Council Still Carrying Out Inadequate Background Checks on Teachers

Nine years after a school caretaker murdered two schoolgirls in Cambridgeshire, nearly two thirds of audited schools continue to conduct inadequate background checks. An audit of sixteen schools found that ten failed to carry out proper checks prior to allowing teachers and staff work with children.

The annual audit of CRB checks began after it became clear that the former caretaker had had allegations of sexual assault in his criminal past, and been hired just the same. The council has since made every effort to increase the security and hiring scrutiny of new staff at their schools, all to little avail.

The audits over the past year have been only mediocre, showing that some schools are not even conducting a 30 minute check to see if a candidate is banned from teaching. Other times, schools were not checking on provided references. This lack of scrutiny shows poor judgement on the side of the schools, and reflects poorly on the school board.

While teachers are able to begin work prior to completing a CRB check, they must have a ‘List 99’ check completed, which verifies they are not barred from working in a school environment. The fact that some of the audited schools did not complete these when required has led to the conclusion that there must be many other schools demonstrating the same behaviour.

Schoolchildren in the Cambridgeshire district are still at a significant risk due to the inadequate checks being performed by the individual schools. The audits began in 2004 after a caretaker, who used a fake name to get hired, slew two schoolgirls. Another incident like this cannot be allowed to take place again. Do you know who you're hiring?

For more information on proper background checks visit backcheck.co.uk