The General Teaching Council for Wales (Functions) (Amendment) Regulations 2006

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

The Education Act 2002 introduces a requirement for the General Teaching Council for Wales (“the Council”) to determine whether or not an applicant for registration with the Council is suitable to be a teacher.

These Regulations make amendments to the General Teaching Council for Wales (Functions) Regulations 2000 (“the 2000 Regulations”) which are mainly consequential on this new requirement. They make provision for the application by the Council of decisions made by the General Teaching Council for England in relation to a person’s suitability to be a teacher. They require the Council to send to all applicants for registration a notice with its decision as to whether or not to register the applicant. If the Council refuses to register an applicant, the notice will explain the grounds for the decision and the right of appeal. The amendments confer a right of appeal to the High Court on any person who has been refused registration on the grounds of suitability. The amendments also provide for information about suitability decisions to be provided to employers and to the General Teaching Councils for Scotland and Northern Ireland. The information will include where the person is registered, the date of registration (which will be the date on which the Council decided that the person was suitable to be a teacher), where the Council decide that the person was not suitable, that fact, and where the information is provided to the Scottish or Northern Ireland General Teaching Council, particulars of the grounds on which that decision was based.

The amendment of regulation 2 of the 2000 Regulations (by regulation 2(a)) simply updates the reference to the regulations defining “appropriate body”which are now the Education (Induction Arrangements for School Teachers) (Wales) Regulations 2005.