Performance of Irish teachers set to be under greater scrutiny from now on

The Fitness to Teach complaints process comes into effect today, July 25.

The Teaching Council of Ireland have welcomed the announcement by Minister for Education and Skills, Richard Bruton, that the Fitness to Teach complaints process for the teaching profession is to be introduced with immediate effect. As the professional standards body for teaching, the Teaching Council will administer this new process as part of its remit to promote and regulate the profession. They have labelled the introduction of the process as a “very significant development for teachers and wider public”. Under the process, a complaint relating to professional matters can be made against a registered teacher to the Council. An investigatory process will then take place to establish if the complaint should be the subject of a formal disciplinary inquiry. Provided for under the Teaching Council Act, the process includes a number of options where findings are made against a teacher, ranging from advising, admonishing or censuring the teacher, to requiring the teacher to comply with conditions as part of their registration; for example attending a professional learning programme. In the most serious cases, the sanction of suspension or removal from the Teaching Council Register will be available to the Council’s Disciplinary Panels. These provisions are in line with those of other regulators such as the Medical Council and the Nursing and Midwifery Board. In welcoming the Minister’s announcement, the Director of the Teaching Council, Mr. Tomás Ó Ruairc, said that teaching affected the lives of every single person in our society in a way that no other profession does. “That’s why professional standards matter so much and why it’s vital that a formal mechanism exists to allow for the investigation of complaints,” Ó Ruairc said. “The Fitness to Teach complaints process, therefore, is about improving teaching, not punishing teachers." Ó Ruairc added that the Fitness to Teach process “will be about reassuring the public and the profession as to the quality of teaching and learning that all learners can expect in our schools”. The Council has also developed a series of information leaflets that explain the practical aspects of the Fitness to Teach complaints process for teachers, their employers and members of the public. These are available for download from the Teaching Council website.