Specialist bar association hosts first-ever conference on regulation of teachers

According to Brendan O’Dea, deputy director of the Teaching Council, who chaired the conference, this is the first such conference which the Teaching Council is aware of. The event was attended by over 80 participants from both the legal world and the world of education. The Teaching Council regulates over 90,000 teachers. It is expect that the first inquiries into a teacher’s fitness to teach will come before Disciplinary Panels of the Council in the Autumn.

Louise Beirne BL spoke about the Teaching Council Act 2001, which provides the legal framework for how the system of regulation will operate in practice. She looked at the origins of the Teaching Council and how this has impacted on how the Council will operate in practice. In addition to dealing with the nuts and bolts of how the system will work, she considered some unusual features of the Act,

Patrick McCann SC looked at the concept of poor professional performance, which is one of the grounds upon which a complaint may be made to the Teaching Council about a teacher. In addition to considering the origins of this concept in law and how it has evolved, particularly through its consideration by the Supreme Court in Corbally v the Medical Council, he considered how the Teaching Council may deal with complaints in relation to this ground, particularly by reference to the Code of Professional Conduct for teachers and evidential issues that may arise.

In circumstances where the Teaching Council Act provides that, in general, the Council will only consider complaints, once procedures established under the Education Act 1998 or the Education and Training Boards Act 2013, have been exhausted, Denise Brett SC focused on how procedures under the Education Act 1998 operate in practice. In addition to discussing the relevant circulars and case law, she considered how that system may impact on the regime established by the Teaching Council Act and vice versa.

Finally, Peter Ward SC spoke from his particular experience of representing teachers about how the system of regulation will work from the teacher’s perspective. He explored the unique context out of which complaints against teachers may emerge and how this might impact on issues relating to inquiries into a teacher’s fitness to teach; for example, whether inquiries should be held in public or private.

This is the Association’s fourth such conference. It also regularly holds breakfast briefings, which are open to members of the Association. Papers from all of the PRDBA’s events, including this conference, are available at www.prdba.ie.