ATL

Wales

ATL members in Wales have a bone to pick with the GTCW, says the new president of ATL Cymru

In Wales we will follow the debate about the code of conduct proposed by the General Teaching Council for England (GTCE) with interest, but we also have our own concerns with the GTC for Wales. Having always been supportive of the concept of teaching councils, because self-regulation is the hallmark of a profession, we are now increasingly alarmed by some of the GTCW's practices.

Our first concern is well documented: the higher fee that teachers have to find out of their own pockets for registration. ATL has lobbied continuously for this unfair tax on teaching in Wales to be abolished.

Our second concern arose this new academic year as we were contacted by several members moving across Offa's Dyke to take up new posts in Wales. Although these members were fully registered with the GTCE, they were required to pay an extra £36 for a CRB check before they could be registered with the GTCW.

As the employers' CRB check was judged insufficient, some members found themselves in the ludicrous position of having two CRB checks done within days. To add insult to injury, those with CRB checks for the GTCW still pending found that they were being paid at unqualified teacher rate, and some have not been paid at all. Apparently, according to some local authorities, they don't exist until registered with the GTCW!

Money is always tight in Wales, and is becoming even tighter. We will be challenging the GTCW to rethink its practices. It needs to do so urgently if it is to retain the support of ATL, the reasonable choice for education staff.