Warnings were given to the Welsh Assembly Government nearly a year ago that many schools and Local Education Authorities were not following the correct procedures in insisting on criminal record bureau checks for non-teaching staff, the Welsh Liberal Democrat Education spokesperson, Peter Black, has said.
Mr. Black was speaking following revelations that up to 80 people working in Powys schools have not been cleared to work with children. However, an Estyn report published in May 2006 had already identified this as an issue across Wales and had clear recommendations on how to address it.
In a survey of 28 schools spread across all 22 Welsh local education authorities, only 11 confirmed that they vet all adults who have access to children. Most of the remaining schools reported that visitors, including parent helpers, are not left on their own with children. However, schools where outside contractors provide catering and cleaning services were found to be uncertain as to whether the staff concerned had CRB clearance or not.
Only three of the schools spoken to confirmed that members of their governing body had CRB clearance, although six LEAs reported that all their school governors have done so. Seven other LEAs stated that their school governors have not obtained CRB clearance. Estyn concluded that there was a need for greater clarity and consistency in relation to vetting procedures for school governors, non-teaching staff, visitors to schools and other adults who have access to children.
Commenting on the Powys situation, Mr. Black said: "I am shocked that nine months after a report of this nature was published, and after the Education Minister took up the concerns raised by it with schools, that we still have a situation where adults can work with children in a school-setting, without being checked."
"Although the Minister took up the issues raised by Estyn following the publication of their report, it seems that both the Assembly Government and local education authorities have taken their eye off the ball since. There should have been a vigorous hands-on follow-up of the actions being taken as a result of Estyn's intervention, involving further surveys and inspections. There should have been a requirement for LEAs to report back to the Minister on how they were addressing these issues and proper monitoring of the effectiveness of any new procedures. Instead the report appears to have been shelved following the initial response to it, whilst a number of schools and LEAs seem to be still unclear as to all of their responsibilities in regards to child protection in schools."
"The Minister must now learn the lessons of what has happened in Powys and seek immediate and verifiable assurances from all schools that proper procedures are being followed. I welcome the legislation that is being introduced in March to make enhanced CRB checks and other pre-appointment checks mandatory across the school workforce, but these processes should already be in place as good practice and the Minister should have been actively promoting them."
