What is Fitness to Teach?
Communities place a high degree of trust in teachers. They rely on teachers to interpret what is right and wrong, keep learners safe and be positive role models. A registrant is fit to teach if they have the skills, knowledge and character to teach learners safely and effectively
The Code of Professionalism and Conduct as well as the Standards for Registration set out the standards that teaching professionals are expected to uphold to be on our Register and maintain their registration.
Every teacher on the Register must confirm their commitment to the standards through ongoing learning every five years: this is called Professional Update.
Our Fitness to Teach process is about managing the wider, future risk that a teacher poses. We are legally required to ensure that any action taken is proportionate, transparent, consistent and targeted only where action is needed. Our Fitness to Teach process is outcome focused and best regulatory practice indicates that professional regulators, like GTC Scotland, should only intervene when necessary, with the minimum regulatory force required to achieve the desired result.
If there are concerns about a teacher’s conduct or professional competence, we encourage people to speak first to the employer about their concerns to see if they can be resolved at a local level. Where concerns cannot be resolved locally, or if someone believes them to be serious enough to require immediate regulatory action from us, they should make a referral to us. We will then decide if we need to take action and, in every case, we try to reach an outcome at the earliest opportunity. This is our Fitness to Teach process.
If we find that someone registered with us presents a high risk, we can temporarily restrict their right to work as a teacher in Scotland while the Fitness to Teach process is ongoing, if required. Temporarily restricting a teacher’s registration means that the teacher may only be employed in their existing teaching post; if a teacher is unemployed it prevents them from taking up employment as a teacher
How people raise concerns with us
Anyone can make a referral to us if they have concerns about the conduct of a teacher.
Employers make referrals to us where there are concerns about the professional competence of a teacher, after a performance management process has been followed.
If we consider it necessary, we are also able to open cases ourselves.
Employers are legally required to make Fitness to Teach referrals to us when they dismiss (or might have dismissed) a teacher on the grounds of conduct or a lack of professional competence.
The overwhelming majority of referrals that we receive relate to the conduct of teachers.
Referrals source
Typically, we receive referrals from
- The employer of the teacher
- A member of the public, most often the parent or carer of a learner
- Disclosure Scotland, as part of the Protecting Vulnerable Groups Scheme
- A teacher referring themselves, usually
- this happens when they are applying for registration with us.
You can find more information about how to make a referral on our website.
Referrals we can consider
We can only consider referrals raising a concern if they are about a teacher on our Register and if they relate to conduct or professional competence. We cannot consider concerns about the health of a teacher.
Our role is to decide whether any concerns referred to us about a teacher’s Fitness to Teach require us to take action in the public interest.
We look at conduct concerns (including criminal convictions) as well as professional competence concerns.
How we deal with referrals made to us about the conduct of a teacher
When someone refers a concern about the conduct of a teacher to us, we will look at this and decide whether it is something that we should be looking at in more detail, or in other words, whether it is serious enough to justify us investigating it.
This is the first stage of our Fitness to Teach conduct process, which is known as initial consideration.
We investigate when an allegation is of a level of seriousness that we think the teacher is a risk to learners and/or colleagues. We also investigate where we think there is a potential risk to public confidence in the teaching profession. Our Fitness to Teach Threshold Policy sets out more about how we make these decisions and helps us ensure we are being consistent.
Investigation steps
If we decide that an investigation is justified, steps we may take to help us to understand conduct concerns and decide whether any regulatory action is required can include:
- Asking for more information from the person who made the referral, so we fully understand their concerns and what is alleged to have happened
- Checking our records to see whether concerns have been raised before about the teacher
- Gathering information from the teacher’s employer
- Taking statements from those who may have witnessed events and gathering other evidence such as notes, reports or records
- Asking the teacher for their response to the concerns and what action they have taken since.
You can read more about how we handle Fitness to Teach referrals on our website.
Action we can take
We decide whether the concern that has been referred to us about the conduct of a teacher is serious enough to take regulatory action.
