|
||||||||||
|
The GTC has now held 400 disciplinary hearings. But what happens to whom, and how?
Teaching: the GTC magazine, spring 2008
In the beginning,we are not involved. Employers tell the DCSF when they dismiss a teacher for misconduct, or when a teacher resigns before such a dismissal.
The DCSF looks at cases that raise issues relating to the safety and welfare of children and young persons under 19. They refer other matters to us.
These cover a wide range, such as examination misconduct, looking at inappropriate websites and the misuse of school funds.
We also consider cases where teachers are convicted of criminal offences other than child safety and related matters. The public can complain to us too – eight cases last year.
Roughly one case a day comes in to us, 416 in 2006-07. We filter them to determine whether there is a case to answer. About one case in three goes to a hearing panel. There were 144 panels held last year.
Cases are heard by three-person panels, chosen from the 64 members of the Council itself and the 25 additional panel members recruited through the public appointments procedure. No panel can havemore than one additional member. Two of the panel are teachers, and one a lay person.
The hearings are held in public at our Birmingham office. Panel members will seek to work out what happened in the light of possibly conflicting evidence. They then determine whether a sanction, and if so which sanction, is appropriate. This contrasts with the ‘accusatory’ English legal system in which prosecutors and defenders argue over a defendant’s guilt or innocence.
Go to the publications section to download:
