Keep the Code

Teachers are professionals and that is recognised through membership of the General Teaching Council (GTC). Every teacher belongs. The Council provides a range of services, but is also a disciplinary body which can suspend teachers or even withdraw their registration as teachers. The GTC has teeth.

Like most professions, teaching has a code of conduct. In England the GTC has recently been consulting about adopting a new one. There are eight principles in this:

• Place the well-being, development and progress of children and young people at the heart of their professional practice
• Reflect on their own teaching to ensure it meets the high professional standards required to help children and young people achieve their full potential.
• Strive to awaken a passion for learning and achievement among young people and equip them with the skills to become lifelong learners.
• Promote equality and value diversity.
• Take proactive steps to establish partnerships with parents and carers.
• Work as part of a whole school team.
• Cooperate with other professional colleagues who have a role in enabling children and young people to thrive and succeed.
• Demonstrate high standards of honesty and integrity and uphold public trust and confidence in the teaching profession.

All good stuff you would think. Why then did the churches express misgivings?

It’s all to do with the fourth principle. How is valuing diversity and promoting equality to be interpreted? Does that mean valuing the fact that schools are made up of people of all faiths and none and therefore reflect a diversity of beliefs? Nothing wrong with that. Does it mean ensuring all pupils are treated equally whatever their faith background? Who would want anything else? But what if it means a teacher never being allowed to express their own beliefs. Recently a nurse was suspended for offering to pray with a patient under similar guidelines in the NHS. Or what if it means having to celebrate something against your own conscience, maybe gay marriage or worship from another religion? Would one be allowed to opt out or would that be a violation of the code.

These are important questions. We wait to see what the GTC does with them.