HUNDREDS of children could face disruption at the start of term as police checks on staff fall behind schedule.

Some local authorities have even suggested schools may not open today as staff are not given the go-ahead to be in the classroom.

Teachers and other school staff must be checked against List 99 - a dossier of people convicted or suspected of child abuse - as well as being checked for criminal records.

But as many pupils return to their classroom today it has been revealed that hundreds of staff in the North-East and North Yorkshire have yet to be checked by the Criminal Records Bureau.

In Darlington, where term starts this morning, there were 100 staff checks outstanding, including 35 teachers and 25 transport staff.

Others who have not yet been checked include caretakers, classroom assistants and nursery staff.

A Darlington Borough Council spokesman said: "We won't know exactly what the disruption is until the schools open this morning and we see where the gaps are.

"It could mean that some schools can't open or pupils cannot get to lessons - we really don't know."

In North Yorkshire, 200 teachers and 190 non-teaching staff have yet to undergo checks, but all schools in the county are expected to open on schedule either today or tomorrow.

A county council spokes-man said: "We are concerned to the point where they are not coming through as quickly as we had been given assurances by the Government that they should have done.

"It has not got to the point where we would expect schools to close, but obviously we would have liked the checks to have completed by now."

In Teesside and County Durham it was thought schools would open on time, although teachers who had not been checked would not be allowed into the classrooms.