The General Teaching Council for Northern Ireland (GTCNI) is professional body for teachers in Northern Ireland.
The Council will offer a fresh and authoritative perspective on educational issues by drawing on the experience and knowledge of teachers. It will afford teachers the opportunity to contribute to, and shape, the future development of the profession.
The Council is responsible for important functions that help to define teaching as a profession and has produced important documents to support the professional life of teachers in Northern Ireland – including:
- Professional registration & the Register of teachers
- The Code of Professional Values and Practice
- The teaching competences Teaching: The Reflective Profession
- Advice on PRSD (Performance Review and Staff Development)
- Professional regulation
- Accreditation of Initial Teacher Education programmes provided in Northern Ireland
- The annual Digest of Statistics
The Council is funded by teacher subscriptions and therefore have a clear line of accountability to teachers for how we spend their money.
The Council is a non–Departmental Public Body (NDPB) and Department of Education is its sponsor department with the Minister for Education is accountable to the Assembly for the activities and performance of the GTCNI.
The GTCNI is governed by a 33 members Council – with 14 members elected directly from the teaching professional; 15 members nominated by stakeholder organisations and 4 ministerial appointments made in accordance with the General Teaching Council for Northern Ireland (Constitution) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001.
GTCNI has produced a downloadable leaflet – Purpose, Role and Remit – outlining the work of the Council under the following headings:
- How the Council represents you and protects the profession
- How the Council defines professional life
- How the Council contributes to policy
- How the Council promotes the status of the profession
- How the Council promotes professional development
- The consequences if GTCNI did not exist
If you have any comments email communications@gtcni.org.uk