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A pool of non-Council members will be appointed to assist in hearing future General Teaching Council for England (GTC) disciplinary cases and induction appeals, the professional body decided at its quarterly Council meeting on Wednesday 5 July 2006(05 Jul 2006).
This pool, which will be made up of qualified teachers and other representatives of the public interest, will assist the 64 GTC Council members in carrying out regulatory work.
The GTC has decided to appoint a pool of non-Council members in order to ensure it can deal with the growing number of referred cases and to cut the amount of time it takes for cases to be heard.
Changes in disciplinary rules introduced by the Council in January this year have already led to streamlining of procedures, leading to an increased number of cases being heard. However, the number of cases awaiting completion is rising and a review of Council members’ availability - conducted as part of the new casework strategy - has found that extra capacity is needed to ensure sufficient and well-balanced hearing committees and the timely conclusion of cases.
New hearing committee members will be recruited through the public appointments process and will receive the same high level of training and evaluation as Council members. Panel members’ responsibilities will include sitting on committees to hear conduct, competence and criminal conviction cases, as well as being part of investigating committees and hearing induction appeals.
Hearing committees will continue to be made up of a majority of teachers and will always have at least two Council members. The GTC will now start to draw up detailed criteria for advertising, selecting and training for these roles. No further legislation is necessary for the GTC to introduce this change.
Commenting on the decision GTC Chair Judy Moorhouse said:
Council members have always attached huge importance to our regulatory work. They have a strong preference for continuing to have hearing panels composed of three Council members. However, the interests of justice for the teacher, who should not face undue delay, must be paramount. By recruiting a pool of panel members from outside Council through the public appointments process, we will add to capacity and this will help us work through cases more promptly.
