The Government has been blamed for failures which cleared a teacher to work in schools after concerns were raised about his suitability to work with children.

West Sussex County Council blamed the Department for Education and Skills for failing to include Nigel Jackson on List 99, which left him free to work at two schools in the county.

Jackson, 48, resigned from his post as deputy headmaster at Seaford Head Community College in January 2004 amid allegations he was grooming a 14-year-old girl for sex.

East Sussex County Council asked the DfES to ban Jackson from working with children by including him on List 99, a register of people considered unsuitable to work with youngsters, and later alerted West Sussex County Council and Brighton and Hove City Council when it learned he was trying to gain work there.

Despite the warnings, Jackson worked for two weeks at Comart school in Brighton until his references were returned from East Sussex and he was dismissed.

Later he worked as a supply teacher at Littlehampton Community School and Durrington High School through agency Teaching Personnel until April 2005.

This week Jackson pleaded guilty at Londonderry Crown Court to grooming a 14-year-old girl in Northern Ireland for sex, indecently assaulting her and two counts of inciting her to commit an act of gross indecency.

The offences took place between March 2004 and April 2005 while he was working in West Sussex.

West Sussex defended the fact it did not pass on information about Jackson to the agency and said it was up to the Government to provide one clear procedure for vetting teaching staff.

A spokeswoman said: "If the DfES had responded rapidly to the advice from East Sussex in February 2004 and placed him on List 99 he would never have gained employment. There are dozens of teaching agencies placing staff and it would be unrealistic for them to depend on informal local warnings. These agencies are reliant on the national vetting systems, which in this case did not work."