2004 No. 1886
EDUCATION, ENGLAND

The General Teaching Council for England (Additional Functions) Order 2004

Made
Laid before Parliament
Coming into force
Being of the opinion that the General Teaching Council for England may, in conjunction with their other functions, appropriately discharge the additional functions hereby conferred, and having carried out such consultation as appears to him to be appropriate in accordance with section 7(2) of the Teaching and Higher Education Act 19981, the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 7(1) and (3) of that Act2 hereby makes the following Order:

Citation and commencement1.

This Order may be cited as the General Teaching Council for England (Additional Functions) Order 2004 and shall come into force on 31st August 2004.

Interpretation2.

In this Order—

“the Directive” means Council Directive 89/48/EEC3 on a general system for the recognition of higher-education diplomas awarded on completion of professional education and training of at least three years' duration;

“designated authority” means a body or authority designated in relation to the profession of school teacher in England and Wales as having the function of considering applications and granting authorisations to practice that profession in accordance with the Regulations;

“the Regulations” means the European Communities (Recognition of Professional Qualifications) Regulations 19914; and

“relevant state” means a member state of the European Community, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein or Switzerland.

Additional functions3.

(1)

The Council shall assist the Secretary of State in relation to the exercise of his function of designated authority under the Regulations by—

(a)

at the Secretary of State’s request—

(i)

giving him advice about or assistance with, or

(ii)

making a recommendation to him about,

any exercise of his function as designated authority under the Regulations;

(b)

providing information and advice to the public about the requirements for recognition in England and Wales of teaching qualifications obtained in a relevant state; and

(c)

at the Secretary of State’s request, carrying out administrative tasks connected with his function of designated authority under the Regulations.

(2)

The Council shall act as the designated authority under the Regulations for the teaching profession for the purposes of the Directive if designated as such.

David Miliband
Minister of State
Department for Education and Skills
(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order confers additional functions on the General Teaching Council for England, a body corporate established by section 1(1) of the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998. The Council’s functions include establishing and maintaining a register of teachers, issuing a Code of Practice laying down the standards of professional conduct and practice expected of registered teachers, exercising disciplinary powers in relation to registered teachers and persons applying for registration and giving advice about teaching issues to the Secretary of State and others.

The additional functions conferred by this Order are—

First, to assist the Secretary of State with his function of designated authority for the purposes of the European Communities (Recognition of Professional Qualifications) Regulations 1991, which are made under the European Communities Act 1972. These Regulations give effect to Directive 89/48/EEC on a general system for the recognition of higher-education diplomas awarded on completion of professional education and training of at least three years' duration. The Council’s additional function in this respect comprises the following:

(a)

when the Secretary of State so requests, giving him advice about, or assistance with and making recommendations about, the exercise of his functions as designated authority to recognise the qualifications of teachers who have qualified in a relevant state (namely, member states of the European Community, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland);

(b)

giving information and advice to the public about the requirements for recognition in England and Wales of teaching qualifications obtained a relevant state; and

(c)

where the Secretary of State so requests, carrying out administrative tasks connected with his function of designated authority under the Regulations.

Second, if designated as such under the Regulations, to be the designated authority for the profession of school teacher for the purpose of dealing with applications from persons qualified in other relevant states for recognition of their professional qualifications, in accordance with the Directive.