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Every parent has the right to expect the best possible education for their child. The GTC exists to help ensure this happens. Since the year 2000, every qualified teacher working in a state school in England must be on the GTC Register and can be held accountable for their professional conduct and competence. More than 500 000 qualified teachers are on the register, including many from the independent sector who join on a voluntary basis. At the GTC we believe that effective regulation gives the public confidence that teachers are committed to high standards of teaching and professional conduct. This helps maintain the high regard that the public has for f the teaching profession be maintained.
Teacher registration: safeguarding you and your child Who has to be registered?More than 500,000 qualified teachers are on the Register, including all state primary, secondary school and city academy teachers. Special schools and pupils referral units are also included. For historical reasons, registration of teachers in the independent sector, such as those in public schools, is voluntary. However more than a quarter have chosen to register with the GTC. Each year more than 100,000 teachers need to change their personal details as they move job or house.
Why have a Register?Before a teacher can be appointed to a school, the head teacher must check that he or she is qualified and also registered with the GTC. By checking our Register, the school, and in turn you and your child, can be assured there is no disciplinary reason why that teacher should not be appointed. The GTC register also provides an valuable record of how many and what kind of teachers are working in state education in England in any given year. This allows us to keep a close watch on trends in recruitment. Where there are shortfalls in recruitment, or where teachers are seen to be leaving particular subject areas, the GTC's information can be invaluable for employers and policy makers.
How are teachers registered?Teachers can only be registered by the GTC if they have Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). We will award QTS to more than 30,000 newly qualified teachers in England in 2006-2007. A further 2000 teachers with qualifications from outside England will also be recognised as achieving QTS.
What about trainee teachers?Regulations are currently being drafted to introduce provisional registration for trainee teachers and those trained overseas. It is expected that this will start in September 2008.
Regulation: upholding the highest standards Why regulation?The GTC regulates the teaching profession so that whichever state school your child attends, you can be sure that the teachers are registered and accountable for their professional competence and conduct. Normally, the GTC only exercises its regulatory powers once other steps have been taken by the teacher's school and the employer, usually the local authority. The GTC is not usually your first resort should you have a complaint against a teacher (see section below on how regulation works in the GTC). Regulation benefits teachers too by demonstrating that their professional body actively upholds the status of the profession by acting on poor practice.
What range of actions does the GTC regulate against?The GTC's regulatory role covers serious failures in professional conduct or competence. It does not cover child protection, such as a teacher alleged to have committed a sexual offence. Cautions or convictions for a criminal act are also considered by the GTC after any cases which might raise child protection issus have been dealth with seperately by the Department for Education and Skills. A new system for protecting children and vulnerable adults- the Independent Vetting and Barring Board, comes into place in April 2007 but this will not affect the kind of cases dealt with by the GTC.
Can I complain about a teacher on the register directly to the GTC?If you have concerns about your child's teacher and the competence of their teaching, your starting point is not the GTC but the head teacher of your school. If you are not happy with the school's response, ask about the school's complaints procedure and the role played by its governing body. If you are unhappy about a teacher's conduct, the school itself has procedures to investigate it. If the case is sufficiently serious it may come to the GTC for further action. It is possible to complain directly to the GTC. This route has been created in case a school or local authority does not investigate a complaint correctly. Before considering such a complaint the GTC will need to check that local routes have been used first. Follow the link for more information.
Can I complain about local or national education issues to the GTC? For education issues in your area contact the Director of Education at your local authority. For national issues you can approach Ofsted about school inspection concerns, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority for concerns about the school curriculum and testing, and the Department for Education and Skills for national education policy. The GTC is keen to involve parents in developing policies for improving teaching, but we are not a general complaints body.
At what point does the GTC get involved?If failings in a teacher's professional conduct or competence affect the quality of your child's education, the teacher will first go through their employer's disciplinary procedures. If subsequently a teacher has been dismissed or resigned. Their employer, usually the local authority, must refer the case to the GTC as the teacher's regulatory body. Such a referral can mean that a teacher may be barred from teaching altogether.
How does regulation work in the GTC?Cases of misconduct or incompetence are always dealt with firmly, fairly and openly. Regulation is carried out through committee panels. First, an investigating committee of Council Members assesses whether a teacher has a case to answer, approaching the employer for evidence and giving the teacher the opportunity to respond. If action needs to be taken, a teacher will then go before a Professional Conduct or Professional Competence panel, made up of three people, two of whom will be teachers and two of whom will also be Council Members. Witnesses from both sides may be called. Hearings are normally held in public and their dates are posted on the GTC website and at GTC offices. If the panel decides to take further action, then depending on the strength of the evidence presented, a teacher may be reprimanded or have restrictions imposed on their teaching practice. They can also be removed temporarily or permanently from the GTC Register. The outcomes of hearings are available to the public in summary form from the GTC's Birmingham office and on the website. The GTC does not have the power to reinstate a teacher into employment. Our role is to determine a teacher's fitness to teach. A teacher who wishes to appeal against a judgement to the High Court may do so within 28 days.
Why couldn't a teacher who has been disciplined by the GTC just move to another state school and start teaching again?There are safeguards to make sure that this does not happen. If a GTC hearing disciplines a teacher, this will be immediately signalled on the teacher's entry on the register. If the teacher applies to a new school, the head teacher or local authority will check the GTC register as part of the appointments process.
Can a teacher be reinstated to the Register if removed permanently?A teacher cannot apply to be reinstated until two years after a GTC hearing has found against them. Their application will then be formally considered and all available evidence taken into account.
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