General Teaching Council acts over failure of local authorities to refer cases of teacher incompetence
The General Teaching Council for England (GTCE) launched an action plan this week after research revealed widespread uncertainty among local authorities and other employers in the education sector about their legal duty to refer cases of teacher incompetence.
The research – conducted by the National Centre for Social Research – suggested that many employers were unclear about when a referral should be triggered or lacked confidence in the referral process. It also found inconsistencies in councils’ use of local performance management and capability procedures.
The study discovered that almost 60% of local authorities had not made a single referral to the GTCE since the system began in 2001. Cases where a teacher is referred for incompetence and not misconduct are extremely rare.
Head teachers and governors at schools with employer status have meanwhile often assumed that responsibility to refer rests with the local authority.
The NCSR revealed two opposing views held by employers – one group believes that the GTCE “has no teeth” or would be too lenient, while other employers fear that referral would see the teacher removed from the register and so lose their professional status.
Under the action plan, the GTCE said it would:
- Review the advice and guidance it offers to schools and local authority employers to ensure improved understanding of the purpose of the GTCE regulation and greater clarity about the referral process
- Provide case studies to improve understanding of when cases of alleged incompetence should be referred
- Renew its programme of local authority visits to ensure the GTCE understands how best to support employers in fulfilling their legal duties,
- Establish an employer reference panel to provide feedback on how the referrals process is working, and
- Ensure that all parties have a more detailed understanding of how the hearings process works and the range of sanctions and remedial measures that can be applied.
GTCE chief executive Keith Bartley has written to all directors of children’s services at local authorities, providing them with data on local authority patterns of referral and asking for their help in ensuring local authority HR staff and head teachers are supported in discharging their legal duty to refer appropriate case to the GTCE.
Bartley said: “The report provides us with a sound platform to continue to work with the Department for Schools, Children and Families and local authority colleagues to strengthen the system; to ensure that performance issues are tackled more effectively at the local level in the first instance and that cases of incompetence are referred to GTCE as they should be to protect the interests of children and young people.”
Schools minister Vernon Coaker said: “There is a legal duty on employers to refer to the GTCE if a teacher or head teacher has been dismissed or resigned on grounds of incompetence. Employers need to ensure that they take seriously their responsibilities in this area. We expect the GTCE to fully exercise its regulatory role in respect of those teachers who fall below the high standards of practice expected of them.”