This decision takes into account the risks that may arise if the professional does not address or put the concern right and any actions that have already been taken, for example relevant professional learning.
As reported later, in most conduct cases we receive, we decide that there is no need to take regulatory action (77% of referrals made and considered between 1 April 2018 and 31 March 2023 were closed with no action taken which we know is similar to the experience of other professional regulators like us).
Where necessary, we can take urgent action to protect the public while we investigate concerns by temporarily restricting a teacher’s registration. We do this by asking a Fitness to Teach Panel comprised of independent members to consider making a temporary restriction order. More information about temporary restriction orders is on our website.
Next steps
Once we have investigated conduct concerns, our officers can:
- Close the case with no further action if there are no public protection concerns or there is not sufficient evidence available to prove what is alleged or
- Refer the case for a Fitness to Teach Panel to decide what should happen next.
In conduct cases where we consider there is a need to take regulatory action or the allegations are disputed, a Fitness to Teach Panel meeting will take place.
Panels are made up of teachers on the Register (known as registrant members) and lay members. Usually, three panel members will decide on any case with at least one lay and two registrant members.
Meetings are held in private. The panel carefully considers all the written evidence presented to them – what has been gathered by officers through the investigation process, including what the teacher has provided.
If the teacher accepts all the facts of the case and the Fitness to Teach concerns raised, the Panel can issue them with a consent order if it considers it to be in the public interest to do so. This can mean the teacher is reprimanded, has conditions placed on their registration, has a combination of a reprimand and conditions put in place or is removed from the Register. This all requires the teacher to confirm they admit and agree to everything by signing the consent order. The consent order is normally made public.
If the teacher does not accept all the facts of the case or the concerns about their Fitness to Teach, a hearing is required to consider the case. Hearings are normally held in public. At the hearing the concerns are explained, and witnesses are called to give evidence. The teacher can attend and be represented. They, or their representative, explain what their response is to the concerns and call witnesses to give evidence as they wish.
More information about the action that can be taken through the Fitness to Teach process is available on our website.
How we deal with referrals made to us about the professional competence of a teacher
The process followed in relation to professional competence concerns is different.
We take forward referrals about a teacher’s professional competence (meaning referrals about a teacher’s professional knowledge, skills or abilities falling short of our Standards for Registration) from employers only. This is because the employer is essential in providing monitoring and support to the teacher through a fair performance management process that focuses first on restoring the teacher’s practice. If the teacher’s practice is not restored, the process will have gathered evidence about the teacher’s practice that can then be provided to us as part of a referral.
As part of making a referral we require employers to make a recommendation about what they think should happen to the teacher’s registration in view of the professional competence concerns alleged. If the teacher wishes to challenge the recommendation or a Panel considers a hearing necessary in the circumstances, a hearing is arranged. Some professional regulators call this a ‘hearing on demand’ model. Professional competence hearings take an inquiry style approach with the focus on the Panel to ask questions and interrogate the evidence provided.
Most professional competence cases that we receive relate to provisionally registered teachers who are at the early stage of their professional career and who have failed to maintain the Standard for Provisional Registration or demonstrate they meet the Standard for Full Registration through their period of probationary service.
Public information about our Fitness to Teach decisions
Information about upcoming public hearings and recent panel decisions is on our website.
When decisions are made about someone’s Fitness to Teach, we explain the reasons to the person who raised the concerns with us and to the teacher concerned.
If we decide to take regulatory action, we publish information on our website so anyone can see the decisions we have taken and why. We do not publish information about professional competence cases related to provisionally registered teachers as we do not consider it to be in the public interest to do so.
When a panel imposes a temporary restriction order, it is noted publicly on the teacher’s entry on the Register.
In cases that disclose health information or have other sensitive personal information, we still publish information, usually in less detail. That way, we protect the public and respect the individual’s privacy.
Our Fitness to Teach Publications Policy, which is available on our website, explains what we publish and why about our Fitness to Teach casework.
