The General Teaching Council for Northern Ireland (GTCNI) is the statutory professional, registration and regulatory body for teachers in Northern Ireland. We are committed to respecting and protecting the information we collect, hold and use.
GTCNI already has robust internal processes and controls covering data management, access and retention that are compliant with Data Protection legislation. These have been reviewed and updated to ensure they comply with the new General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). The GDPR sets out how organisations, including the GTCNI, should hold, control and process personal information (personal data) and gives more rights to individuals (data subjects).
How we use your information
This privacy notice tells you what to expect when we collect personal information. It applies to:
Teachers who make an application for registration or renew their registration;
GTCNI’s statutory role as the regulatory body for the teaching profession in Northern Ireland;
People who visit our website or who use our online services, e.g. subscribe to our e–news
update or use the MyGTCNI portal;
GTCNI Staff and Council members;
Suppliers and service providers;
Our communications activity and consultation processes; and
Enquiries, requests or complaints including a data protection request (subject access request) or freedom of information request.
The categories of personal data processed by GTCNI include:
Personal details;
Contact details;
Employment and education details;
Goods or services provided; and
Offences (including alleged offences), criminal proceedings and Court decisions/rulings.
GTCNI will only process Special Category Personal Data, where it is necessary and for the original purpose for which it was obtained, in line with the requirements of the GDPR.
GTCNI’s legal basis for processing personal information information
As the statutory professional, registration and regulatory body for teachers in Northern Ireland, GTCNI collect, hold and use personal information (data) on the basis of our legal obligation, as set out in legislation, including:
The Education (Northern Ireland) Order 1998;
The General Teaching Council for Northern Ireland (Registration of Teachers) Regulations 2004;
The General Teaching Council for Northern Ireland (Registration of Teachers) (Amendment)
Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015;
The Education (Northern Ireland) Order 2006;
The General Teaching Council for Northern Ireland (Approval of Qualifications) Regulations
(Northern Ireland) 2007; and
The General Teaching Council for Northern Ireland (Deduction of Fees) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2004.
The personal data we hold is obtained for specific purposes, set out in legislation, and we will not use it for any other purpose.
Data Protection
GTCNI take appropriate technical and organisational measures against unauthorised or unlawful processing of personal data and against accidental loss or destruction of or damage to personal data.
We will ensure that appropriate security measures are in place to ensure that personal data can only be accessed by those who need to access it and that it is held and transferred securely.
If you would like further information about any aspect of our Data Protection procedures you can contact :
Data Protection Officer
General Teaching Council for Northern Ireland Albany House
73–75 Great Victoria Street
Belfast, BT2 7AF
Telephone: 028 9033 3390
Email: foi@gtcni.org.uk
Sharing information
We will share personal information with third parties where required to do so by law. This may include sharing personal information with the Department of Education, employers, the police and other teaching regulators in the UK and EU, for example, to support GTCNI’s statutory role as a regulator where our legal basis for controlling and processing this information is set out in legislation.
We may also share information about the teaching profession as a whole with a number of organisations including the Department of Education but only as aggregate information where it is not possible to identify individuals.
Data Subject Rights
The GDPR strengthens the rights of individuals with respect to personal data, including:
The right to be informed
Individuals can find out if we hold any personal information about them. If we do hold information about you we will:
Give you a description of it;
Tell you why we are holding it;
Tell you who it could be disclosed to; and
Let you have a copy of the information in an intelligible form
The right of access
Registered teachers can at any time view and amend part of their information online by accessing their registered teacher record via MyGTCNI.
Individuals have a right to make data subject access requests and we will supply this information free of charge, although there may be a ‘reasonable fee’ based on the cost of providing the information if the request is excessive or repetitive. GTCNI will provide the information within one month of receipt of the subject access request. However, if the request is complex we may extend the period for a further two months and will provide an explanation about why this is necessary.
The right to rectification
Individuals have a right to request that we correct any personal data found to be inaccurate or incomplete.
The right to erasure
Individuals have a right to request your personal data is erased where it is no longer necessary for us to retain it.
The right to restrict processing
Individuals have the right to request the restriction or suppression of their personal data.
The right to data portability
Individuals have the right to obtain and reuse their personal data for their own purposes.
The right to object
Individuals have the right to object to the processing of their personal data in certain circumstances.
Any request to us about the personal information we may hold about you should be made, in writing, to our Data Protection Officer.
The right to withdraw consent
A teacher wishing to teach in a grant–aided school in Northern Ireland must register with GTCNI. Individuals cannot withdraw consent to provide this information if they wish to teach in a grant–aided school in Northern Ireland.
Data Retention
GTCNI will only retain your data for as long as necessary. Our data retention policy governs the handling, retention and disposal for all personal data and ensures a consistent approach to the maintenance and retention of accurate records for appropriate periods of time to satisfy GTCNI’s statutory, contractual, legal, financial and operational requirements.
Information Commissioner’s Office
As a data controller, GTCNI has been registered with the Information Commissioner, Registration No. Z7182666, since April 2003, and our registration can be viewed on the Commissioner’s website. To access further information on data protection regulations, or to lodge a complaint, please contact the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at:
The Information Commissioner’s Office – Northern Ireland
3rd Floor
14 Cromac Place
Belfast BT7 2JB
Telephone: 028 9027 8757 or 0303 123 1114
Email: ni@ico.org.uk
Our website
When someone visits our website we collect standard internet log information. We do this to monitor the number of visitors to the various parts of the site but in a way which does not identify any individual. We do not currently use a third–party provider (such as Google Analytics) although we do use cookies, and we will amend this privacy notice if this changes.
We will make it clear when we collect personal information and we will explain what we intend to do with it.
How we use cookies
Most web browsers allow some control of cookies through the browser settings. A cookie is a small file which asks permission to be placed on your computer’s hard drive. Once you agree, the file is added and the cookie helps analyse web traffic. We use traffic log cookies to identify which pages are being used to help us improve our website. We only use this information for statistical analysis purposes and then the data is removed from the system. You can choose to accept or decline cookies.
How can I control my cookies?
You can use your web browser to:
Delete all cookies;
Block or allow all cookies; and
Block third–party cookies.
To find out more about cookies, including how to see what cookies have been set and how to manage and delete them, visit www.allaboutcookies.org
Please be aware that restricting cookies may impact on the functionality of the website.