Schools criticised on teacher vetting records

Schools have been criticised for failing to keep records on whether their staff are safe to work with children in a report by the government's education watchdog.

The report, which looked at 58 schools in England, found that all schools and local authorities involved in the recruitment of staff displayed "a high commitment to protecting children" and were "highly motivated in making thorough checks".

However, the report also found that when staff were in place, few schools and local authorities kept a secure, reliable and accessible record of List 99, the list of those people regarded as unsuitable to work with children, or Criminal Records Bureau checks.

The report claimed that few schools could prove that they had carried out checks on teaching staff. It also criticised police procedures for overseas teaching staff, claiming they were not "robust" and criticised ministers for failing to insist by law that teacher supply agencies vetted all staff.

The report had been commissioned by former Education Secretary Ruth Kelly during the row over sex offenders being cleared to work in schools.

Chief Inspector of Schools, Maurice Smith, said: "Schools and local authorities must keep up-to-date and reliable records to prove that the necessary checks on staff have been carried out.

"Currently, everybody thinks that somebody else is doing this or that it is somebody else's job when, in fact, hardly anybody has secure evidence that any of the simplest tasks have been completed at all, or when."

Responding to the report, Education Secretary Alan Johnston announced to the Commons that staff vetting procedures in schools would be tightened and would be checked as part of regular Ofsted inspections.

However, the National Confederation for Parent Teacher Associations said that it was outraged by the findings of the Ofsted report.

Spokesperson Margaret Morrissey said: "After last time, when it was revealed that adults with convictions for sex offences were able to continue working as teachers, parents believed they would make it safe. They must now realise you just can't issue guidelines - you've got to have laws."

(KMcA)