Protection of Vulnerable Groups (PVG)
All people undertaking regulated work with a protected group, children or adults, is required to become a member of the PVG scheme.
It is the responsibility of each club to ensure all persons (paid/voluntary) who work with protected groups – children or adults are suitable to do so and should follow the Scottish Cycling Safe Recruitment Guidance.
Part of safe recruitment is ensuring that people within the club who require a PVG check have one. Scottish Cycling is able to help clubs with the administration of this process. A step by step overview of the Scottish Cycling PVG process can be found here.
Getting started with PVGs:
- The club must have in place a Secondary Organisation Contract with Scottish Cycling
- The Secondary Organisation Contract must be signed by the club Wellbeing and Protection Officer (WPO) who will act as the club PVG ID checker. Clubs can identify more than one person to act as the club ID checker, each person must be noted and have signed the secondary organisation contract
- Get a copy of the secondary organisation contracthere.
- Clubs must have secure handling policies in place in relation to how they handle disclosure information as identified on the secondat organisation contract. If a club requires one, Volunteer Scotland Disclosure Services have a template which can be found here. (Filter by "Sample Policy").
The Secondary Organisation Contract allows Scottish Cycling to process PVG applications requests for clubs and send them to Volunteer Scotland.
If you have any queries on the PVG process including: eligibility or what constitutes regulated work, please contact the Scottish Cycling Wellbeing and Protection Team: wpo@scottishcycling.org.uk
Who Needs a PVG?
Not everyone in your club requires a PVG, only those who have a role that that comes under the definition of regulated work. If you would like to know what that means, or want to know who in your club should apply for a PVG check, you can find out here. Scottish Cycling currently process check for the following roles:
- Club Wellbeing & Protection Officer
- Coach
- Assistant Coach
- Mountain Bike Leaders
- Parent/Club Activities Helper
- Team Leader
- Event Welfare Officer
For those aged 15 and under who are in regulated work, Volunteer Scotland Disclosure Services have published some additonal steps to consider before submitting their PVG application. This can be found here.
Submitting PVG Applications
Wellbeing & Protection Officers (WPO's) are responsible for managing the process for submitting PVG applications on behalf of their club members. To do this they must:
1. Download the "Online Application Request Form"
2. Liaise with the club members to input their information into the request form
3. Check the club members identification documentation and verify their identity
4. Sign and submit the request form to wpo@scottishcycling.org.uk
Process and Timeline for PVG
Once your club WPO sends a completed PVG application to the SC WPO, the following process and approximate timescales exist:
- SC WPO submits applicaiton via Volunteer Scotland Disclosure Services (VSDS) online form. 1-14 days.
- VSDS process PVG application and send link via email to applicant. 7-10 days.
- Online PVG application completed by applicant.
- Disclosure Scotland process and send out PVG Certficate. 7-10 days.
Additional Guidance for Transgender Disclosure Applicants
If you're transgender you can apply for a disclosure using a special process. This means you do not have to tell the person or organisation asking you for a disclosure what your previous gender was. You only have to tell Disclosure Scotland. You can find out further information on how to apply here.
Frequently Asked Questions
For a list of Frequently Asked Questions please click here
PVG Resources
Online PVG Application Guidance for WPOs
Online PVG Application Request Form
Online PVG Application Guidance for Applicants
Disclousure Scotland Full Guidance Pack for Applicants
