24-25/25

I refer to your request for information dated 23July 2024 (FOI 24 - 25/25) in which you asked for information related to ongoing Fitness to Teach cases which we have handled under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act (FOISA).

Please see our response to your queries below.

Firstly, you asked “as of the date of this request, how many teachers are subject to ongoing investigations” by GTC Scotland. As at 23 July 2024, there were 203 open cases.

Secondly, you asked, “how many teachers were subject to ongoing investigations by the GTCS on the same date in each of the four years prior this year.”  You indicated that if “such snapshot information is not available for these specific dates” that you would “accept an alternative date which showed how many cases” were being processed at a given time. Please note that we do not retain information for the specific date under your request and have therefore applied section 17(1)(b) under FOISA as this information is not held.

However, we can provide you with the total number of cases held at end of year reporting cycles below.

• On 31 March 2020, there were 166 open cases.
• On 31 March 2021, there were 180 open cases.
• On 31 March 2022, there were 236 open cases.
• On 30 September 2023, there were 201 open cases. We changed the committee cycle slightly last year which accounts for the difference in reporting dates.

Finally, you asked for “the length, in years and months, of the longest running fitness to teach disciplinary process that is still ongoing.” As at 23 July 2024, the longest running case has been open for 7 years and 10 months.

By way of advice and assistance, you may be interested in a recent insight report which we have published on our work investigating concerns raised with us about teachers between 2018 and 2023.  This report explains our process and details factors that can contribute to how long our processes take, which can include criminal proceedings taking place first.

If you are dissatisfied with this response, you may contact informationgovernance@gtcs.org.uk to request GTC Scotland conduct a review of it. You should describe the original request and explain your grounds of review. You have 40 working days from receipt of this response to submit a review request. When the review process has been completed, if you are still dissatisfied, you may use the Scottish Information Commissioner’s guidance on making an appeal to make an appeal to the Commissioner.