Headteachers at schools in Wales still awaiting security checks on their staff are being given the discretion to allow staff back into the classroom.

The decision by UK Education Secretary Estelle Morris was made in the light of the lengthy delays in checks by the Criminal Records Bureau.

Estelle Morris: Frustrated with checks procedure

An estimated 500 checks on classroom staff in Wales were not completed by the government's own deadline of 4 September.

A number of schools across Wales face disruption from the delays, with hundreds of pupils being kept at home and staff restricted to making lesson plans.

Ms Morris announced her decision on Wednesday evening after failing to gain assurances that the disruption would not continue for some time.

"My whole concern is for the well-being of pupils," said the minister.

"I could not allow the disruption to our schools to continue."

Assembly Education Minister Jane Davidson said she endorsed Ms Morris' decision.

" It was clear that the arrangements for clearing the backlog of checks was going to take longer than we had hoped," she said.

"My office has been in touch with Estelle Morris's office and I have agreed that further arrangements were needed to ease the situation in our schools."

Earlier, the Welsh Assembly stressed it was only new teachers and those returning from a career break who needed checking - those previously cleared by another education authority can go straight into the classroom.

The delays have brought classroom disruption

In Cardiff, 120 staff members were still awaiting clearance on Wednesday afternoon by the CRB, while in Rhondda Cynon Taff, 173 pupils in years three and four at Ysgol Gyfun y Cymer have missed the first day of school.

Headteacher Noel Pritchard told the BBC a meeting to try and resolve the issue had failed and the pupils would be off again on Thursday.

Meanwhile, in Neath-Port Talbot, 58 staff at 29 schools were still awaiting clearance by the CRB at the end of Tuesday.

But a council spokesman said children would be attending school as normal.

In neighbouring Swansea, 25 teachers, seven learning support assistants and two school assistants are still waiting for clearance.

Concerns

In south east Wales, Torfaen Council reported a similar problem, with eight newly qualified teachers and 13 teachers - who have moved from other local education authorities - awaiting checks.

Voluntary organisations such as St John Ambulance, have also raised concerns over delays on checking their own staff.

The Home Office admitted on Sunday that 7,000 checks on staff in the UK would not be completed by Wednesday.

Full checks

The checks are meant to be a "one-stop-shop" to process criminal records and checks against government blacklists of people not suitable to work with children.

They must be carried out before teachers and support staff can work with children.

The checks on teachers have been brought in by the UK Government and come in the wake of the deaths of Cambridgeshire school children Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman.

Karl Davies, director of the National Association of Head teachers in Wales, said the CRB procedure delays were not acceptable.

In the meantime, he said schools affected in Wales would have to be creative with their teaching rotas to deal with the situation.