Following the tragic events in Soreham a spokesman for Essex LEA has said parents should be reassured that stringent measures are in place to protect school children.

All staff or people who work with school children are checked under new measures introduced earlier this year, the Criminal Records Bureau checks.

"While we don't have details of what happened in Cambridge we can say that anybody with direct access to school children, even bus drivers, are checked. Since the introduction of Criminal Records Bureau earlier this year there is greater child protection."

A spokesman for Select Education, the agency providing Essex Schools with supply teachers, also said there were very stringent checks on new staff through the Criminal Records Bureau which includes List 99 of people not allowed to work with children.

Published Friday August 23, 2002

Brought to you by the Essex Chronicle