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DofE volunteering at holiday clubs: supporting young helpers

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The short answer

Give each young volunteer suitable tasks, a named adult supervisor and clear limits on what they may do. Those taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE) should get their activity approved by their Leader first. Taking part in the award does not make someone ready to look after children alone.

Scope: England · School-age holiday clubs and daytime activities · Check the rules for your club

Agree the DofE activity before it starts

DofE requires a volunteering activity to help others or the environment, with no payment beyond expenses. Ask the participant to obtain their Leader’s approval for the activity, timescale and goals before starting. Do not promise that one holiday week will complete their section.

Most ordinary work for a business does not qualify, but DofE describes exceptions for activities that benefit the wider community. Under those rules, the young person must help in a supporting role and must not count towards required staffing numbers; under-14s cannot volunteer for a profit-making organisation. Check the current rules against the actual provider and duties. [1]

The assessor should be independent, over 18, know about the activity and be available to review progress. A family member cannot be the assessor. Agree who can undertake that role before offering to sign off participation. [2]

Design a supported role

Our suggested role might involve preparing craft materials, helping an adult demonstrate a game or welcoming families alongside the reception team. Specify tasks the young person may do, tasks needing direct adult support and situations they should pass to their supervisor. Include breaks, a check-in and a way to raise a concern.

The Department for Education (DfE) recommends welcoming and briefing staff and volunteers, setting behaviour rules and having safeguarding arrangements. Apply those arrangements to young helpers as well, with explanations appropriate to their age. [3]

Check age and supervision requirements

For clubs on the compulsory Childcare Register, Ofsted requires anyone under 17 who looks after children to be supervised by someone aged 18 or over. Registered settings must apply their own staffing and suitability requirements. [4]

For other settings, NSPCC recommends counting only people aged 18 or over as adults in supervision ratios. Read the staffing chapter before treating a teenage helper as replacement cover. [5]

Make a role-specific DBS decision

A DBS applicant must be at least 16. For a 16- or 17-year-old, age alone does not tell you whether a check is allowed or required. Check the duties and the rules for your club. For younger helpers, a DBS application is not an available substitute for appropriate recruitment and supervision. [6]

After the September 2026 change, a role may allow a barred-list check even if another adult supervises the work. Reassess against current DBS guidance and use the safer recruitment chapter. [7][8]

Evidence behind this page

Sources and further reading

Fact-checked against these sources on . We check sources each month. This is our editorial review, not an independent legal or medical assessment.

The numbers in the text link to the sources below. Follow the original guidance for full details and later changes. How we check this guide.

  1. The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. Volunteering section↩Current programme guidance.Choosing an activity and volunteering for businesses.
  2. The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. Choosing Assessors↩Current programme guidance.Independence, age and assessment.
  3. Department for Education. Out-of-school settings: safeguarding guidance for providers↩Publication updated 9 February 2026; PDF history dated 2 February 2026.Suitability, training and safeguarding. Read the document (PDF).
  4. Ofsted. Daycare providers on the compulsory Childcare Register: requirements↩Updated 1 September 2026.Child welfare.
  5. NSPCC Learning. Recommended adult-to-child ratios↩September 2026.Young helpers.
  6. Disclosure and Barring Service. DBS checks: guidance for employers and voluntary organisations↩Updated 11 September 2026.Applicants’ rights and minimum age.
  7. Disclosure and Barring Service. Regulated activity with children: change from 1 September 2026↩Change effective 1 September 2026.Removal of the supervision exemption.
  8. Disclosure and Barring Service. Working with children in the charity sector↩Updated 17 September 2026.Eligibility and working or volunteering for a charity.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0, where applicable. Specialist sources are attributed to their respective publishers.