Guernsey's government appoints staff, not the school

It follows calls by the island's headteachers asking for radical changes into vetting procedures for school staff.

The UK's National Association of Headteachers (NAHT) has made a number of representations to an inquiry set up following conviction of school caretaker Ian Huntley for the murder of the Soham schoolgirls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman.

The NAHT has called for lessons to be learnt from the case and feels headteachers should receive all the information they legitimately need before staff are appointed to schools.

It applies to people who have been in the system for a while, as well as the new people Andrew Warren

Huntley was convicted at the Old Bailey in December of murdering Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman.

Many were shocked when it emerged he got his job despite a string of underage sex allegations against him.

A public inquiry chaired by former civil servant Sir Michael Bichard into how Huntley got a caretaker job opened in January.

Guernsey NAHT representative Andrew Warren said although the Guernsey system is slightly different from the UK's, in that the island's government appoints staff and not the school, the principles of recruitment are the same.

He said clear procedures were vital to avoid anything like the Huntley case happening in future.

However, Mr Warren also said staff wanting to work and already working in Guernsey's schools could not disguise their backgrounds.

He said: "Anybody who moves job within the education service goes through a checking process.

"Over the last few years, the Education Council and headteachers in schools have been going through those processes for existing staff, so it applies to people who have been in the system for a while, as well as the new people who are coming into a school."