BUCKINGHAMSHIRE County Council said changes have been made to its file management system despite being criticised for losing the records of a teacher suspected of abusing children in the 1980s.

The council was criticised when records for teacher Richard Small could not be traced for an independent inquiry into his service at Dr Challoner's Grammar School in Amersham.

Small, 57, was jailed in January for four years for indecently assaulting three teenagers in the 1980s before he left the school 1987. Had the sex abuse not been revealed the filing mishap meant Small could have returned to teaching without any alarm bells ringing.

A council spokesman said: "There are now national requirements on us to take action by marking files and notifying appropriate bodies, such as the DfES and the Department of Health, where a teacher has had formal action taken against them for offences against children or where they have left the school following allegations."

He added that a new IT system for record keeping was introduced last year.

The spokesman added: "We are hopeful that, with these systems in place and the child protection procedures we have in schools, that this situation is unlikely to happen again."

Former Dr Challoner's head teacher John Loarridge was aware of "rumours" surrounding Small in the 1980s and sent a letter to the council in 1991.

He asked the council to consult the tutor's file if Small ever tried to work with children again. This letter was lost along with Small's file at a sub-storage office in Amersham-on-the-Hill leading to criticism from inquiry investigator Alex Ruck Keene.

The council will also await recommendations about record keeping from the Bichard Inquiry. Bichard calls for improved national guidance for police and social services. The council said it would adapt "its procedures if necessary".