DOZENS of teachers were forced to stay at home today as Bolton pupils returned to school after the summer holidays.

Up to 30 teachers are still waiting to be vetted by the Criminal Records Bureau and will have to stay off school until clearance is given.

The backlog in security checks was certain to disrupt the first day back at school today although education chiefs were confident pupils would not have to be sent home.

But the Bureau, facing criticism for the delays, claims it would have met its target of dealing with 22,000 urgent applications if it had not been for form filling errors made by some applicants leading to 7,000 cases nationally still being outstanding.

The Criminal Records Bureau was set up in March to provide checks to stop paedophiles getting jobs with, or near, children.

The number of teachers still awaiting clearance in Bolton dramatically fell from 150 to 30 yesterday. Bureau staff have vowed the remaining checks will be completed by tomorrow. Letters of confirmation were expected to be sent to schools by courier.

Bolton Council's Director of Education and Culture, Margaret Blenkinsop, admitted the past few days had proved stressful, but was relieved the situation had improved so dramatically.

She said: "No headteacher has phoned us to say they will have to send children home.

"This hasn't been the best situation for the start of term, but it could have been far worse.

"Secondary schools will cope better than primary schools,

but we've advised schools to not double-up classes other than in the most extreme of situations.

"Instead, headteachers have been advised to take on supply staff who have already had their security checks cleared."

The head of Harper Green School in Farnworth, Peter Jefferies, said he was in a fortunate position. Despite employing 14 new teachers today, all checks had been completed.

He said: "Fingers crossed, we've been lucky and all our new staff will be able to join us as planned.

"We did employ a few non-teaching members of staff over the summer, but it doesn't matter if the checks on them are late as they will not be responsible for supervising children alone."

Councils around the country were reporting a mixed picture as they battle to start the new term, but in the North-west school closures are unlikely.

Graham Lane, Labour education chairman of the Local Government Association, is warning that the national backlog in applications could persist until the end of the year.

"Particularly if staff shortages emerge, you could see this going on until Christmas," he said.