GTC Scotland’s Chief Executive and Registrar Dr Pauline Stephen has written to the new First Minister Humza Yousaf MSP congratulating him on his new post, and welcoming the opportunity to work with him and his Cabinet in the interests of trusted teaching.
28 March 2023
Dear First Minister
Many congratulations on your appointment. The General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTC Scotland) welcomes the opportunity to work with you and your Cabinet in the interests of trusted teaching.
Our increasingly interconnected and rapidly changing world faces many social, environmental and economic challenges, and an effective, responsive and inclusive education system is vital to address these.
Engaged, reflective, empowered and skilled teachers and learners acknowledge Scotland’s place in the world, our history, our differences and diversity, our unique natural environment, and our culture based on social justice. Scotland’s teachers help to embed sustainable and socially just practices in order to help us flourish as a nation.
GTC Scotland is the independent registration and regulation body for the teaching profession; we have more than 81,000 teachers and college lecturers on our register. We have a responsibility to provide Ministers with expert insight about matters central to trusted teaching. This ranges from advice on teachers’ professional standards, fitness to teach and education to teacher supply.
GTC Scotland was established in 1965 following calls from teachers for a body to ensure teaching standards. We are committed to contributing to improving the quality of teaching and learning in Scotland’s schools and colleges. We keep a public register of teachers and set and uphold the high standards teachers in Scotland must meet to enter and remain in the teaching profession, and we uphold the standards and protect the public by investigating serious concerns about teachers and college lecturers.
We are independent from government and receive no funding for our core role of registration and regulation. This work is funded by the fees teachers and college lecturers pay. We are governed by a Council of 37 members.
We are here to use our voice to champion the highest professional standards, build trust in the profession and enhance the status of teaching.
As Scotland progresses with its reform of education there is an opportunity to ensure the creation of a more coherent and aligned system that centres on a shared, common purpose. We will continue to work closely with Ministers and officials involved and are keen to offer our independent expertise and insights to advance trusted teaching.
We look forward to discussing this with you and your new government.
Yours sincerely
Dr Pauline Stephen
Chief Executive and Registrar
