The number of complaints from members of the public about Scottish teachers has more than doubled in five years, with parents and the wider public now more likely than any other body - including employers - to make referrals to Scotland’s teaching watchdog.
Figures obtained by Tes Scotland through freedom of information legislation show the number of complaints made by members of the public to the General Teaching Council for Scotland increased from 30 in 2012-13 to 71 in 2017-18.
In total, 44 per cent of the referrals received by GTCS last year came from the public, up from 29 per cent the year before and less than 10 per cent in 2012-13.
However, while parents and others appear to be increasingly dissatisfied with the quality of Scottish teaching staff, employers are becoming less likely to report teachers to the GTCS, with just 38 referrals being made last year, as compared to 46 the year before and 65 in 2015-16.
The GTCS told Tes Scotland it was investigating the new trends in fitness to teach referrals in a bid to uncover the reasons behind the changes. It said two development officers had been recently appointed to investigate and to plug any gaps in knowledge about the fitness to teach process, working with local authorities, schools and teachers, but also national parents’ bodies and parents.
One possibility for the higher number of referrals from members of the public, it said, was that the body now had a higher profile in the media, resulting in increased public awareness.
However, it added that the majority of public referrals did not pass the initial consideration stage of the fitness to teach process.
Public referrals tended not to meet the GTC Scotland’s threshold for investigation for three main reasons, it said:
• they reflect dissatisfaction with the educational service generally rather than something that can be attributed to the conduct of a particular teacher;
• the member of the public has referred the matter to GTC Scotland prematurely and has not raised the issue with the employer first; and
• GTC Scotland’s role is misunderstood by members of the public as being a complaint resolution body or ombudsman.
A spokeswoman added: “A decrease in referrals from employers is another trend seen in fitness to teach statistics that GTC Scotland is continuing to explore. Factors involved in this may include improved employer processes for supporting teachers and dealing with issues that arise; a better understanding amongst employers of how GTC Scotland’s fitness to teach process works and the need for them to address issues in the first place; and improvements in teacher professionalism.
“GTC Scotland Development Officers will be working directly with stakeholders to increase understanding of the fitness to teach referral process.”
The GTCS received 161 fitness to teach referrals in 2017-18, which is consistent with the number received by the body in 2016-17 when 160 referrals were received.
This means that fewer than 1 per cent of registered teachers were considered through the fitness to teach process.
In total, 44 per cent of referrals in 2017-18 came from members of the public; 24 per cent from employers; 24 per cent from Disclosure Scotland, the body that provides criminal records checks for employers; 5 per cent came from the GTCS itself, or via the press; 3 per cent were self-referrals and fewer than 1 per cent came from other regulatory bodies.
In around 40 per cent of the cases received by the GTCS last year, the body decided an investigation was not required.
The overwhelming majority of fitness to teach cases relate to conduct, including criminal convictions.
The strong themes in the conduct cases in 2017-18 included expression of views in public and issues arising from the use of social media; fraud and dishonesty, particularly related to financial management and Scottish Qualifications Authority assessments and examinations; inappropriate professional boundaries, including inappropriate communications and contact with pupils; safe handling of pupils, particularly those with additional support needs, and management of alleged pupil bullying - which was a particular trend in member of the public complaints.
Earlier this year, secondary school leaders hit out at the “interminable amount of time” it can take to get rid of underperforming teachers.
