A PRIVATE school has defended its recruitment process after it was discovered an employee had previously been sacked as a paramedic for sending inappropriate photos to junior colleagues.

Paul Reeves started working as the staff sergeant instructor (SSI) for the Hereford Cathedral Cadets last year but was dismissed a few weeks ago after it was discovered he had been struck off as a paramedic in 2014.

A concerned parent raised concerns about why Mr Reeves was employed in the first place.

His role with the cadets would have included regular camps and training activities with pupils during the school holidays.

But a spokesman for the school said it operates a robust recruitment process.

The spokesman said: “After a full investigation, the individual involved is now no longer employed by Hereford Cathedral School.

“The school operates a robust recruitment process following National Safer Recruiting Guidelines, including a full DBS check.

“The school also checks references and all potential employees are required to sign a declaration to say that there is nothing in their history that could be viewed as a safeguarding issue or that they have been in sanction with any regulatory body.

“In this particular case all of these processes were undertaken.

The school has informed the local authority that the DBS declaration received at the time of appointment failed to include pertinent information that would have prevented an appointment to the school being made.

“Hereford Cathedral School prides itself on having an indepth safeguarding policy in accordance with all national regulations and best practice.”

The school describes its Combined Cadet Force as a popular and vibrant element of extra-curricular provision.

The Health and Care Professions Council carried out a Conduct and Competence Committee hearing in September 2014 about Mr Reeves’ sex ually motivated attitude to, and interaction with, female colleagues.

Mr Reeves was a paramedic with the West Midlands Ambulance Service and the hearing found that between 2009 and 2012 he sent inappropriate text messages to four female colleagues, three of whom were junior to him.

The hearing heard that he sent photos of male genitalia to one colleague and also exposed his genitalia to another when they were both in work.

The committee struck him off the register, which prevented him practising as a paramedic for five years.

Herefordshire Council’s local authority designated officer told this newspaper the school “took immediate and appropriate action when the information came to light”.

“The school was dependent on information provided by previous employers,” the council statement added.