As thousands of children are turned away from school on the first day of term the government is coming under increasing pressure to relax its guidelines on vetting new teachers.

Hundreds of schools in England and Wales are being hit by a backlog in the carrying out of checks by the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB).

Trouble spots

2,000 students at seven schools in Derbyshire sent home Stockport: 1,500 pupils told to stay at home 1,250 pupils turned away from a comprehensive school in Pinner, north west London 173 pupils at a school in Porth, south Wales are off Gloucestershire - Unvetted teachers allowed to teach, but not one-to-one

Thousands of children were off school on Wednesday in the Midlands, the north west of England, Surrey and London.

About 7,000 teachers have yet to be cleared to work in schools, despite a Wednesday deadline for the completion of the checks.

The CRB said the "vast majority" of those could not be processed because their application forms contained errors.

Only a handful of schools are closed but many are having to turn children away.

As pupils turned up for school on Wednesday, local councils were being sent secure e-mails from the CRB, telling them which teachers were free to enter the classroom as a result of checks completed during the night.

Councils fear lessons could be disrupted until Christmas

Thousands of pupils at schools which went back earlier have already missed lessons or been sent home because of the backlog.

The delays in completing police checks at the CRB are also affecting social services departments.

As the effects of the backlog began to hit, some head teachers, local councils and childcare experts called for the government to relax its rules on the background checks.

In Stockport, where 1,500 pupils are off school, the local education authority has said it will defy government guidelines on Monday and allow unchecked teachers into class - provided they are supervised.

Officials want all children back to school on Monday.

In Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire, schools have already been told to do this.

'Over-reaction'

At Lady Margaret School in south west London a quarter of the children have been sent home because the school has yet to receive clearance for seven new members of staff.

Head teacher Joan Olivier said the rules needed to be relaxed.

She said the government had over-reacted amid concerns raised in the wake of the deaths of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman.

Who is supposed to be supervising the children and keeping them out of harm's way?

Joan Olivier, London head teacher

"I really do feel that the decision to say that the teachers can't teach has perhaps been taken in a great deal of haste as a reaction to the sad events of the summer," she said.

"But it does seem to me it was an over-reaction. The children will be in far more danger being left out of school, wandering the streets of London, especially in those families where the parents are working.

"Who is supposed to be supervising the children and keeping them out of harm's way?"

Teachers must be vetted before they can teach, says the government

Home Office Minister Lord Falconer said councils should follow its advice and not allow unchecked teachers into the classroom.

He refused to comment on the Soham murders but told BBC Radio Four's World At One programme: "A difficult decision has been made and we have to keep that decision under review but it was not a panicked view."

The Local Government Association (LGA), which represents local councils, wants a meeting with ministers to discuss relaxing the rules, so unchecked teachers can work as long as they are supervised.

Graham Lane, of the LGA, said: "We have got to trust local education authorities to make sensible decisions in the interests of children."

Trouble spots

Stockport in Greater Manchester is one of the areas worst-hit by the crisis.

More than 1,000 pupils were told to stay at home on Wednesday and 53 schools are affected.

A difficult decision has been made and we have to keep that decision under review but it was not a panicked view.

Lord Falconer, Home Office Minister

Pupils at seven schools in Derbyshire have been sent home and 2,000 students are affected.

At Granville Community school in south Derbyshire, half of the school's staff are awaiting checks.

A comprehensive school in Pinner, Hillingdon, has turned away 1,250 pupils - five year groups.

Head teacher Peter Woods is waiting for clearance on 26 members of staff out of a team of 98.

He told BBC News Online: "It's a ridiculous situation and the worst possible start to the year."

He believes head teachers should be allowed to use their judgement and allow new members of staff to teach, provided they have followed up references.

At Ysgol Gyfun Cymer Rhondda in Porth, south Wales, the 173 pupils in year eight were told to stay at home.