Education recruiter, Select Education plc is claiming that the List 99 system, which bars teachers and others from working with children and young people suffers from weaknesses that impact on the ability of schools to ensure the protection of children in their care.
Bob Wicks, Chief Executive of Select Education plc, which places teachers and other education staff in schools and other establishments across the UK, has written to School Standards Minister David Milliband setting out his concerns about the lack of effectiveness of List 99. He comments, ëThe process for including teachers and others on List 99, and from working with children, features a number of safeguards which are rightly aimed at protecting the rights of the individual concerned. However, reaching a decision to include someone on List 99 can take some time and during that time they may still be working or applying for work. This is a serious problem, which could have tragic consequences.í
Select Education is pointing to the differences between the List 99 process and the Department of Healthís Protection of Children Act (PoCA) List which provides for organisations to report cases where they have or have considered dismissing a child care worker for misconduct. When this happens, the Secretary of State for Health has powers to place an interim bar on the individual from working with children, pending completion of investigations.
Bob Wicks says this provisional listing process creates a much more secure system which not only increases confidence in users, but also and more importantly, improves child protection. He says, ëSelect Education has come across some worrying cases where there has been a failure to include an individual on List 99, even though there are very clear reasons to do so. This means that they could still be working with children. If DfES List 99 followed the more recent Department of Health PoCA process they could not.í
The call from Select Education to tighten up on List 99 procedures comes in the light of the recent publication of the Bichard Report into child protection procedures in the light of the Soham murders. Bob Wicks says, ëThere is clearly a systemic weakness in the List 99 process, which can only lead to a loss of confidence. It is important that the system is far more robust, and we hope that the Bichard Report proposals, which include setting up a single registration body, may well be the answer to this worrying problem.í
Select Education calls on Minister to reform List 99
Select Education plc is claiming that the List 99 system, which bars teachers from working with children suffers from weaknesses that impact on the ability of schools to ensure the protection of children