PART IINTRODUCTION
Citation and commencement
1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the General Teaching Council for Wales (Functions) Regulations 2000.
(2) Regulations 12 and 17 shall come into force on 1st February 2001, regulation 16 shall come into force on 1st December 2000, and all other regulations shall come into force on 1st September 2000.
Interpretation
2.—(1) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires —
“the 1988 Act” (“Deddf 1988”) means the Education Reform Act 1988(1);
“the 1998 Act” (“Deddf 1998”) means the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998;
“advanced skills teacher” (“athro neu athrawes uwch-fedrau”) means a teacher who has been certified by an assessor appointed by the Secretary of State for Education and Employment as eligible for appointment to an advanced skills teacher post;
“Code of Practice” (“Cod Ymarfer”) means the code of practice authorised to be issued under regulation 13;
“the Council” (“y Cyngor”) means the General Teaching Council for Wales;
“employer” (“cyflogydd”) in relation to a teacher includes a person who engages or makes arrangements for the engagement of that teacher to provide his or her services as a teacher otherwise than under a contract of employment, and “prospective employer” (“darpar gyflogydd”), “employed” (“cyflogi”) and “employment” (“cyflogaeth”) shall be construed accordingly;
“fast track teacher” (“athro neu athrawes cynllun carlam”) means a classroom teacher who has been certified as such by the Secretary of State for Education and Employment or by an assessor appointed by the Secretary of State;
“independent school” (“ysgol annibynnol”) has the same meaning as in section 463 of the Education Act 1996(2);
“induction period” (“cyfnod ymsefydlu”) means an induction period served in accordance with regulations made in relation to England or Wales under section 19 of the 1998 Act(3);
“institution within the further education sector” (“sefydliad yn y sector addysg bellach”) has the meaning given to it by section 91(3) of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992(4);
“institution within the higher education sector” (“sefydliad yn y sector addysg uwch”) has the meaning given to it by section 91(5) of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992;
“the National Assembly” (“y Cynulliad Cenedlaethol”) means the National Assembly for Wales;
“ non-maintained special school” (“ysgol arbennig nad yw'n cael ei chynnal”) means a special school which is neither a community special school nor a foundation special school;
“qualified teacher” (“athro neu athrawes gymwysedig”) has the same meaning as in section 218(2) of the 1988 Act(5);
“the Register” (“y Gofrestr”) means the register of teachers which the Council are required to establish and maintain in accordance with section 3 of the 1998 Act and these Regulations, and “registration” (“cofrestru”) shall be construed accordingly;
“registered teacher” (“athro neu athrawes gofrestredig”) means a person for the time being registered under section 3 of the 1998 Act;
“school maintained by a local education authority” (“ysgol a gynhelir gan awdurdod addysg lleol”) has the same meaning as in section 142(1) of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998(6);
“special school” (“ysgol arbennig”) has the same meaning as in section 337(1) of the Education Act 1996(7);
“teacher who has passed the threshold” (“athro neu athrawes sydd wedi croesi'r trothwy”) means a teacher who has been certified by an assessor appointed by the Secretary of State for Education and Employment as having passed the performance threshold determined by the Secretary of State, or who has been so certified by a head teacher or other person under arrangements approved by an assessor; and
“unregistered person” (“person anghofrestredig”) means a person who is not a registered teacher.
(2) Any reference in these Regulations to—
(a)a numbered regulation, Part or Schedule is a reference to the regulation, Part or Schedule bearing that number in these Regulations;
(b)a numbered paragraph is a reference to the paragraph bearing that number in the regulation or Schedule in which the reference appears; and
(c)a numbered sub-paragraph is a reference to the sub-paragraph bearing that number in the paragraph in which the reference appears.
PART IIREGISTRATION OF TEACHERS
Disqualification from registration
3. For the purposes of section 3(3)(d) of the 1998 Act, a person is not eligible for registration if he or she is ineligible for registration as a teacher, or disqualified from being a teacher in any school, by virtue of—
(a)section 11 of the Teaching Council (Scotland) Act 1965(8);
(b)regulation 9 of the Teachers' (Eligibility) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997(9); or
(c)regulations made under article 36 of the Education (Northern Ireland) Order 1998(10).
Applications for registration
4.—(1) An application for registration shall include —
(a)the official reference number, if any, assigned to the teacher;
(b)the applicant’s full name;
(c)the applicant’s date of birth;
(d)the applicant’s home address or other contact address; and
(e)the date on which the applicant qualified as a teacher.
(2) The Council may make further provision as to—
(a)the form and manner in which applications for registration are to be made; and
(b)the documentary and other evidence which is to accompany applications for registration.
Registration on establishment of the Register
5.—(1) On the establishment of the Register, the Council may register persons eligible for registration who have not made applications for registration.
