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A paedophile was given a job at a nursery after it failed to carry out security checks, it admitted today.
Andrew Smith was employed as a chef at the private nursery in West Norwood, south London, despite being a registered sex offender.
His original capture by police last year was filmed and shown on ITV1's To Catch A Paedophile last week as he tried to lure a girl of 13 to meet him.
He was jailed for 12 months but after being released early, he signed up with a recruitment agency and got a job working in the kitchens of Norwood Manor Day Nursery.
But the 32-year-old's secret was revealed after his arrest was seen by millions of viewers - including a horrified member of staff at the nursery last Tuesday.
By law, anyone working with children should undergo a Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check.
Smith, from West Norwood, who was released from prison in December, was put on the sex offender's register for the next ten years. His history would have shown up in even the most basic of background checks.
The manager and deputy manager of the nursery, which looks after children aged from three months to five years and charges up to £11,340 a year, have now been suspended.
The CfBT Education Trust, which runs the nursery, said no checks had been carried out before Smith was taken on by Reed Employment as temporary cover in July and September.
It said: “Because he was seeking employment in the hospitality industry, Mr Smith was not CRB-checked by Reed.
“CfBT is clear that staff who have not been CRB-checked should not work in our nurseries.
“We cannot rely solely on third-party checks and CfBT has safeguarding procedures which should have applied in this case but were not followed.
“As a result, the nursery manager and deputy manager have been suspended pending a thorough investigation.”
Last Tuesday's programme showed police trail Smith after he sent a string of lurid internet messages and webcam footage of him performing a solo sex act to someone he thought was a 13-year-old girl.
But all the messages were being received by an undercover cop from Scotland Yard's paedophile unit posing as the youngster.
Detectives swooped on Smith when he turned up for a date with “Becky” at a south London cafe.
In July last year he pleaded guilty at Southwark Crown Court to attempting to meet a child following underage grooming and inciting a child to watch sex acts on the net.
He was sentenced to 12 months but freed on licence in December.
This week, Smith was charged with two counts of breaching his sexual offences prevention order. He is due to appear at Camberwell Green Magistrates Court on Tuesday.
Reader views (32)
God some of the people on these boards are pathetic! CRB checks do NOT work. All they do is let you know if someone has a history of offending. Surely a first time pedophile would just get a CRB check and go and abuse, after all everyone will trust them! If that's all he's got to do then surely this idiotic law is a complete joke. It's nothing more than typical labour crap done to please certain members of the public to make them look like they're doing something, when their doing nothing.
- Allen, Newcastle, UK, 13/01/2010 03:49
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my child attended this nursery they didnt even advise us of the situation we heard about it in the newspaper this is how much the CFBT organisation care about the welfare of our children they should be held accountable as they should not have allowed someone to work in the nursery without a CRB check. contrary to what the nursery have said this animal was free to walk around the nursery unsupervised and the children were not supervised all the time they were left to wonder by themselves to the toilets for instance and this monster had to pass the girls toilets to distribute food around the buidings. CCBT should be prosecuted so this hopefully will not happen in any of their nurseries or schools. It was their Negligence.
- Anon, london, 13/10/2009 00:28
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There can never be any excuse, by anyone,for failing to excercise due care in the protection of our children. Afterall, children are our only future, so we should guard them well. Both the Nursery and the Agency, Reed, are at fault and neither can escape the responsibility and trust placed in them to effect proper protective checking procedures. Quilty.
- Bob, Harpenden, UK, 09/10/2009 10:33
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Annie, Croydon - As a parent you cannot wrap your children up in cotton wool, and have to let them out in to the real world. Whether that means being in someone else's care at 6 months, 5 years or 15 years, the trust that you show to those that are supposed to educate/look after them remains the same. To put the blame of this failing of the school/agency on to the parents is ridiculous and hurtful. Having a child does not mean you watch them yourself 24/7, as believe me, that will do more damage than good.
- Smb, London, UK, 02/10/2009 16:20
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And illegal immigrants working for government officials, welcome to LABOURS Britian.
- Brandon Thomas, SW7, 02/10/2009 15:28
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Frank - spouting the usual nonsense.
Jacaranda - the vast majority of abuse occurs in the home by parents, relatives or friends - stranger abuse is very rare.
David - careful - writing intelligent and measured responses can lead to a whole heap of abuse, mostly from people like Frank.
This is a stupid thing to have let happen, but it was discovered and the people responsible have been suspended - if the nursery and education authority have any sense they'll stop using Reed.
- Liberal And Proud, London, UK, 02/10/2009 15:25
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Having been a supply teacher in england I understood that the onus for the criminal record check lies with the agency and not the school or nursery. Agency workers are employed by the agency . Reed have cocked up big time and they and not those at the school should be held responsible.