Communities place a high degree of trust in teachers. They rely on teachers to interpret what is right and wrong, keep learners safe and be positive role models. A registrant is fit to teach if they have the skills, knowledge and character to teach learners safely and effectively
The Code of Professionalism and Conduct as well as the Standards for Registration set out the standards that teaching professionals are expected to uphold to be on our Register and maintain their registration.
Every teacher on the Register must confirm their commitment to the standards through ongoing learning every five years: this is called Professional Update.
Our Fitness to Teach process is about managing the wider, future risk that a teacher poses. We are legally required to ensure that any action taken is proportionate, transparent, consistent and targeted only where action is needed. Our Fitness to Teach process is outcome focused and best regulatory practice indicates that professional regulators, like GTC Scotland, should only intervene when necessary, with the minimum regulatory force required to achieve the desired result.
If there are concerns about a teacher’s conduct or professional competence, we encourage people to speak first to the employer about their concerns to see if they can be resolved at a local level. Where concerns cannot be resolved locally, or if someone believes them to be serious enough to require immediate regulatory action from us, they should make a referral to us. We will then decide if we need to take action and, in every case, we try to reach an outcome at the earliest opportunity. This is our Fitness to Teach process.
If we find that someone registered with us presents a high risk, we can temporarily restrict their right to work as a teacher in Scotland while the Fitness to Teach process is ongoing, if required. Temporarily restricting a teacher’s registration means that the teacher may only be employed in their existing teaching post; if a teacher is unemployed it prevents them from taking up employment as a teacher
How people raise concerns with us
Anyone can make a referral to us if they have concerns about the conduct of a teacher.
Employers make referrals to us where there are concerns about the professional competence of a teacher, after a performance management process has been followed.
If we consider it necessary, we are also able to open cases ourselves.
Employers are legally required to make Fitness to Teach referrals to us when they dismiss (or might have dismissed) a teacher on the grounds of conduct or a lack of professional competence.
The overwhelming majority of referrals that we receive relate to the conduct of teachers.
Referrals source
Typically, we receive referrals from
- The employer of the teacher
- A member of the public, most often the parent or carer of a learner
- Disclosure Scotland, as part of the Protecting Vulnerable Groups Scheme
- A teacher referring themselves, usually
- this happens when they are applying for registration with us.
You can find more information about how to make a referral on our website.
Referrals we can consider
We can only consider referrals raising a concern if they are about a teacher on our Register and if they relate to conduct or professional competence. We cannot consider concerns about the health of a teacher.
Our role is to decide whether any concerns referred to us about a teacher’s Fitness to Teach require us to take action in the public interest.
We look at conduct concerns (including criminal convictions) as well as professional competence concerns.
How we deal with referrals made to us about the conduct of a teacher
When someone refers a concern about the conduct of a teacher to us, we will look at this and decide whether it is something that we should be looking at in more detail, or in other words, whether it is serious enough to justify us investigating it.
This is the first stage of our Fitness to Teach conduct process, which is known as initial consideration.
We investigate when an allegation is of a level of seriousness that we think the teacher is a risk to learners and/or colleagues. We also investigate where we think there is a potential risk to public confidence in the teaching profession. Our Fitness to Teach Threshold Policy sets out more about how we make these decisions and helps us ensure we are being consistent.
Investigation steps
If we decide that an investigation is justified, steps we may take to help us to understand conduct concerns and decide whether any regulatory action is required can include:
- Asking for more information from the person who made the referral, so we fully understand their concerns and what is alleged to have happened
- Checking our records to see whether concerns have been raised before about the teacher
- Gathering information from the teacher’s employer
- Taking statements from those who may have witnessed events and gathering other evidence such as notes, reports or records
- Asking the teacher for their response to the concerns and what action they have taken since.
You can read more about how we handle Fitness to Teach referrals on our website.
Action we can take
We decide whether the concern that has been referred to us about the conduct of a teacher is serious enough to take regulatory action.
