Stage 3 - determining outcomes

General principles

Where a determination is made by a panel that an individual is unfit to teach, the law dictates that they must be refused registration or removed from our Register⁶. As a result, in any case where a panel determines that an individual is unfit to teach, it need not deliberate on which disposal to impose as is envisaged below. This will only be necessary where the panel makes a determination that the teacher’s fitness to teach is impaired (they are falling short of the standards rather than significantly short). The panel will, however, need to decide how long the teacher should be prohibited from applying to be restored to the Register, or from making a further application for registration. This period may not be set at more than 2 years⁷. The panel should hear submissions from the parties in attendance on the matter before making its decision on the appropriate period with reference to the guidance set out at the section below titled ’Period of prohibition’.

If a panel has decided that a teacher’s fitness to teach is currently impaired (that they are falling short of the standards), it needs to decide what action it is appropriate to take in light of this impairment. The panel will invite those parties present to make submissions on this issue (as it will at stage 1 and stage 2).

In making a decision, a panel should consider and have proportionate regard to:

• the public interest
• the interests of the teacher, including any mitigating factor that they may have submitted
• the particular circumstances of the case, including any aggravating factors

As mentioned, guidance on what consideration of the public interest involves and the factors to take into account is set out above.  

Considering the interests of the teacher, the circumstances of the case and any mitigating or aggravating factors present will include consideration of some or all of the following:

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In considering written references and testimonials submitted in mitigation by the teacher, the panel should consider how recent they are, the nature of the providers and whether the providers were aware of the allegation(s) against the teacher and provided the reference or testimonial knowing that it would be used within the context of Fitness to Teach proceedings.  

In taking account of any insight, remediation, explanation, apology or remorse offered by a teacher, note that there may be cultural differences in the way that these are expressed. The panel’s primary focus should be on whether the teacher has genuinely recognised their failings, has taken or is taking remedial action to address those failings and whether there is a risk of repetition. Those issues should be considered with reference to the evidence provided on them rather than focusing on the exact manner or form in which they may be explained or addressed.

The decision on which disposal to impose should be approached by a panel with holistic and proportionate regard to the principles set out above, the indicating factors identified for the disposals available below and any specific factors that a particular case may present. The principle of proportionality should be applied throughout this decision-making process with the panel asking:

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The balancing of all of the factors involved is entirely a matter for the panel to consider on a case-by-case basis, at its discretion, in order to reach what it considers to be an appropriate outcome in the circumstances.

The panel should bear in mind throughout that, while it is acknowledged that a disposal may have a punitive effect, the primary purpose of a disposal is to be protective and manage the wider, future risk that a teacher poses: disposals are not about punishing teachers for past events. Best regulatory practice indicates that professional regulators like us should only intervene when necessary with the minimum regulatory force required to achieve the desired result.  

In terms of procedure, the panel must consider disposals in ascending order. This means that the panel should work its way up from the least to most severe disposal available. This should also be mirrored in the way that the panel writes up its decision, describing the panel’s consideration of each disposal in turn with an explanation as to why it was or was not considered appropriate.

1. Reprimand

A reprimand is recorded in our Register against a teacher’s name for such period of time as a panel specifies⁸. Other than the mark on the Register, registration status remains unaffected, so it does not restrict or control the teacher in any way with a view to ensuring ongoing fitness to teach.

A reprimand may be the appropriate disposal to impose where most or all of the following indicating factors are present:

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As mentioned, a reprimand may be imposed for such a period as the panel sees fit. In order to ensure that a generally consistent approach is adopted in this respect, panels may regard:

• 6 months as an appropriate starting point
• 1 year as the period that is applied in the majority of cases where a reprimand is determined to be the appropriate disposal
• 2 years as the maximum that it is generally envisaged would be appropriate

It must be emphasised that the above is general guidance only. A panel should always impose a reprimand for the period of time that it considers appropriate based on the circumstances of the case, and this may mean departing from the general parameters indicated above.

2. Conditional registration order

A conditional registration order imposes specified conditions that the teacher must comply with in order to maintain registration⁹. In the case of applicants for registration, the offer of registration itself may also be made subject to conditions set by the panel¹⁰. It is for the panel to decide in each case what conditions should be imposed and for what period of time. A conditional registration order is therefore a means of controlling and/or restricting the teacher with a view to ensuring that any corrective action appropriate in the circumstances is taken and that the teacher then maintains their fitness to teach.

A conditional registration order may be the appropriate disposal to impose where the following indicating factors are present:

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If a conditional registration order is decided upon, in determining what conditions to impose, the panel should consider:

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The panel must also generally be mindful that conditions must be compatible with Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, the right to have respect for privacy and family life.

Example style conditions are provided in the ‘conditions bank’ set out in Appendix 1. Please note that these conditions are intended to be neither prescriptive nor definitive; they are intended to assist in the drafting and preparation process only and should always be considered with careful reference to the guidance set out above.

3. Conditional registration order and reprimand

Having considered the indicating factors for a conditional registration order and a reprimand above, a panel may decide that it is appropriate to impose both of these disposals¹¹ where the panel considers:

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The terms of the reprimand and conditional registrationorder should be framed with reference to the guidance set out at the relevantsections (1 and 2) above.

4. Removal of registration or refusal of application for registration

It may be appropriate to remove a teacher from the Register¹² or refuse their application for registration¹³ where most or all of the following indicating factors are present:

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Once the teacher has been removed from the Register or refused registration, the teacher remains removed or refused unless and until a (further) registration application is made by them and a Fitness to Teach panel is satisfied at a hearing that the application should be granted in line with the separate practice statement on subsequent registration applications. Registration following removal or refusal by a Fitness to Teach panel is not automatic and is not at all guaranteed. A person will only ever be granted registration where they demonstrate to a panel’s satisfaction that they are now fit to teach¹⁴.

Period of prohibition

Where a removal or refusal decision is reached, a panel has to decide how long the teacher should be prohibited from making a registration application subsequent to this. The period of prohibition can be set at up to 2 years¹⁵. In order to ensure that a generally consistent approach is adopted in this respect, panels may regard:

• 6 months as an appropriate starting point
• 2 years as the period that is applied in the majority of cases where registration removal or refusal is determined to be the appropriate disposal

It must be emphasised that the above is general guidance only. A panel should always set the period of time according to what it considers appropriate based on the circumstances of the case, and this may mean departing from the general parameters indicated above.

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