Thousands Of Criminals Applied To Be Teachers

More than 4,000 offenders, including paedophiles, drug dealers and violent thugs, applied to become teachers last year.

The applications were rejected after criminal records checks.

Among the previous convictions discovered were four for child sex offences, including one for a sex attack on a girl under 13, as well as three convictions for assaulting or neglecting a child.

The Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) said that to date checks had helped stop more than 130,000 unsuitable people from working with children and many of the offences would lead to an automatic ban on the offenders becoming teachers.

The figures, released to the Press Association, revealed the 263,477 checks carried out for the post of "teacher" in 2011 found 4,098 of these had 9,493 previous offences between them.

These included more than 50 sex offences, 11 for arson, and two for making threats to kill.

The sex offences included four indecent assaults on children, 13 on adults, eight acts of gross indecency, 12 of indecent exposure and 19 involving prostitution.

Thousands Of Criminals Applied To Be Teachers 

Of the 830 violent offences, more than 130 were for assaulting a police officer, 22 were for assaults causing grievous bodily harm, 45 were for wounding and almost 300 were assaults occasioning actual bodily harm.

Brian Lightman, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders , said it was "extremely encouraging that the CRB system is picking up these issues so prospective employers are able to ensure they don't employ people with these convictions".

He added that the proportion of those applying to become teachers who had convictions was "very small".

A CRB spokeswoman said: "Criminal records checks have helped to stop at least 130,000 unsuitable people from working or volunteering with children or vulnerable people."

Netmums founder Siobhan Freegard said: "Parents will be appalled at these figures." 

Netmums founder Siobhan Freegard said: "Parents will be appalled at these figures.

"Being a schoolteacher or a nursery worker is a position of huge responsibility as you are shaping youngsters' characters and lives.

"It's shocking that thousands of offenders are applying to work with children when they have convictions for child sex attacks, violence and drugs."