This decision takes into account the risks that may arise if the professional does not address or put the concern right and any actions that have already been taken, for example relevant professional learning.
As reported later, in most conduct cases we receive, we decide that there is no need to take regulatory action (77% of referrals made and considered between 1 April 2018 and 31 March 2023 were closed with no action taken which we know is similar to the experience of other professional regulators like us).
Where necessary, we can take urgent action to protect the public while we investigate concerns by temporarily restricting a teacher’s registration. We do this by asking a Fitness to Teach Panel comprised of independent members to consider making a temporary restriction order. More information about temporary restriction orders is on our website.
Next steps
Once we have investigated conduct concerns, our officers can:
- Close the case with no further action if there are no public protection concerns or there is not sufficient evidence available to prove what is alleged or
- Refer the case for a Fitness to Teach Panel to decide what should happen next.
In conduct cases where we consider there is a need to take regulatory action or the allegations are disputed, a Fitness to Teach Panel meeting will take place.
Panels are made up of teachers on the Register (known as registrant members) and lay members. Usually, three panel members will decide on any case with at least one lay and two registrant members.
Meetings are held in private. The panel carefully considers all the written evidence presented to them – what has been gathered by officers through the investigation process, including what the teacher has provided.
If the teacher accepts all the facts of the case and the Fitness to Teach concerns raised, the Panel can issue them with a consent order if it considers it to be in the public interest to do so. This can mean the teacher is reprimanded, has conditions placed on their registration, has a combination of a reprimand and conditions put in place or is removed from the Register. This all requires the teacher to confirm they admit and agree to everything by signing the consent order. The consent order is normally made public.
If the teacher does not accept all the facts of the case or the concerns about their Fitness to Teach, a hearing is required to consider the case. Hearings are normally held in public. At the hearing the concerns are explained, and witnesses are called to give evidence. The teacher can attend and be represented. They, or their representative, explain what their response is to the concerns and call witnesses to give evidence as they wish.
More information about the action that can be taken through the Fitness to Teach process is available on our website.
How we deal with referrals made to us about the professional competence of a teacher
The process followed in relation to professional competence concerns is different.
We take forward referrals about a teacher’s professional competence (meaning referrals about a teacher’s professional knowledge, skills or abilities falling short of our Standards for Registration) from employers only. This is because the employer is essential in providing monitoring and support to the teacher through a fair performance management process that focuses first on restoring the teacher’s practice. If the teacher’s practice is not restored, the process will have gathered evidence about the teacher’s practice that can then be provided to us as part of a referral.
As part of making a referral we require employers to make a recommendation about what they think should happen to the teacher’s registration in view of the professional competence concerns alleged. If the teacher wishes to challenge the recommendation or a Panel considers a hearing necessary in the circumstances, a hearing is arranged. Some professional regulators call this a ‘hearing on demand’ model. Professional competence hearings take an inquiry style approach with the focus on the Panel to ask questions and interrogate the evidence provided.
Most professional competence cases that we receive relate to provisionally registered teachers who are at the early stage of their professional career and who have failed to maintain the Standard for Provisional Registration or demonstrate they meet the Standard for Full Registration through their period of probationary service.
Public information about our Fitness to Teach decisions
Information about upcoming public hearings and recent panel decisions is on our website.
When decisions are made about someone’s Fitness to Teach, we explain the reasons to the person who raised the concerns with us and to the teacher concerned.
If we decide to take regulatory action, we publish information on our website so anyone can see the decisions we have taken and why. We do not publish information about professional competence cases related to provisionally registered teachers as we do not consider it to be in the public interest to do so.
When a panel imposes a temporary restriction order, it is noted publicly on the teacher’s entry on the Register.
In cases that disclose health information or have other sensitive personal information, we still publish information, usually in less detail. That way, we protect the public and respect the individual’s privacy.
Our Fitness to Teach Publications Policy, which is available on our website, explains what we publish and why about our Fitness to Teach casework.
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