• Independence
• Background
• Consultations
• Key Issues
• Neo-eisimeileachd - ur ceistean air am freagairt
• Questions

Independence - the key issues

The Public Services Reform (General Teaching Council for Scotland) Order 2011 gave GTC Scotland full independence from Scottish Ministers. This Order passed into law on 17 March 2011 and, with effect from 2 April 2012, replaced the legislation that established GTC Scotland in 1965.

The Order significantly changes the way in which our Council is constituted and gives greater flexibility to how we may operate. 

What does the Order say?

The Order reflects the decisions taken by Government following the conclusion of their 2009 Consultation: A Future Status of GTC Scotland.

It sets out:

• the functions of GTC Scotland including responsibility for current and future standards.
• our responsibility to maintain the register and the responsibility of both teachers and employers to work within the rules we set.
• our powers to require teachers' employers to deduct fees and/ or to provide information we may require
• our responsibility to set entry standards for primary and secondary initial teacher education and our right to be involved in Government decisions about Further Education teaching qualification standards
• arrangements for the composition of Council including powers granted to us to set up rules governing a rolling programme of elections and appointments
• clarification of our right to set up Committees and organise our business and finances as we see fit, and a requirement for us to report on our activities to the Scottish Parliament.

Developing Government thinking

In several areas, the Order develops or provides greater details about expectations which were set out in the Government response to the 2009 consultation. These areas include:

Fitness to teach and related issues (Schedule 4 & Article 25)

We currently only have two disposal routes we can take when considering competence cases - to remove the teacher from the Register or take no action. This Schedule allows us to attach conditions to a teacher's ongoing registration thereby giving us more flexibility in the way we handle competence cases. This flexibility may be useful in cases where we think that a teacher is capable of meeting the standards if certain steps are taken.

Article 25 places a duty on employers to refer a competence case to GTC Scotland where an individual resigns or abandons their post and they would or might have dismissed the individual on such grounds. This amendment will help close a loophole that currently exists where if a teacher is subject to the competency procedure, and resigns before a disciplinary hearing is set (effectively the final step in the process), they can avoid having their case considered by us and can continue to move from employer to employer. 

Re-accreditation (Article 31)

This article places the Council under a duty to bring forward a system of re-accreditation. The Scheme should allow us to keep informed of the standards of education and training of registered teachers in Scotland.

As with many of our powers, we have a duty to consult with stakeholders before making or varying rules relating to this process.

Registration fees (Article 20)

This provision allows us to charge fees in relation to registration. The current regulations which make provision about registration fees is to be repealed and as a result of this the Council will be able to specify arrangements requiring teachers' employers to deduct the registration fee from the salary of their staff administratively rather than by way of legislation.

Registration of other professionals (Article 26)

Article 26 allows us to admit to the Register, other education professionals not currently covered by the work of GTC Scotland.