History
GTCS was the first professional registration body for teachers in the United Kingdom, and one of the first teaching councils in the world. It was set up in 1965 under the Teaching Council (Scotland) Act 1965 following concerns that entry requirements had lowered after the Second World War and unqualified teachers were working in Scottish schools. Its powers, remits and duties have since been amended by other legislation, including the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998 and the Standards in Scotland's Schools etc. Act 2000. It is a legal requirement for all teachers working in Scottish local council schools to be registered with GTCS ( The Requirements for Teachers (Scotland) Regulations 2005). In 2018, there was a national agreement to register all lecturers working in Scotland’s colleges through GTC Scotland. On 2 April 2012 GTCS was granted independent status by the Scottish Government. The Teaching Council (Scotland) Act 1965 was repealed and replaced by the Public Services Reform (GTC Scotland) Order 2011. The Public Services Reform (General Teaching Council for Scotland) Order 2011 was made by Scottish Ministers in accordance with the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 and passed into law on 17 March 2011.Proposed reform
In June 2017 Scottish the Scottish Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills, John Swinney, announced plans to reform the General Teaching Council for Scotland, bringing it together with other professional development bodies in a new Education Workforce Council for Scotland, similar to theFunctions
The Public Services Reform (General Teaching Council for Scotland) Order 2011 describes GTCS's general functions. The main ones are to keep a register of teachers qualified to teach in Scottish schools and to establish and review the standards of education and training appropriate to teachers. GTCS's general functions also include: * the standards of conduct and professional competence expected of a registered teacher; * investigating the fitness to teach of registered teachers; * to keep itself informed of courses for the education and training of teachers; * to make recommendations to Scottish Ministers on teachers’ education, training, career development and the supply of teachers (with some exceptions); * to keep registers of other individuals working in educational settings as it thinks fit.Standards of education and training
A suite of Professional Standards provides a framework for teachers at all stages in their careers. A revised set of standards came into use in August 2013. Professional Update was launched 18 August 2014. The Standard for Provisional Registration (SPR) and The Standard for Full Registration (SFR) are part of the overall set of GTC Scotland's Professional Standards which also includes The Standard for Career-Long Professional Learning and The Standards for Leadership and Management. The GTCS rules around the subjects that Scottish teachers are allowed to teach have been criticised for being too strict because they constrain the ability of head teachers to determine the curriculum in schools and prevent experienced teachers who qualified outside Scotland from being able to take up teaching posts.Governing Council and committee structure
Role of the council
The council has a significant role to play in shaping the teaching profession of Scotland and maintaining and improving professional standards. It does this by developing and monitoring the strategic direction and policy of GTCS by determining entry standards to teaching, accrediting courses of teacher education and by setting clear expectations of the profession in its range of published Codes and Professional Standards.Council membership
GTCS is governed by a Council made up of 19 elected teachers, 11 nominated educational stakeholder representatives and 7 appointed lay members, who make decisions on matters of strategy and policy. Council membership is determined following a rolling programme: election, nomination and appointments processes take place every two years and half of the members step down at the end of each two-year period.Committee Structure
Council members may serve on the following committees and sub-committees: * Conveners Committee: advises, informs and puts forward recommendations or proposals to Council on all aspects shaping the strategic and policy direction of the council. * Professional Regulatory Assurance Committee: advises, informs and puts forward recommendations or proposals to the Executive Committee on all rules, guidance and policies relating to the council's panels. * Education Committee: advises, informs and puts forward recommendations or proposals to council on all educational matters within the council's remit. * Finance and Corporate Services Committee: advises, informs and puts forward recommendations or proposals to council on GTCS's annual report and accounts, financial matters (including the setting of registration fees) and ensure that GTCS acts legally and within its statutory authority.Adjudication panels, appointments and appeals
The council has a series of panels that investigate and adjudicate cases about fitness to teach and registration of individual teachers. The panels consist solely of registrants and lay persons who are independent from the council and who are appointed by the Appointments Committee. The Appointments Committee and the Appeals Board also consist solely of appointed registrants and lay persons who are independent from the council.Supporting education in Scotland
GTCS performs a number of functions to support and inform the teaching profession and the wider public about Scottish education. It produces Teaching Scotland magazine. This publication carries a range of news articles and features about education activities across the Scotland and is issued to teachers on the GTCS Register. In addition to this, GTCS holds a number of events throughout the year to promote and recognise the teaching profession. This includes, among many other activities, its Annual Lecture. The Lecture has previously been given bySee also
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