The Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998, enacted by Parliament 16 July 1998, made provision for the establishment of General Teaching Councils for England and Wales.

The General Teaching Council for England is constituted in accordance with regulations made by the Secretary of State - The Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998 (Commencement No. 6) Order 2000.

Status

The General Teaching Council for England (GTC) is the professional body for teaching in England and is independent from Government.  The GTC is made up of 64 Council Members who are answerable to registered teachers and ultimately to the public through Parliament.

Finance

From the 2002/03 financial year the main source of funding for the GTC has been its annual registration fee payable by registered teachers. The registration fee agreed by Council for 2006-07 is £33.

Teachers can claim tax relief on their fee payments and an Inland Revenue claim form is provided on the tax FAQ page (attached as a related page).

To reflect the introduction of the registration fee the teachers' national pay scheme has introduced an allowance of £33, payable annually since 2002, to teachers who are required to be registered.

Nominated Council Members

The composition of the Council is intended to involve a wide range of stakeholders in teachers and teaching, whilst safeguarding a majority on the Council for teachers with current or recent teaching experience. Usually, two-thirds of the 64 members of the GTC Council are practising teachers, 25 of them elected by their peers.

The 1998 Act allows for 26 places on the Council from nominating bodies in order that major stakeholders in the work of the GTC are involved in its deliberations. Nine of these places are from the teacher associations. The remaining 13 places are the subject of appointment to Council via the public appointment process.

All Members of the GTC Council will serve in their own right, and not as representatives of nominating or other organisations. A parallel might be drawn with service as a school or college governor. Once appointed, every category of governor has the same relationship to the corporate governing body.

Nominating bodies are an important source of information and perspectives on Council business for many Council Members. Nominated Members also provide a conduit for information about the work of the Council to the organisation that nominated them.

Elected Council Members

The 25 elected teacher Members bring with them valuable expertise and experience from their particular sector. Elected Members may wish to draw on information from their colleagues in that sector.

Members do not have any formal role in relation to a region or local constituency. However, a number of Members have indicated an interest in an informal liaison role with teachers in their area.