Who we are

We are the General Teaching Council for Scotland. We work to maintain and enhance trust in teaching.

One of GTC Scotland’s core roles as the teaching profession’s independent registration and regulation body is to ensure teaching standards.

We investigate serious concerns about:

• teachers and college lecturers on our register and individuals applying to be on our register.

This is our fitness to teach process. 

We are a statutory body meaning our role is set out in law - we are independent of government.

What we’re looking for

Registered teacher and lay applicants to sit on our Fitness to Teach Panels. You will be responsible for hearing and determining matters related to the fitness to teach of individuals who apply to be, or who are, registered with GTC Scotland.

The Role

What you will do

You will form a pool of Conveners and Panel Members to sit on our Fitness to Teach Panels. You will be responsible for hearing and determining matters related to the fitness to teach of individuals who apply to be, or who are, registered with GTC Scotland. This includes consideration of cases where teachers/ lecturers or applicants have criminal conviction(s) or where allegations of misconduct or lack of professional competence have been made.

Why apply?

Make a difference to the quality of learning and teaching for children, young people and adult learners in Scotland.

Learning is one of our core principles. This appointment provides an opportunity to gain a deep understanding of professional regulation, the Code of Professionalism and Conduct (CoPaC) and professional standards and how these are applied in practice. This is an excellent opportunity for those interested in these areas to develop their professional learning further.

A full induction process is provided and we will support your learning and development to help you perform at your best in your role.

Flexibility There is no obligation or minimum commitment placed upon Panel Members. A reasonable level of availability is desirable in order to facilitate the hearing/meeting scheduling process. GTC Scotland does not guarantee a minimum number of days attendance.

The appointment term is 4 years.

The majority of the Fitness to Teach panel work is now largely conducted virtually. However, there will be a need to travel to our office in Edinburgh for hearings and panel meetings that are required to be held in person.

Panel Member and Convener posts are voluntary, unpaid public appointments. Panel Members are not employees of GTC Scotland.

What you will need to be successful

• For registered teacher applicants, current full registration with GTC Scotland (if your registration has lapsed, you should apply for re-registration)
• For lay applicants, you must not be, nor have ever been registered, with GTC Scotland and you must not hold a qualification which would make you eligible for registration with GTC Scotland
• Independence of mind and ability to demonstrate fairness
• Excellent communication skills
• Ability to work successfully as part of a team
• A real commitment to the role and a determination to make a difference

We don’t expect perfection. If you don’t meet 100% of the requirements but you share our values and you believe you have the potential to be successful in the role, we encourage you to still apply.