Ministry urges schools to inform teachers of criminal-record checks

Estonia’s Ministry of Education and Research says schools should inform teachers that the Estonian Education Information System checks their criminal records every 10 days, ERR reported.

The automated checks look for restrictions on working with children among teachers and other education workers listed in the system. They also take place when a worker is first added to the system.

If a check identifies a restriction, the school, its operator and the ministry’s oversight department are notified. The school or, if the restriction applies to a school director, the school operator must ensure the person does not continue working with children, ministry legal adviser and data protection specialist Mirjam Reinthal told ERR.

The checks cover teachers in hobby, preschool, general and vocational education, as well as school directors, support specialists, child carers and preschool assistant teachers. Fourteen cases involving restrictions on working with minors have been identified since the checks began.

The automated system was introduced to help schools meet their legal obligations and reduce administrative work. Schools and school operators were informed when it was introduced in 2016, and the process was described in the system’s user guides, Reinthal said. She acknowledged that the information may not have reached all teachers and school leaders clearly enough and said the ministry would review how to explain the checks better.