SCHOOLS are employing supply staff without checking their criminal backgrounds, Cheshire teaching union chiefs claimed last night.
The claim from the Cheshire branch of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) comes as its members are poised to call for an “easier” set-up surrounding the employment of school staff.
The Cheshire branch’s motion will be debated tomorrow at the ATL’s annual conference, at the BT Convention Centre, Liverpool.
Under government guidelines, agencies are responsible for Criminal Records Bureau checks and informing schools if any checks for the staff they supply are still pending from the CRB.
But, with checks taking up to six weeks, and concern nationally that some agencies fail to do checks, the Cheshire branch of the ATL is calling for “a centralised source” such as a computer database which schools and other child-related employers could tap into.
Last night, Bruce Murdin, ATL executive member for Cheshire, said currently supply teachers had to fork out around £36 for a CRB check every time they signed up to a different agency, even if they moved to schools just half a mile across a border.
Because the system is so costly and time consuming, some schools are employing staff without checks.
He said: “A head teacher may phone a mate in another school and make sure they’re OK before deciding ‘Yes, we’ll have him’.”
Ian Andain, head teacher at Broadgreen International school, refuted the claim, stressing “proof is always sought”.
Schools Secretary Ed Balls yesterday hinted at the conference that Key Stage Two tests may be abolished, stressing they were “not set in stone.”