Criminal record checks revealed sex offender applied to work in Teesside classroom

A sex offender applied to work in a Teesside classroom, a Freedom of Information Act request has shown.

Checks on people applying to work as teachers, teaching assistants, or headteachers in Redcar and Cleveland in 2012/13 and 2013/14 have turned up a previous conviction for an indecent exposure with intent to insult a woman.

The statistic was revealed through an FOI request to the Disclosure and Barring Service, which provides criminal record checks.

The offence is on a list of those which can lead to someone being added to a “barred” list, banning them from working with children.

If the person has worked with, or is likely to work with, children, and has been convicted or cautioned by these offences, they will be added to the barring list, subject to the consideration of representations about why they should not be.

It is an offence to employ anyone on the barred list. It is also an offence for anyone on the list to apply for a job working with the group they are barred from working with.

The checks for Teesside also found an applicant with a conviction for causing grievous bodily harm in Redcar and Cleveland, and one for using racially threatening words or behaviour in Stockton.

Across Teesside, 4,987 checks were run in 2013/14, with 104 returning previous cautions or convictions. The most common types of conviction or cautions turned up in checks were shoplifting and drink-driving.

But because the figures refer to convictions and not individuals, it is difficult to know exactly how many people the figures cover.

The figures do not show whether or not people whose checks turned up previous convictions went on to be employed. Not all serious convictions lead to people being automatically considered for a ban.

Redcar and Cleveland Council leader, Councillor George Dunning, said: “Enhanced checks through the Data Barring Service are essential for anyone who works with children and vulnerable adults.

“This shows the screening system is working and it’s extremely encouraging that people who have serious convictions are being identified.”

Stockton Council’s Cabinet member for children and young people, Councillor Ann McCoy, said: “The safety and well-being of our children and young people is of utmost importance to us. That’s why we carry out careful checks on anyone who applies for a job at or works in our schools.”