- Terry, Hennebont France, 02/10/2009 15:25
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Madness
- Trunk, US, 02/10/2009 15:21
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Unless they are related to Baroness Scotland we all expect
summary and permanent dismissal for the managers of Manor Day Nursery,
with NO EXCUSES!
- Macdangler, Wimbledon SW19, 02/10/2009 15:20
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Most of us would agree that paedos should be castrated - no question.
Human rights apply to children as well as adults.
- Dee, london england, 02/10/2009 15:01
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Last week two femaile police officers were cautioned by OFSTED for caring for each others children while they worked.While this evil being gets a job at a nursery!Its just so easy for the powers that be, go after the easy targets,than the likes of this scumbag
What more can be said!
- Mick, London, 02/10/2009 15:00
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Reed Employment are as much to blame in this case, they advertise that all people they have for placement, that 'They rigourously screen and assess all candidates'.
They are are also the main agency that deals with the government 'Welfare to Work Programme' and have thousands of unemployed people on their books, that have to be pushed into work to meet government 'Welfare to Work' targets.
Targets before checks it seems to me.
- David T, London, 02/10/2009 14:55
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People like Jacaranda make me so mad! Working mothers are weighed down by constant guilt without self-righteous, fortunate so and so's, who probably haven't had to return to work for financial reasons, wading in and announcing that it serves them right for "herding their children into the care of strangers"!
I would like to point out that Baby P wasn't herded into the care of strangers, he was killed, tortured and abused by his own mother and her boyfriend!
Don't try to oversimply the story and blame it on the working parents, we are in a society where more and more families are having to make the decision that mum has to go out to work and it may surprise you to know Jacaranda that a huge majority of them don't take that decision lightly or enjoy leaving their children!
Our efforts would be put to better use ensuring that these procedures which are put in place to protect us all are vigorously enforced,
- Mandy, London, 02/10/2009 14:35
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Croyboy, on the same programme this fella was caught on, another bloke was nicked trying to meet a 13 yr old and at his house the OB found a video of him raping a baby, is that paranoid ?
- Mc, London, 02/10/2009 14:32
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For godsake, please keep your children safe, dont have them if you can't look after them,nobody else will take care and love them as you would yourself SIMPLE!
- Annie, croydon, 02/10/2009 13:36
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this pe rox
viva la london
- Janhavi Laud, india, 02/10/2009 13:21
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I was once involved in putting into place the CRB policy for a large recruitment agency. The problem with recruitment agencies and criminal checks is this:
The client wants a temp immediately. It takes 6 weeks for a CRB check to come through. Agencies can't keep a 'bank' of checked candidates as the CRB is only valid on the date of issue and the candidate could have committed an offense between being checked and put into a role. Therefore if all is done by the book, the client is waiting 6 weeks for a role that needs filling now.
If a candidate is needed for a permanent role, the client will have to wait until the checks are done, either by the agency or the client themselves.
Clients therefore need to do a certain amount of forward planning, but of course this isn't always possible in the event of sickness that leaves a kitchen understaffed.
- Kitty, London, 02/10/2009 12:52
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How difficult is it to do a check on this person. He was on all the pest registers, and so any comeback from the checks would of showed him as a fiddler.
- Dom, London, 02/10/2009 12:15
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Croyboy ... education is a wonderful thing. Here's some for free: it matters not whether the child is three or thirteen, to place a known offender with them is wrong. It's as simple as two + two. To which the answer is 4, by the way.
- David, London, 02/10/2009 11:59
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What sickens me is that a convicted paedophile would have the gall to apply for the job is the first place. It should be a criminal offence to employ anyone in a nursery without ensuring they have passed the CRB check.
I take Gareth's point about Reed, but the fact remains that the nursery was the employer and not the agency. It is down to the nursery to ensure that the guy was safe before he was let loose on the premises. I am extremely concerned that this and the revolting Vanessa George case have both taken place in privately run nurseries. They really need to put the children's safety before profit. This guy would have not been employed in a state nursery or school and he probably knows this, because paedophiles as known for their deviousness.
Finally, Jacaranda, in an ideal world I'm sure most mothers would love to stay at home with their children, but some can't. I'm a working mother, but would never use a nursery. At least registered childminders have been through background checks with the local Council and Ofsted before they are allowed to ply their trade.
- Sonia M, St Albans, Herts, 02/10/2009 11:29
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"he tried to lure a girl of 13 to meet him."
So, how many thirteen-year-olds are there in Norwood Manor Day Nursery?
Hardly the same thing, is it? Let's not get paranoid!
