The government has decided not to take action against TimePlan, the teacher recruitment agency at the centre of the Amy Gehring case.

Supply teacher Amy Gehring was cleared in February of having indecently assaulted two teenage boys at the Surrey school she was working in.

After the trial it emerged Gehring had been the subject of previous allegations. TimePlan – the agency supplying her – had ignored a letter from child protection experts warning: ‘She may act in the same way again if she obtains another teaching position and pose a threat to children.’

The agency faced the possibility of sanctions and a fine of up to £50,000, but following a visit to its Croydon offices by a Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) official, TimePlan received written confirmation that there would be no formal investigation and no action taken against it.

TimePlan said it was ‘pleased about the news’ and confirmed that it has thoroughly examined its procedures since the case.

The agency’s spokesperson Barry Hugill said: ‘The problem was not with our procedures. One of our employees ignored our procedures and that’s what went wrong. There isn’t an agency in the world that can prevent that.’

Although, the employee in question was sacked as a result, Hugill admitted that in the immediate aftermath, a small number of schools and authorities were worried about using TimePlan. One local authority cancelled a trip it was planning with them to recruit teachers from Canada, and another visited TimePlan’s offices to inspect its procedures.

But Hugill maintained that these authorities are continuing to use the agency. He added: ‘In the week the trial ended, our level of business was the highest it has ever been – you can conclude from that what you will.’