GTC policy advice work on equalities

The Disabled Teacher Taskforce

The GTC hosts and continues to work through the Disabled Teacher Taskforce (DTT), which it set up two years ago to tackle barriers facing disabled people entering and working in teaching.

The DTT brings together national bodies to build the promotion of disability equality into their practice and policies. It is supported by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), and consists of members from a range of organisations including:

• Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA)
• Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF)
• Ofsted
• Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC),

together with disability rights organisations, universities and schools.

The DTT works to:

• highlight the inequality of opportunity for disabled individuals in entering the teaching profession
• raise awareness of the current policies and practices that cause difficulties for disabled students to access teacher training
• encourage national organisations to act on removing barriers and promoting opportunities for disabled people entering the teaching profession, either unilaterally or through collaborative projects
• develop a programme of action, which ensures that national partners are able to make progress leading to fewer barriers and more opportunities for people with disabilities entering the profession.

Currently the taskforce is considering the investigation into fitness standards and the Fitness to Teach Guidance that was originally set up by the former Disability Rights Commission (DRC).

Race Equality Forum

The GTC hosted this forum to consider how schools can be better supported to meet the requirements of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000. 

It was set up one year ago and meets termly. It is attended by representatives from a range of organisations, including government bodies, teacher unions and other national organisations and charities with an interest in race equality and education.

The forum provides an opportunity to share current work and research and consider relevant developments. During the past term the forum has jointly considered:

• the impact of the community cohesion duty on schools and its alignment with the Act
• the role of Ofsted in inspecting race equality and how monitoring for compliance with the Act is undertaken
• the Discrimination Law Review (DLR), including responses to the recent consultation, its potential impact on schools and the possible move to a single duty which replaces the existing race, gender and disability equality duties.

The GTC will take this forward through the development of advice to government on teachers’ professional development needs in relation to equality, and the implementation of good equality practice in schools.

Challenging homophobia in schools

The GTC supports the Stonewall-led 'Education for All' campaign to stamp out homophobia in schools.

We are also an active supporter of the ‘No Outsiders’ research project, which aims to tackle homophobia in primary schools. As part of the No Outsiders project, we ran a public website forum to seek teachers’ views and experiences in 2006, and we used evidence from this research to publish advice on tackling homophobia to the 2006 Education and Skills Select Committee on Bullying.

National Equalities Conference

Wednesday 27 February: Bridgewater Hall, Manchester
10:00 am for 10:30 am till 3.30 pm

This is a  joint GTC and EHRC event, which will consider how to implement the equality duties in schools, and how these duties can benefit teaching and learning.

Schools now have legal duties to promote race, disability and gender equality, including a requirement to promote equality of opportunity and eliminate discrimination throughout everything they do.

Many schools are addressing these issues imaginatively and effectively. However, many schools and teachers would benefit from more and better support to meet their duties under equality legislation, including but not limited to sharing good practice. The GTC is developing policy advice on the support that schools need, and we’re keen to involve and engage teachers in its formulation.

This national conference will examine:

• the implications of the gender, disability and race duties for schools
• what these duties mean in practice for schools and the individual teacher
  what good equality practice looks like
• how good equality practice can help teaching and learning and benefit children and young people in your school.

To find out more about this conference and register your interest, visit our conference website.

Further information

Read about schools and equalities legislation

On Stonewall’s campaign, see:

• Education for all
• No outsiders: about the project