(2) The Council shall send written confirmation of their registration to all persons registered under paragraph (1).
(3) The Council shall provide free of charge a copy of the information recorded on the Register against the name of a person registered under paragraph (1), if that person so requests.
Content of Register
6.—(1) There shall be recorded in the Register against the names of those registered in it the matters listed in Schedule 1.
(2) The Council may make provision as to additional matters to be recorded in the Register.
Division of Register into separate parts
7. The Council may make provision as to the division of the Register into separate parts.
Amending entries on the Register
8. The Council may make provision as to the restoration and alteration of entries on the Register, and the transfer of entries between different parts of the Register.
Charging of registration fees
9. The Council may make provision—
(a)to charge fees fixed by them with the approval of the National Assembly in respect of—
(i)applications for registration or for the restoration of entries in the Register, and
(ii)the retention of entries in the Register;
(b)for there to be exceptions where fees are not charged; and
(c)for them to refuse an application for registration until the appropriate fee has been paid.
Removal of entries from the Register
10. The Council may make provision as to the removal of entries from the Register where the persons concerned have ceased to be eligible for registration, have failed to pay a registration fee, or otherwise.
Issue and form of certificates of registration
11. The Council may make provision as to the issuing of certificates of registration to registered teachers, and as to the form of such certificates.
Public access to the Register
12.—(1) The Council may on receipt of a request from a member of the public inform that person whether or not a person is a registered teacher.
(2) A request under paragraph (1) shall contain such particulars as the Council determine.
(3) The Council may make available the names of teachers on the Register in such manner as the Council determine.
PART IIICODE OF PRACTICE
Issue and revision of Code of Practice
13. The Council may issue and from time to time revise a Code of Practice laying down standards of professional conduct and practice expected of registered teachers.
Provision of copies of the Code of Practice
14.—(1) The Council shall make copies of the Code of Practice available free of charge to all registered teachers —
(a)when the Code of Practice is first issued or on a teacher’s first registration (if the teacher was not a registered teacher when the Code of Practice was first issued); and
(b)if the Council so determine, when the Code of Practice is revised.
(2) The Council may make available a copy of the Code of Practice at any website maintained by them on the internet, and if they do so, it shall be free of charge.
(3) Subject to paragraphs (1) and (2), the Council shall on request provide copies of the Code of Practice on payment of such reasonable charge as they shall decide.
PART IVSUPPLY OF INFORMATION
Supply of information to teachers and others
15.—(1) The Council shall supply a registered teacher, upon request, with a copy of the information entered on the Register against that teacher’s name.
(2) The Council shall supply a person about whom they maintain records in accordance with an order under section 7(1) and (4) of the 1998 Act, on request, with a copy of such records as they maintain about him or her.
Supply of information to employers
16.—(1) The Council shall if requested by an employer or prospective employer to whom this paragraph applies of —
(a)a registered teacher; or
(b)an unregistered person about whom they maintain records in accordance with an order under section 7(1) and (4) of the 1998 Act,
supply that employer or prospective employer with the information set out in Schedule 2 in respect of the teacher or unregistered person concerned.
(2) Paragraph (1) applies to an employer or prospective employer who is —
(a)a local education authority;
(b)the governing body of a school maintained by a local education authority;
(c)the governing body of a non-maintained special school;
(d)the proprietor of an independent school;
(e)an institution within the higher education sector;
(f)an institution within the further education sector;
(g)a supply teacher agency; or
(h)the Service Children’s Education.
(3) Paragraph (1) also applies to a local education authority where the employer or prospective employer is the governing body of a school maintained by that authority (whether or not the governing body has made a request under paragraph (1)).
(4) A person to whom paragraph (1) applies shall not disclose information supplied under this regulation to any person other than the teacher to whom the information relates.
(5) Paragraph (4) does not prevent a local education authority from disclosing information supplied to them under this regulation to the governing body of the school at which the person concerned is or is proposed to be employed.
(6) The supply of any information under paragraph (1) shall be subject to the condition that the information is only to be used for the purposes of ascertaining the suitability of the teacher or unregistered person for employment or continued employment (as the case may be).
Supply of information to the General Teaching Council for Scotland
17.—(1) The Council shall on request supply the information set out in Schedule 2 in relation to —
(a)a registered teacher; or
(b)an unregistered person about whom they maintain records in accordance with an order under section 7(1) and (4) of the 1998 Act,
to the General Teaching Council for Scotland.
(2) Where information is supplied under paragraph (1), a condition shall be imposed requiring the General Teaching Council for Scotland not to disclose that information to any person other than the teacher to whom the information relates.
Signed on behalf of the National Assembly under section 66(1) of the Government of Wales Act 1998(11).
Jane Davidson
The Deputy Presiding Officer of the NationalAssembly
24th July 2000