24-25/46

I refer to your revised request for information dated 11 October 2024 (FOI 24-25/46) in which you asked:

Can a person or school refer a teacher to the fitness to teach panel if they were employed internationally at the time the alleged misconduct took place?

and

What is the GTCS policy regarding allegations of misconduct that occur while a teacher is employed internationally? Does the GTCS have jurisdiction over these cases, and if so, what are the criteria?

which we have handled under the Freedom of Information(Scotland) Act (FOISA).

The Public Services Reform (General Teaching Council for Scotland) Order 2011, available through the hyperlink provided, provides the legislative basis for the investigation of registered teachers. As this information is otherwise reasonably accessible, I have applied section 25(1) of FOISA.

By way of advice and assistance, I refer you specifically to Article 18(2)(b) of the 2011 Order, which states that ‘The GTCS…may investigate any registered teacher’s fitness to teach where it becomes aware of circumstances which it considers justify such an investigation.’ This means that if the teacher is registered with us, then a person or school can make a referral about that individual, regardless of where the alleged conduct took place.

You may find it useful to refer to our Threshold Policy for further information about the criteria that we apply when deciding which referrals we will investigate.

You may contact informationgovernance@gtcs.org.uk if you are dissatisfied with this response, 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.