Five hundred checks on classroom and support staff in schools across Wales are still outstanding as pupils undergo their first day of the new term.

Education authorities around Wales face disruption to school life as hundreds of teachers and staff remain unable to enter the classroom.

But the Welsh Assembly has stressed that it is only new teachers and those returning from a career break who need checking - those previously cleared by another education authority can go straight into the classroom.

Criminal Records Bureau: Lengthy delays

In Cardiff, 120 staff members are still awaiting clearance by the Criminal Records Bureau (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.

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.