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Eleanor Schooling |
Schools told to provide details of staff criminal record checks
Education chiefs give schools five days to prove systems have been followed
EDUCATION chiefs have given every school in Islington five days to prove they have made reference and criminal records checks on all staff.
And governors were reminded of “safer recruitment practices” at a boroughwide governors meeting held at Laycock Street professional development centre in Highbury Corner on Tuesday.
The move comes after the Tribune revealed how 12 governors at Canonbury Primary School walked out at the end of last term, fearing they were being scapegoated for failings in recruitment systems at the school.
Investigations by the Tribune uncovered a system where Islington Council and Cambridge Education (CE) – the private company which runs Islington schools – relied on reports from schools that they have checked all staff records but could not confirm that they had seen documentary proof.
But this week the director of children’s services, Eleanor Schooling, who has been seconded to the council from CE, wrote to all chairs of governors, demanding to see the school’s Single Central Record of Recruitment “as evidence to support safer recruitment”.
In the letter, Ms Schooling explains that over the past three years CE has sent out regular bulletins in relation to safer recruitment and criminal records checks.
She writes: “This documentation is required in order that I can be sure... as Director of Children’s Services that due process is being adhered to and that children and students in our schools are safe.”
She adds: “Please provide the school’s Single Central Record of recruitment and vetting checks as evidence to support safer recruitment.
“This record must accurately reflect all staff who are employed to work at the school, including volunteers, and all staff who are employed as supply staff providing education whether employed directly by the school or through an agency. We expect you to have this information available and therefore providing it will not be a problem.”
One school governor, who did not wish to be named, said: “To be fair to CE, they have regularly sent out reminders about safe recruitment to schools.”
Islington Council and CE have come under pressure to prove all staff references have been checked after it was revealed that they knew about recruitment problems at Canonbury as far back as 2005.
The failures at Canonbury School are believed to have continued for more than two years after they were first uncovered by Islington Council. |
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