Teacher misconduct and the Teaching Regulation Agency

In England, serious teacher misconduct is dealt with by the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA), an executive agency of the Department for Education. It covers behaviour that is fundamentally incompatible with being a teacher and could lead to the teacher being banned from teaching. Less serious misconduct, incompetence and under-performance are not for the TRA. The employer handles those.

What counts as serious misconduct

GOV.UK describes serious misconduct as any behaviour that could result in a teacher not being allowed to teach again. Its examples:

• sexual misconduct, including assault, abuse or harassment
• violent behaviour
• serious failure to protect the safety and wellbeing of pupils
• alcohol or drug misuse
• fraud or serious dishonesty
• discrimination or harassment
• promoting extreme political or religious views

The rules apply to anyone doing teaching work in schools, sixth form colleges, children’s homes and youth accommodation in England. They come from the Education Act 2011 and the Teachers’ Disciplinary (England) Regulations 2012 as amended.

How a referral works

A member of the public must go through the school’s complaints procedure first, and a report may not be investigated otherwise. You cannot report a teacher anonymously. The TRA says it will usually contact the person reporting within three working days. If it investigates, the reporter’s name and details are shared with the teacher and their employer, and they may be asked to give evidence at a hearing.

Employers are in a different position. The DfE’s staffing guidance says all schools have a legal duty to consider making a referral where a teacher was dismissed for misconduct, or would have been dismissed had they not resigned first. The capability procedure guide explains the different route for poor performance, and the disciplinary guide covers the employer’s own process.

The professional conduct panel

The TRA decides whether to send a case to a professional conduct panel. The panel has three members, including a teacher (or someone who taught in the previous five years) and a layperson, plus a legal adviser who takes no part in the decision.

Hearings are usually in public but can be private, for example to protect children or vulnerable witnesses. The teacher can attend in person, be represented, submit evidence and comment on all the evidence the TRA is considering. Where the teacher accepts the facts, the case may be considered without a hearing.

The panel decides whether there has been unacceptable professional conduct, conduct that may bring the profession into disrepute, or a conviction at any time for a relevant criminal offence. It then makes a recommendation to the Secretary of State, and a senior TRA official decides whether to impose a prohibition order. The full written decision is published, after the teacher has been told.

Prohibition orders

A prohibition order lasts for life. It means the person cannot do teaching work in any school, sixth form college, children’s home or youth accommodation in England, and their name goes on the prohibited list. The TRA gives its purposes as protecting pupils, maintaining public confidence and upholding standards of conduct. In exceptional cases it can impose an interim order while a case is investigated.

A teacher can appeal within 28 days of the notice being served, to the King’s Bench Division of the High Court. The appeal does not go to the TRA or the DfE. After a minimum of two years the Secretary of State may allow a teacher to apply to have the order set aside, but only after a panel recommends it.

How employers check

Schools, local authorities and supply agencies in England use the free Check a teacher’s record service to see a teacher’s record, including any restriction. Candidates for teaching jobs can read how that check fits with the rest of recruitment in the teacher record check guide and the safer recruitment guide.

What to check

• If you are under investigation, your union or a legal adviser can explain your position.
• If you want to make a complaint about a teacher, start with the school’s published complaints procedure.
• To see forthcoming hearings and published outcomes, use the TRA’s pages on GOV.UK.