Joint research on competence referrals: Updated

last updated:20 Sep 2010

On 2 June the Secretary of State for Education announced his intention to introduce legislation to abolish the GTC.

This legislation has not yet been brought before Parliament and in the meantime the organisation is continuing to carry out its statutory functions, including investigation and consideration of cases of alleged serious professional incompetence.

Employers remain legally required to refer cases to the GTC where teachers have been dismissed or have resigned for competence-related reasons (as well as for reasons related to their conduct) in circumstances where dismissal was possible. Drawing on the research commissioned jointly with the then DCSF, the GTC will continue to act to make sure that employers fully understand their legal duties and to promote consistency in the referrals process.

New guidance on referral of cases of potential serious professional incompetence has now been published on the GTC website.

The new Government has stated its intention to bring forward measures on teacher competence.

The text of original 25 February press release follows:

GTC and DCSF set out action to ensure employers know what to do when referring cases of incompetence.

The General Teaching Council for England (GTC) today announces an action plan to ensure consistency in the process for referring cases of teacher incompetence to the Council.

Research commissioned jointly by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) and the GTC and conducted by The National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) reveals that some employers remain uncertain about their responsibilities for referring cases of incompetence to the GTC, and are unclear about when a referral should be triggered or lack confidence in the referral process.  The research also uncovers inconsistencies in the use of local performance management and capability procedures.

In developing an action plan to respond to the research findings, Keith Bartley, the Chief Executive of the GTC has written to all Directors of Children’s Services alerting them to the report, providing them with data on local authority patterns of referral and requesting their support in ensuring that local authority HR staff and local head teachers are supported to discharge their legal duty to refer appropriate cases to the Council.

Moving forward, the GTC will:

• review the advice and guidance it offers to schools and local authority employers to ensure there is an improved understanding of the purpose of regulation by the GTC and greater clarity about the referral process
• provide case study examples to strengthen employers’ understanding of when a referral for alleged incompetence should be triggered
• provide fuller information to referring employers about the progress of cases
• renew its programme of local authority visits to ensure that the GTC understands how best to support employers to fulfil their legal duties
• establish an employer reference panel to provide feedback on how the referrals process is working and how it can be further strengthened
• ensure that all parties have a more detailed understanding of how the hearings process works and the range of sanctions and remedial measures that can be applied.

The GTC will also continue to press for:

• better quality implementation of the new Performance Management arrangements
• greater clarity and more consistency in the use of capability procedures.

The GTC proposed the research in response to the Children’s Plan, in that the pattern of referrals from local authorities to the GTC was inconsistent, with some employers having made no referrals at all since the referrals system began in 2001. The GTC and DCSF were keen to ensure that any barriers to referral be identified and to understand better whether competence and performance issues are being addressed effectively and appropriately at local level.

The research revealed that some employers have anxieties about referring cases either because they believe that the GTC will be too lenient, or conversely because they believe that referral will lead inevitably to the removal of teacher from the register and to the loss of their professional status. Neither of these anxieties is well founded as GTC committees consider cases on their merits to assess whether training can be provided to bring the teacher to the necessary standards where a finding of serious professional incompetence has been made.

The research also found that head teachers and governors tended to assume that the responsibility for referral rested with the local authority, even where the school has employer status.

Commenting on the research findings, GTC Chief Executive Keith Bartley said:

'This report suggests that there is considerable activity on the part of employers locally to ensure that children and young people are taught by high quality teachers and it reflects upon the level of commitment and training that teachers demonstrate. However, the report also reveals inconsistency of understanding and practice with regard to referrals made by local authorities to the professional regulatory body.

'The GTC is grateful to NatCen for providing some new and clear insights into reasons for the patterns of referral and the structures for addressing teacher competence issues.  It provides us with a sound platform to continue to work with DCSF and local authority colleagues to strengthen the system; to ensure that performance issues are tackled more effectively at local level in the first instance and that cases of incompetence are referred to the GTC as they should be to protect the interests of children and young people.'

Schools Minister Vernon Coaker said:

'The fact is there have never been as many good or outstanding schools in England and that’s down to the fantastic, hard work of the high quality teachers we have up and down the country.

'There is a legal duty on employers to refer to the GTC if a teacher or head teacher has been dismissed or resigned on grounds of incompetence. Employers need to ensure that they take seriously their statutory responsibilities in this area. We expect the GTC to fully exercise its regulatory role in respect of those teachers who fall below the high standards of practice expected of them. What this report identifies is the need to continue to communicate the legal duty on employers in the case of referral and so we welcome the GTC’s action plan to do this.

'We know there is more to do, and so we will work together with the GTC, the TDA and our social partners to address the issues raised by this report. But the bottom line is that teaching is now attracting the highest quality entrants and is now the most popular career choice for graduates.'

Since the GTC began hearing cases in 2001, it has considered 664 professional conduct cases and 75 competence cases. Where a teacher is found to be seriously incompetent, the GTC can impose a range of sanctions from a reprimand, through a conditional registration order requiring remedial action, through to a prohibition order.

To date, where serious professional incompetence has been found, the GTC has issued 13 prohibition orders, 1 suspension order, 11 suspension orders with conditions, 26 conditional registration orders, and 6 reprimands.  It has found in favour of the teacher (ie no finding of serious professional incompetence) in 18 cases.

The research did not set out with the aim of establishing the number of incompetent teachers and the GTC does not have evidence of the prevalence of competence problems across the school system. There is a legal duty on employers to refer cases to the GTC if a teacher has been dismissed or has resigned on grounds of incompetence. The advent of performance management in schools provides a structure through which teachers can be supported to improve their practice. Both the DCSF and the GTC were concerned to establish whether local performance management and capability procedures are being used effectively to tackle underperformance and whether teachers who fail to improve through these mechanisms are being identified and referred to the GTC.

Notes to editors

For a copy of the report or for further information about the GTC’s hearing process please contact the press office on 0207 023 3959.

About the GTC

The General Teaching Council for England is the independent professional and regulatory body for teaching in England. 540,000 qualified teachers are registered with the GTC.

Its principal statutory remit is to contribute to improving standards of teaching and the quality of learning and to maintain and improve standards of conduct in the public interest. It works for children, through teachers.

If the Government’s proposals to introduce a renewable licence to practise for teachers in England become law, the General Teaching Council, will be asked to operate the licensing system. In the meantime, we will continue to work with the Department for Children Schools and Families on the proposals to ensure that they will bring real and tangible benefits for teaching and learning, and therefore to children and young people.