The International Schools Review Forum

Do recruiters at the SA job fair contact references personally or are the ones left on my Search file sufficient. One of my referees died, another was promoted and is no longer at school and two others have also found new pastures. Not sure how to work this out.

You need to find some way for administrators to get in touch with your referees. If they've moved on, they can still be reached at their new locations.
And someone at your current school is generally needed too, so they can't all be dead or missing.
The better schools generally insist on making personal contact with at least 2 referees before making an offer. At mine this is an absolute rule. Lesser schools may be more likely to go with what's in the file.

Most schools require checking references with a phone call. Make sure you have home or cell numbers for your references as well. The recruiters often need to make the reference checks on the week-end.

Agree with the above. Get contact numbers. I had to find a former principal through her daughter on FB.