Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Bill

The General Teaching Council for Scotland welcomes the opportunity to give written evidence to the Education Committee of the Scottish Parliament in connection with the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Bill and would be pleased to amplify any of the issues raised in this submission

Background to the General Teaching Council for Scotland - its duties and functions

The General Teaching Council for Scotland (“GTC Scotland” or “the Council”) is the regulatory body for teachers in Scotland.  Although an advisory Non-Departmental Government Body, the Council is funded entirely by the teacher registration fee (currently £40 per annum) and not by the Scottish Executive or other public funding source. 

Established by the Teaching Council (Scotland) Act 1965 (“the 1965 Act”) (subsequently amended by the Standards in Scotland’s Schools etc Act 2000), the Council has some 40 years’ experience in adjudicating in matters of misconduct and criminal convictions of registered teachers and also vetting the suitability of those wishing to join the Profession of registered teacher from both within Scotland and elsewhere to re-register. 

Section 4(1) of The Requirements for Teachers (Scotland) Regulations 2005 renders it unlawful for a Scottish Local Authority to employ a teacher unless or until he/she is registered with GTC Scotland.

Current Vetting Process

For this purpose GTC Scotland relies upon the criminal record history information provided by Disclosure Scotland or the Criminal Records Bureau and supporting documents from other sources.  The Council is required by section 1 of the 1965 Act to discharge its functions in the public interest.  Therefore GTC Scotland is committed without reservation to the safety of children and young people and other vulnerable groups. Whilst accepting the proposed role of the Central Barring Unit (CBU) in connection with the suitability of persons to work with children, GTC Scotland wishes to retain its key role in deciding suitability to teach. 

Once a teacher is admitted to the register, GTC Scotland continues to discharge its statutory duty in regard to teacher conduct through the adjudication of complaints received from employers and members of the public and also notification of criminal convictions and/or other relevant information from the Scottish Criminal Record Office (SCRO). The range of disciplinary sanctions open to GTC Scotland includes:

• Conditional registration order
• Reprimand
• Removal from the Register.

In certain circumstances the Council also has the ability to suspend a teacher ad interim until the individual’s case is finally disposed of through the GTC Scotland disciplinary process.

Protection of Children (Scotland) Act 2003

Under section 13 of the Protection of Children (Scotland) Act 2003 (“the 2003 Act”) an individual placed on the Disqualified from Working with Children List (“DWCL”) is not entitled to seek GTC Scotland registration or in the case of an existing teacher, to remain registered.

Guidance and Support for the Teaching Profession

The Council supports teachers throughout their career in connection with professional conduct and professionalism in general by way of published guidance and regular presentations to probationary and experienced teachers across the country within the framework of Continuing Professional Development. 

GTC Scotland is also currently going through the process of updating its Code of Professional Practice and will be consulting upon this in the near future.

Regulation and Employment

GTC Scotland does not employ teachers but in effect grants a licence to teach.  Closely linked with this is Section 4(1) of The Requirements for Teachers (Scotland) Regulations 2005 which makes it unlawful for a Scottish Local Authority to employ a teacher unless or until he/she is registered with GTC Scotland.  The Council’s on-line checking process allows prospective employers to access the up-to-date registration status of any individual who professes to be a registered teacher in Scotland in compliance with the 2005 Regulations.

Therefore in its role as the regulatory body, from initial registration to retirement, the Council maintains an on-going relationship with all teachers on the register regardless of where, how regularly they may teach or their mobility within the Scottish teaching workforce. 

The Council has a key role in the safety of children and young people and maintaining public confidence in teachers and teaching as a profession. We are therefore looking to this Bill as a means of strengthening the wider framework and in so doing enable GTC Scotland to maintain and enhance the role it already discharges.

Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Bill

The Council welcomes many of the measures and changes proposed in the Bill which include:

• Sections 7 and 14 – Court Referrals and in certain circumstances an obligation upon Scottish Ministers to list together with section 31 relevant offences
• Section 19 whereby Scottish Ministers can require certain information from public authorities such as GTC Scotland together with the protection included at section 38
• Part 3 (sharing of Child Protection information) is also welcomed.

