A PRIMARY school was forced to delay its first day of term last week because obligatory criminal record checks had not been completed by the Government.
Children at Bullion Lane Primary School, in Chester-le-Street, had to stay at home on Wednesday for what should have been the first day of a new academic year, because four teachers had still not received clearance from the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB).
The CRB has to check the histories of all teaching and support staff and nationally is dealing with a backlog of several thousand applications for checks considered urgent. It could be Christmas before the entire backlog is cleared.
But headteacher of Bullion Lane Primary Alan Verheyden said teachers and pupils were all due back in school on Thursday.
By 3.30pm on Wednesday three teachers had received clearance and they had a supply teacher on stand-by in case the last teacher was not given the go-ahead.
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