GTC approves new Code for teachers

published:01 Jul 2009

The General Teaching Council for England today approved a new Code of Conduct and Practice for registered teachers. The new Code has been developed through an extensive process of public and professional consultation over the last 18 months and will come into use in October 2009.

The new Code sets out expected standards of conduct and norms of practice for 540,000 registered school teachers in England. Its expectations for standards of conduct also apply to trainee teachers who are provisionally registered with the Council.

At the consultation and engagement events, both parents and teachers gave strong backing for an affirmative Code which sets out the expectations that the public has of teachers and that teachers have of themselves. It affirms teachers’ commitment to helping children develop a love of learning, and to trying to ensure that all children and young people achieve and thrive. Teachers are expected to involve children and young people in decisions about their own learning, to reflect on and develop their teaching skills throughout their careers, and to support their school to tackle bullying or discrimination.

The new Code will also be used within the GTCE’s disciplinary proceedings where it is alleged that a teacher’s conduct or competence has fallen seriously short of required standards. Clear guidance is given within the Code on the types of misconduct or incompetence that have led to the GTCE imposing sanctions on a teacher. Allegations must reach a threshold of seriousness before they are considered and disciplinary action is normally considered only when a teacher has been dismissed or has resigned where dismissal was a possibility. Criminal convictions and cautions are notified to the GTCE, which must assess whether the teachers’ conduct is sufficiently serious and relevant as to affect their registration.

During the development of the new Code, the GTCE held consultation events and workshops with groups of parents, young people, employers, governors and with many groups of teachers. More than 4,000 responses were submitted; face to face meetings were held with major national education organisations including the teacher associations and unions. Formal responses were received from 60 partner organisations including the Equalities and Human Rights Commission and from faith groups.

The new Code has been extensively revised in response to the feedback received during the public consultation process. The text is much shorter, a little over half the length of the published draft. The language has been made clearer and the way the Code is used in disciplinary proceedings has been given greater prominence.  

One area which raised substantial concern was a fear that the new Code might be used to interfere with or intrude into teachers’ private lives. The new text makes it clear that teachers do, of course, have a right to a private life but are expected to maintain reasonable standards of behaviour consistent with being members of a profession serving the interests of the public.  

Ensuring that all children can benefit fully from their education is fundamental to their achievement. Equality of access to educational opportunities is vital. Therefore the GTCE puts promoting equality for all at the core of its work, for example through its dedicated Achieve network and its commitment to Every Child Matters. Principle 4 of the new Code of Conduct and Practice builds on the provisions of the 2004 Code by setting out a teacher’s duty to treat all pupils, parents and colleagues fairly, whatever their background, race, gender, sexual orientation, religion or belief.

This is in line with equalities legislation and confirms a teacher’s responsibility to understand and support school policies in this area and to help pupils appreciate and understand differing perspectives and views.  

The Code has been amended to take account of a wide variety of responses and comments from a range of individuals and organisations, which were used as a body of evidence in the re-drafting process. Council believes it has developed a text in principle 4 which is consistent with our commitment to and strong record on equalities and which will serve all children well.

Commenting on the new Code, Chair of Council Judy Moorhouse OBE says:

“Our new Code is a significant and welcome step forward for the teaching profession. We set out clearly the commitments that teachers make to helping children and young people to learn and to succeed, the way teachers work as a team with other professionals and with parents to meet children’s needs, our commitment to developing our own practice throughout our careers, and to supporting each other as colleagues.

“Teachers have a profound influence on young people’s lives and have to make sound ethical judgements in relation to the children they teach. Through the new Code, parents and young people can see that the profession has a sound, unified, and consistent framework for meeting the very real challenges they face in schools and in the classroom. They can be confident that the teacher’s first and overriding priority is the needs of the child.”

Ends