- Croyboy, Croydon, 02/10/2009 11:25
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I work extensively with the CRB and other clearance processes for staff working with children and vulnerable adults, and the reasoning behind these processes and checks are simple: they are clearly defined safeguards to prevent situations such as the one highlighted in the article. Reed are a large recruitment business that has an education division and hospitality division, among others. Their recruitment procedures should have flagged-up that the job requirement was within an establishment for children. Accordingly, any candidate put forward for the post should have been throughly checked beforehand. There is no excuse for checks not happening. However, the nursery should have demanded written and hardcopy proof that the candidate for the job had undergone the required checks and had been cleared. Agencies nationwide such as Reed know this. However, people who work in the education sector know that education establishments often accept new members of staff at face value and place then in jobs prior to checks being confirmed.
As for the police officers childminding each others children: it is better to have checks completed and prevent possible mishaps in the future in similar situations. The minimum requirement should be 'better safe than sorry'. Society or the state should not exclude any area where there is an opportunity for abuse to happen. Prevention is better than cure. Society should demand that as a minimum on behalf of all children and vulnerable adults
- David, London, 02/10/2009 11:23
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It was the nursery and employement agency who failed to conduct proper CRB checks. Not the local authority or the government. Therefore, it was their fault. The nursery manager and depury mangaer have been suspended. Those on this blog who are blaming the government should save their bile for something that they are actually responsible for. Next you'll be blaming them for the weather!
- Bleeding Heart Liberal, London, 02/10/2009 11:21
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The registered owners of the nursery should be held to account. If they are not insisting on original, documented proof of CRB checks they should be prosecuted. NO excuses, NO scapegoats.
- Nicola, London, 02/10/2009 11:08
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Why didn't the nursery have independent confirmation? How can they have been so silly?
- Walter, London, UK, 02/10/2009 10:55
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Frank - spot on again.
No doubt this vile being will so someone or other for human rights infringments...
- Oscar, London, 02/10/2009 10:43
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Another day, another paedophile allowed to walk all over society.
The sheer incompetence of the authorities in protecting vulnerable children beggars belief.
- Reuben Camara, Morecambe Compound, EUSSR, 02/10/2009 09:36
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This is something that is happening more and more every day. Schools, nurseries and colleges regularly take people on prior to all of the required checks being completed. I work for an agency that is an umbrella body for the CRB and carry out Disclosure checks and List 99 checks for companies who have staff working in schools. Everyone who works in an area that is exposed to children should be checked.
This is a rule that no recruitment company should have bypassed and Reed should know this. The nursery management should have asked for the confirmation of the checks that had been carried out and Reed should have not placed him in this kind of environment without completing these checks. This is a case of naivety on the part of the nursery management and stupidity on the side of Reed and it is this kind of thing that gives all agencies a bad name, not just the ones who cut corners.
- Gareth, London, 02/10/2009 09:15
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This Criminal Records Check Thing is a puzzle!
Most Individuals who are IDENTIFIED as abusing children will be people who are known by the relevant authorities as abusing their own children, at home.
'Domestic Child Abusers' may or may not have had their children registered as 'at risk' but these abusers will, in most cases, have never seen the inside of a court more less been convicted.
They will instead be being treated 'as a social problem' and they will be undergoing 'child protection intervention' measures (or not in some cases)
Would these IDENTIFIED direct child abusers be discovered by any of the 'checks' that are in place at this moment?
Surely it is important to know if the person 'working' with your child has been recognised as a person who is
KNOWN to inflict direct abuse on their own children, at home !
How many domestic child abusers are being enabled to work with other peoples children?
- Darnthesafetynet, London W11 1NR, 02/10/2009 09:01
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So this failed government brings a very poorly thought through piece of legislation that means two police detectives who work on different shifts and alternately look after each others kids need to have all the rights safety checks made; yet we have a known paedophile walking into a job in a nursery?
These sick socialists need putting down.
- Frank, Home Counties, England., 02/10/2009 09:00
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This Criminal Records Check Thing is a puzzle!
Most Individuals who are IDENTIFIED as abusing children will be people who are known by the relevant authorities as abusing their own children, at home.
'Domestic Child Abusers' may or may not have had their children registered as 'at risk' but these abusers will, in most cases, have never seen the inside of a court more less been convicted.
They will instead be being treated 'as a social problem' and they will be undergoing 'child protection intervention' measures (or not in some cases)
Would these IDENTIFIED direct child abusers be discovered by any of the 'checks' that are in place at this moment?
Surely it is important to know if the person 'working' with your child has been recognised as a person in KNOWN to inflict direct abuse on their own children, at home !
How many domestic child abusers are being enabled to work with other peoples children?
- Darnthesafetynet, London W11 1NR, 02/10/2009 08:59
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As more and more children are herded into nurseries for the greater part of their lives and into the "care" of strangers while their parents work is it any surprise that they are at risk? It is not rocket science to understand that the safest place for a child is with it's mother. It is Utopian thinking to suggest that children will be safe with strangers; they should be in a perfect world but we know that they are not.
- Jacaranda, London UK, 02/10/2009 08:48
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