Volume of cases

published:30 Sep 2009

The GTC does not instigate action against teachers – this follows referral from employers after a teacher has been dismissed or resigned in circumstances where dismissal was posible. Very exceptionally we receive complaints from the public, and we are also notified of teachers who have been convicted or cautioned for crimininal offences. These come to us because teaching is a ‘notifiable’ occupation, but most offences are minor and we find they have no bearing on a person’s fitness to be a teacher.

The new Code does not raise the bar on behaviour outside the classroom, and so we do not expect it to lead to a rise in the number of hearings of this type. It does say that teachers ‘maintain reasonable standards in their own behaviour that enable them … to uphold public trust and confidence in the profession.’

Wording on this was changed during consultation – that after all is what consultation is for – to address concerns expressed about the original draft. We believe we have now an expression of this principle that teachers can support and feel comfortable with.