Procedural Meeting – Anonymity Application – Teacher B

Teacher

Teacher B

Date(s)

23 April 2024

Registration number

[redacted]

Registration category

Primary education

Panel

Lucy White, Alison Reid and Helen Townsend

Legal assessor

Jon Kiddie

Servicing officer

Aga Adamczyk

Presenting officer

Gary Burton, Anderson Strathern (not present)

Teacher's representative(s)

Martin Stephen, WJM (not present)

Definitions

Any reference in this decision to:

‘GTC Scotland’ means the General Teaching Council for Scotland;
the ‘Panel’ means the Fitness to Teach Panel considering the case; and
the ‘Rules’ (and any related expression) means the GTCS Fitness to Teach Rules 2017 or refers to a provision (or provisions) within them.

Background

The Procedural Meeting was arranged to consider the following:

Evidence

In accordance with rule 1.7.17, the Panel admitted all of the documents and statements listed below as evidence for the purposes of the hearing:

Cover letter with the anonymity application, dated 22 March 2024
Anonymity application, dated 22 March 2024, with appendices including:
- Application by the Presenting Officer for the case cancellation of the case, including
- Chronology
- Presenting Officer's Full Hearing Papers:
  - Statement obtained from [redacted] (undated)
  - Statements obtained from [redacted], dated 12 June and 12 October 2021
  - Statement obtained from [redacted], dated 3 November 2021
  - Statement obtained from [redacted], dated 21 October 2021
  - Email from [redacted] to Investigating Officer dated 8 June 2021
  - Emails between Investigating Officer and [redacted] dated 6-12 July 2021
  - Email from DC [redacted] to Investigating Officer, dated 26 February 2021
  - Teacher’s statement in response to the interim report, dated 10 August 2021
  - Reference from [redacted], dated 17 November 2021
  - Reference from [redacted], undated
  - Notice of investigation, dated 11 May 2020
  - Notice of panel consideration, dated 12 November 2021
- Teacher’s response to application, dated 10 January 2024, including:
  - Supplementary statement by Teacher B
  - Character reference
- Final response from the Presenting Officer
- Letter from the Teacher's Representative regarding timescales
Presenting Officer’s email response to application, dated 22 March 2024

Preliminary matters

The Panel carefully considered the terms of Rule 2.5.1:

At any stage of proceedings, a panel of its own volition, on the Convener’s direction or upon the application of a party (in such form as may be specified by the Servicing Officer), may:

(a) determine any interim or preliminary matter that has arisen in the case;
(b) resolve any issues of law; or
(c) consider an application for a case to be cancelled.

Unless a party has (in the relevant application) requested that a procedural hearing be held or a Panel considers that such a hearing is necessary in the particular circumstances, the above matters will be considered by a Panel at a meeting based on the written representations made by the parties in compliance with case management directions set for this purpose.

The Panel noted that neither of the parties requested the procedural hearing in the submissions made. Further to this, the panel considered that a procedural hearing was not necessary. Therefore, the panel Proceeded to consider the matter on the papers.

Decision

The Panel had regard to the papers and noted the background as follows. The Teacher made this application for anonymity, dated 22 March 2024, in terms of rule 1.7.3 of GTCS Fitness to Teach Rules 2017, and under reference to GTC Scotland Privacy and Anonymity Practice Statement 2018. The was seeking that the GTC Scotland Panel Decision of 24 February 2024 be anonymised.

The Panel noted that the overall background relates to original allegations made against the Teacher of a serious nature, which allegations were denied, whereupon a full hearing was scheduled. However, essential evidence subsequently having became no longer available, the Presenting Officer then made a Case Cancellation Application under rule 2.10.9. That came before a Panel meeting on 24 January 2024, when it was decided to cancel the case, and thus also to discharge the full hearing previously scheduled. It is in respect of the decision of 24 January 2024 that the Teacher applied for anonymisation.

The Panel noted that rule 1.7.3 confers on it discretion to make an order ‘with a view to preventing or restricting the public disclosure of any aspect of proceedings’ where ‘necessary’ and ‘in the interests of justice’. The Panel also noted that the Practice Statement provides an illustrative list of circumstances in which anonymisation might be appropriate. The Panel deliberated over the Teacher's application for anonymity, and, in the circumstances decided to grant the application in order to protect the identities of witnesses, and to avoid distress.

Accordingly, the Panel ordered that the GTC Scotland Panel Decision of 24 February 2024 be anonymised, including the Teacher’s name, registration number, the name of the Local Authority and the name of the school.

For the same rationale, and under reference to rule 1.7.3, the same anonymity order applies to this decision taken by the Panel on 23 April 2024.