Total ban for sex offenders working in schools

Anyone convicted or cautioned for sex offences against children will be barred from working in school, Education Secretary Ruth Kelly has announced.

In a statement to Parliament, Ms Kelly announced a major overhaul of the current system, which vets and approves school staff, following revelations that sex offenders had been allowed to work in schools.

A new Bill, which would be introduced next month, would integrate and update the government's List 99 - of offenders who are banned from working in schools - with the Protection of Children lists of individuals deemed unsuitable to work with children.

There would a centralised vetting and barring system, which would be run by a statutory body, removing the decisions for making decisions on who should work with children from ministers.

Ms Kelly said that the new legislation would be introduced "within weeks", but until then, the decisions would be made by a panel of police, child protection workers and medical practitioners, led by former Barnardo's Sir Roger Singleton.

The Education Secretary also announced that mandatory checks would also have to be carried out on every newly appointed teachers and school worker, by schools, supply agencies and other employers in the education sector.

The new measures have been introduced following the row over the revelation that a Norfolk man was cleared by the Department of Education to work as a PE teacher, although he had received a police caution for accessing banned images of children on the Internet.

Ms Kelly said: "I deeply regret the worry and concern that has been caused to parents over the last few days. I'm determined to do all I can to ease their concerns.

"We need a system where child protection comes first - above all other considerations. It must be a rigorous system drawing on the best expert advice. There must be absolute clarity about who does what. The system must command public confidence and it must be accountable."

In Parliament on Thursday, Ms Kelly confirmed that there had been 10 similar cases since 1997. However, she said that none of the people in question currently worked in any schools and had been assessed by experts as not posing a threat to children.

(KMcA)