Tim McLachlan, Chief Executive of National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) said the details of the case were “extremely concerning”.
“A person on police bail with a condition to specifically not work with children should never have been cleared through the DBS system.
“This has wider concerns beyond nurseries as schools, sports clubs, social care organisations and many more rely on the DBS to provide accurate and up-to-date information to help them make safe recruitment a reality.
“We need to know how this individual was allowed through the net and what needs to change with the update service to make sure it cannot happen again.”
West Yorkshire Police said in a statement: “The investigation has been reviewed as part of the complaints process and contact has been made with the Home Office about the DBS update service highlighting this particular case.
“We have accepted and apologise for the fact that there could have been better communication with parents and guardians during the initial investigation.
“We have identified this as an area of learning which we will address internally, and this has been fed back to complainants.”
A government spokesperson said in a statement: “These crimes are absolutely sickening, and our thoughts remain with the families affected.
“This predator should not have been allowed to work in a nursery setting.
“We are urgently looking into the circumstances of this case so we can address the issues it has raised.”