Dinner ladies face security checks

School meals workers were being given the same security checks as teachers this week as schools returned for the Christmas term.

The Local Authority Caterers Association (LACA) said there was a nationwide backlog of uncleared kitchen staff.

Sue Kilbey, chairman of LACA, said staffing levels in school kitchens were always on a knife-edge, but the real problem was for schools opening for the first time this term, as every member of the kitchen team would have to be cleared by the Criminal Records Bureau.

The security clearances have been tightened up following the murders of Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells in Soham, Cambridgeshire, last month.

Kilbey added that while the Soham tragedy had highlighted the need for police vetting, the decision by the Department for Education and Skills to have catering staff checked for criminal records predated Soham.