Review of ‘fitness to teach’ rules opens in Scotland

The General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) is seeking views on Scotland’s “fitness-to-teach rules”.

The move comes after a GTCS report in April that showed the number of teachers it was investigating had hit a 10-year high.

The GTCS, Scotland’s independent regulator for teachers, has now opened a “call for views” on the fitness-to-teach rules, which set out the legal framework for when and how referrals are investigated and how the outcomes of cases are determined.

The rules came into force in 2017 and are being reviewed, the GTCS says, to “ensure they reflect current law and best regulatory practice and make the fitness-to-teach process work as efficiently as it can, while still meeting the public interest and ensuring fairness”.

The review is initially looking for comment on several areas, including:

• interpreting and applying the fitness-to-teach rules
• experiences of being part of the fitness-to-teach process
• respecting the rights of children and young people involved in the process

The GTCS has also commissioned the Professional Standards Authority to examine how the fitness-to-teach rules operate.

‘High degree of trust in teachers’

Jennifer Macdonald, strategic director of the GTCS, said: “Our 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.”

She added: “We are always looking for ways to make our fitness-to-teach process as efficient as it can be while meeting the public interest.”

More details on the fitness-to-teach review and how to take part are available on the GTCS website.

The call for views is open until 12 November.

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