ensure they have PVG membership in place before the start of their position. It will be a criminal offence to be actively helping out at group nights and overnight stays without a disclosure in place. If you fail to share your results with us we’ll contact both your local membership secretary and Group Leader and withold your request to volunteer until such time we receive an update on your disclosure.
Contact & support
If you need further information regarding the legislative changes or have any questions regarding the online application process you can contact the following:
Contact the Woodcraft Folk’s Membership team at membership@woodcraft.org.uk or call 020 7703 4173 (option 1).
Live Chat with Disclosure Scotland: you can access this service 9am-5pm Monday to Friday.