![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://uknews.evprotec.com/ni-education-schools-warned-over-not-vetting-substitute-teachers/&media=https://uknews.evprotec.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/127624063_gettyimages-640128687.jpg&description=Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, The Education Authority says 45 schools employed substitute teachers whose checks were not complete.Over 40 schools have been warned about employing teachers who have not fully completed criminal records checks.All school staff, including teachers, have to complete pre-employment vetting before they can work with children.Teachers are required to have an "enhanced" check, which discloses things like previous convictions.But 45 schools have been warned that they have employed substitute teachers whose pre-employment checks were not complete.The names of the schools have not been revealed.The warning came in a joint letter to a number of schools from the Education Authority (EA) and Department of Education (DE).The letter said the schools had employed a substitute teacher "outside of the well-established requirements for pre-employment checks, including vetting, being completed before the teacher took up employment".It said that all school employees "must have a vetting check in place prior to employment"."Compliance with such protocols is of paramount importance to support effective safeguarding in our schools."A subsequent email from an EA official, seen by BBC News NI, said the letters had been sent to 45 schools.Substitute teachers in Northern Ireland must be registered with the Northern Ireland Substitute Teacher Register (NISTR).NISTR is the online system schools use to book and process pay for substitute teachers, and it also records that criminal records checks for teachers have been completed.Some teachers were not paid in September and October as a result. leading the department to introduce interim emergency payments for those affected.In a statement, a spokesperson for the EA said that a "key part of the registration process for NISTR is the completion of pre-employment checks"."A teacher is not live on the register until these checks are complete and as such, cannot be booked by a school through NISTR," they contin){kind=link}
Over 40 schools have been warned about employing teachers who have not fully completed criminal records checks.
All school staff, including teachers, have to complete pre-employment vetting before they can work with children.
Teachers are required to have an “enhanced” check, which discloses things like previous convictions.
But 45 schools have been warned that they have employed substitute teachers whose pre-employment checks were not complete.
The names of the schools have not been revealed.