Vetting those working in schools
Education Secretary Ruth Kelly today outlined plans to bar from working in schools any individual cautioned or convicted for sexual offences against children.
The planned changes to the vetting process for school workers will "bar from working with children (anyone) now convicted or cautioned for sexual offences against children, whether the individual is on the sex offenders register or not."
This will be achieved by new regulations which will see anyone who is convicted or cautioned for a sexual offence against a child is automatically placed on List 99 - the list used to stop individuals working in schools. Other serious sexual offences committed against adults will also see individuals placed on the list, although they will have the right to appeal. In February the Government will introduce new legislation which will go further and bring together List 99 and the Protection of Children Act List into a single register of those barred from working with children.
Another immediate change will see employers required to get Criminal Records Bureau checks for all newly appointed school employees. Teaching agencies will also have to comply.
The present vetting system will come under inspection from Ofsted, who will evaluate the practise in a sample of schools. Staff at the Department for Education and Skills who are part of the current vetting system will receive appropriate training, support and advice in child protection issues.
Kelly also announced that she would legislate to remove Ministers from the vetting process and replace them with independent experts. In advance of this, an independent panel of experts chaired by former head of Barnardo's Sir Richard Singleton will oversee the whole List 99 process.
Kelly said: "Nothing matters to parents more than the safety of their children. So I deeply regret the worry and concern that has been caused to parents over the last few days."
She continued: "It is therefore time to overhaul the system. 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 Government will be writing to all schools, Chief Constables, Chief Officers of Probation and the Youth Justice Board to both re-state how the current system works and explain how the new process will operate.
