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Registration and criminal convictions
By John Anderson, Head of Professional Practice, GTC Scotland
A teacher is not expected to be on duty 24/7; like other individuals, teachers are entitled to a private life. However, there are aspects of criminal behaviour which take place out with the school day that have the potential to impact upon a teacher's registration.
Convictions may not necessarily impact upon a person's ability to be a teacher, but they may well seriously call into question a person's suitability to be a registered teacher.
Processing convictions
Convictions in the Courts of Law are reported to GTC Scotland by the police as a matter of course and thereafter progress through the Council's disciplinary procedures.
In the case of convictions, the process followed is different than that for reports of misconduct from employers. Convictions come to the Council with the facts proved to the criminal standard of proof (beyond reasonable doubt) and are therefore established with the full force of a Court of Law. GTC Scotland cannot question the validity of the issues which led to the conviction, and is only required to take a decision on the relevance of the offence or offences of which the individual stands convicted in relation to their position as a registered teacher.
Relevant convictions
By no means all criminal convictions are relevant offences. The Teaching Council (Scotland) Act 1965 defines a relevant offence as "an offence other than one having no material relevance to the fitness of the perpetrator to be a registered teacher".
The Professional Practice Department delivers workshops throughout the academic session to groups of new and other teachers.
Maintaining professional standards and reputation
Very often the issue of "being punished twice" is raised by participants in that the person concerned has been convicted and paid their fine or term of imprisonment within the criminal justice system, and are then faced with another sanction from their professional regulatory body, GTC Scotland.
That may on the face of it seem unfair. However, it is important to emphasise the level of trust that is expected of any professional in the light of the particular tasks and duties they perform. This is certainly the case for teachers who are role models to, and have close everyday contact with, children and young people. Therefore, it is one of the central tenets of professional self-regulation that the profession concerned sets and maintains the standards expected of those who are members of that profession.
Any disciplinary action taken by GTC Scotland following a criminal conviction is intended to ensure that the reputation of the profession is maintained and that pupils are protected.
Code of Professionalism and Conduct
Part 1 (pages 11-13) of COPAC discusses criminal convictions. As the Disciplinary case outcomes show, matters for example of dishonesty and violence in addition to child protection that have been considered to be relevant offences have resulted in action being taken by the Council in the past.
Copies of the Code of Professionalism and Conduct (COPAC) have been sent to all schools and colleges and can be found at www.gtcs.org.uk/copac