The president of the Marlborough Principals Association says new teachers to Marlborough are checked rigorously before employment and many teachers employed in the region are already known to schools.
The comment follows the arrest of a convicted sex offender employed as a teacher for more than two years at a primary school and three weeks at a secondary school, both in Auckland.
President Andrew Macfarlane said Marlborough had a small network of schools and a close principals' association, so many teachers employed in the region were already known to them.
While this was a "significant advantage", they also relied heavily on the Teachers Council and the police vetting process when considering new employees.
News of the sex offender's arrest "sent a shiver up my spine".
"We, as a profession, look into who their [potential employees] referees are and how they can comment on that particular employee," he said.
The checks delve significantly into the person's background, especially if they were arriving from outside the area, he said. SIMON WONG
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