CHILD protection agencies and teachers’ unions yesterday demanded urgent reforms after it emerged that Ruth Kelly, the Education Secretary, had approved the appointment of a sex offender as a PE teacher.

The man, who has not been named, had just started work at a comprehensive school in Norwich when police found out and protested, prompting his suspension and resignation. He had been arrested for accessing paedophile websites but was never convicted. However, the man, who is about 30, was put on the sex offenders register after a caution.

When he applied for a job at the Hewett School, a 2,000 pupil comprehensive that was put on special measures in 2004 for failing to improve, he disclosed his status as a sex offender but denied the allegations. However, to receive a caution, he must have admitted an offence in front of a senior police officer.

The fact that Ms Kelly approved the appointment knowing his history has astonished teachers’ unions, children’s charities and social workers.

The Department for Education and Skills said yesterday that it was reviewing its policy and that it would close any loopholes if required. Many agencies and teachers said that lessons had still to be learnt after the murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, the Soham schoolgirls, in 2002. Ian Huntley, convicted of their murder, was their school caretaker and had been linked to allegations of rape and sex with underage girls.

Mick Brookes, the general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said that the case highlighted the need to change further the education employment system. “This case demonstrates a need to make sure all parties work together with agencies on a regional and national level,” he said.

Ms Kelly apparently believed that evidence that the man in this case had accessed paedophile websites was inconclusive and that he did not belong on list 99, the national list of people barred from working with children. She gave him the green light to work in schools last May. The Hewett School was put on special measures in December 2004 after Ofsted found that it had poor standards, pass rates and attendance.

Tom Samain, the school’s headteacher, and Marion Wright, the chairman of the governors, said in a statement about the teacher’s removal: “We are concerned at the policy contradictions it throws up, and have raised our concerns with the DfES.”

RECORD CHECKS

• Teachers get criminal record checks every three years, or when they start at a new school
• A new system for staff registration is expected this year after Ian Huntley, the Soham murderer, passed a record check despite a string of sex allegations
• The Criminal Records Bureau found that a third of organisations were failing to confirm applicant identities accurately
• Headteachers last year began testing interview techniques designed to stop them appointing staff who pose a risk to children
• The Government hopes to set up a registration system by next year that would require teachers to have a licence showing they could work with children

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