More than half of education recruiters believe that minimum legal requirements governing teacher background checks for overseas candidates should be clarified and enhanced, according to a survey by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC).

The survey also confirms that more needs to be done to restore public confidence in teacher background checks.

John Dunn, chair of the REC’s education sector group, says: “Professional recruiters in the education sector have welcomed the increasing focus on safe recruitment since last June’s OFSTED report and have been actively involved in the government’s consultation on the new vetting and barring scheme.

“However, it is essential to ensure that mechanisms are also in place for effectively checking the suitability of overseas nationals coming to work in the UK. The government is aware of this issue and ongoing initiatives, and must deliver in order to alleviate some of the concerns highlighted in the survey.”