Scheme Checks and Records

However, much as the Council welcomes measures to reduce the need for multiple disclosures  in our view this could go further and be made simpler. Suitability to work with children is of course paramount to GTC Scotland. However in addition the Council must be satisfied as to the applicant’s suitability to be a teacher. 

This means that the Council must be aware of all other criminal activity even though this may have no direct relevance to children (for example fraud or assault against an adult). Additionally a regulatory body such as GTC Scotland must have knowledge of convictions/information which in the opinion of the Central Barring Unit may just fall short of the individual not being included in the scheme as suitable to work with children. 

It is recognised that for registration purposes in the future it may be feasible for GTC Scotland to accept a full scheme record obtained previously for another post or position together with a fresh short scheme record. However it would be simpler and cheaper to make the full scheme record available on line to regulatory bodies under a password code system proposed for the on-line disclosure request. 

This would provide all the up-to-date information instantly and hopefully at a greatly reduced cost to the scheme member in question.

Nevertheless. should the proposed scheme record and short scheme record system proposal prevail, there must be robust authenticity structures in place to prevent fraud and/or uttering of false full scheme certificates and documentation.

Sharing of Information and Notifiable Occupations

The Council welcomes the proposals contained in the Bill to share information with other competent bodies; this is particularly the case regarding the plans to include de-registrations by regulatory bodies as part of disclosures.

Under current non-statutory arrangements (SED Circular 5/1989), SCRO informs GTC Scotland when any person they believe to be a teacher is convicted of a criminal offence.  This process is essential to the current ability of the Council to regulate both in relation to child protection and other matters which might call into question an individual’s suitability to be a teacher who is in a unique position of trust. 

In the consultation which preceded this Bill mention was made that upon being charged a person would have to inform the police of their occupation.  Clearly this would be fraught with practical difficulties in addition to the individual’s right to silence. 

This Bill offers the opportunity to place the functions of the above Circular on a statutory basis and moreover could go further and allow on-line cross-checks by SCRO against the registers of regulatory bodies such as GTC Scotland and the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC).  Given their “licensing” function, regulatory bodies are thus uniquely placed to take matters forward where for example convictions are non-child related or just fall short of CBU removal from the proposed scheme. This is regardless of the registrant’s current work status or whereabouts in the respective workforce.

The Matter of Two Lists – Children and Vulnerable Adults

The Council accepts that there may be an ECHR issue in relation to combining the two lists together.  GTC Scotland understands that as the Council’s workforce will only be working with children, disclosures would only give information about the children’s list.  It is unthinkable that GTC Scotland could in practice unknowingly register an individual who is listed as unsuitable to work vulnerable adults. Notwithstanding that the Bill is concerned with regulated work and not contact, GTC Scotland would wish to press strongly that information is disclosed to the Council concerning both lists.

Registration of Trainee Teachers

The 1965 Act does not permit GTC Scotland to register any person unless and until he/she has been recommended for registration, that is to say that they have successfully completed a 4 year undergraduate programme or a postgraduate programme in teacher education. 

A trainee teacher undertaking a 4 year programme is required to spend at least 30 weeks in the classroom setting.  Trainee teacher registration could be encompassed within the notifiable occupation scheme discussed above and enable registration formalities with GTC Scotland to be concluded as part of the application process to the University concerned. 

In addition to removing worry and uncertainty for the student concerned, such a change would bring GTC Scotland in line with the SSSC and some of the thinking contained in the Foster and Donaldson reports in connection with the health professions.

In the Council’s view the current Bill could offer the legislative vehicle to make some minor amendments to the1965 Act in this which would be very much in keeping with the spirit and purpose of this Bill.

John Anderson
Head of Professional Practice, GTC Scotland
November 2006

[added 15 November]