Name of Student: Stephen Duffy G00324453

Article/Reading: (O'Brien, First fitness-to-teach public hearing to start in

November, 2017)

1. CONCISE SUMMARY OF READING

Fifteen years after legislation was first signed into law, parents and
students finally have a formal fitness to teach process by which to make
complaints about the conduct of teachers.
The first fitness-to-practise case involving a teacher was brought before
the president of the High Court in May of this year, with its public inquiry
to be held in November.
Unions such as the ASTI, TUI and INTO have said they will work to ensure
any investigations into teachers are conducted fairly and with due course.
These hearings will be held in public by default, in the same way as those
in the medical and legal professions are also.
Some teachers unions, while supportive of the overall aims, had fought a
rear-guard action to limit the scope of inquiries to ensure they were held
largely in private.
Disciplinary committees on which teachers will have a majority may
opt to hold them in private where there is reasonable and sufficient
cause to do so.
The case, which was brought by the Teaching Council, cannot be reported
as it involves an application for suspension pending an investigation.
The judge noted this was the first case under the relevant Teaching
Council legislation to come before him.
As president of the High Court, the judge also deals with applications by

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regulatory bodies for a range of other professions, including solicitors,
doctors, nurses and pharmacists.
The Teaching Council describes itself as acting in the interests of the
public good while upholding and enhancing the reputation of the teaching
profession.
The Minister for Education and Skills Richard Bruton has insisted the
measures will help the teaching profession to become more open and
accountable.
It will support high professional standards among teachers in the
interests of children and parents, and will enhance the reputation and
status of the teaching profession, he said last year.
The council has also said the measures are about improving teaching, not
punishing teachers.
Overall it is set to be a historic event with the first inquiry scheduled to be
heard at the offices of the Teaching Council - the regulatory body for the
profession - in Maynooth on November 8th and 9th.

2. CRITICAL REFLECTION

I feel this article provides some interesting information which is extremely

relevant to us as teachers. It is especially interesting as its the first case
under the relevant Teaching Council legislation to come before this high
court. This is the highest of the three key stages in the fitness to teach act
(Council, 2016).
Although all procedures should be exhausted at school level before the
Teaching Council can initiate a fitness-to-teach inquiry a case has already
come to light in the short amount of time this act has come into effect
(Murray, 2016). This was something that was already predicted by the
Irish Times before the year had begun (O'Brien, 2016). I believe this shows

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that there may be many more cases to come into the spot light.
As a future teacher it is good to hear the role of the unions in the matter
and the wishes to limit the scope of inquiries to ensure they were held
largely in private. Although I do feel its important that these cases are
brought to court. I believe the privacy of someone in any profession in a
case like this is extremely important as a lot of the general public
including parents, students and others in the teaching profession can
make up their mind about the case before a verdict is found. From
reflecting back to when I was a student in school I remember one student
getting upset with the teacher we had at the time, so much so that they
made a claim that the teacher had physically hit them. Although all the
other students in the class knew nothing like that happened the notion
that the teacher had done something bad could have spread quite quickly.
According to an article by the Daily Mail by the end a trial, the accused
may be acquitted, but there is no check to prevent the origin of the
process, the stigma attached to it, or the humiliation suffered during
police and court proceedings (Kumar, 2013).
I think this article is very relevant towards the Professional Development
of teachers as teachers need to develop their skills and knowledge for the
benefit of the students they teach, as well as upholding the standards set
out by the Teaching Council in the Code of Professional Conduct for
Teachers.
I believe the Teaching Council is acting in the best interests of the public
and are upholding and enhancing the reputation of the teaching
profession. Its very important that the reputation of the education system
is up held in this country as parents and the general public need to know
that the generation of students in schools are getting the best education
possible. Its also important though that they have the opportunity to
voice their opinions on issues regarding teachers which makes the fitness
to teach complaints process important. I believe it is just as important
that the complaints process is not abused, if a false complaint has been

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made by someone and if youre the victim of such an allegation, the
world comes crashing down around your ears (Times Educational
Supplement, 2017). I believe if someone was to make a complaint about a
teacher they must make sure the teacher had stepped out of line
according to the Code of professional conduct for teachers.
I believe the contents of this article link in with my teaching practice as
whilst I will be educating students, the standards outlined in the Code of
professional conduct for teachers should be upheld by myself as practice
for my upcoming career but also for the students, staff and parents. I feel
its also important to revise over its contents over the course of my
teaching career and reflect back on whether I am upholding the standards
laid out.
Overall I found this to be an insightful article that will be something to
follow up on in the near future.

3. LIST OF REFERENCES

Council, T. T. (2016, November 4). Part 5 (fitness to teach) of the Teching Council Acts 2001-2015. Retrieved fro
Briefing for National Parents Council Post-Primary: http://www.npcpp.ie/attachments/_attachment_Tomas%20O
%20Ruairc%20Part%205%20Fitness%20to%20Teach.pdf
Kumar, P. V. (2013, November 30). A simple accusation can ruin a person's reputation. Retrieved from Mail Onl
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/indianews/article-2516173/A-simple-accusation-ruin-persons-
reputation.html
Murray, N. (2016, July 26). Better local procedures over teachers sought before fitness-to-teach inquiry initiated
Retrieved from Irish Examiner: http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/better-local-procedures-over-teach
sought-before-fitness-to-teach-inquiry-initiated-412319.html
O'Brien, C. (2016, December 14). A dozen education issues set to dominate 2017. Retrieved from The Irish Time
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/education/a-dozen-education-issues-set-to-dominate-2017-1.2896987
O'Brien, C. (2017, October 27). First fitness-to-teach public hearing to start in November. Retrieved from The Ir
Times: https://www.irishtimes.com/news/education/first-fitness-to-teach-public-hearing-to-start-in-novem
1.3271894
The Teaching Council. (2016, July). The Teaching Council. Retrieved 09 20, 2017, from
https://learnonline.gmit.ie/pluginfile.php/88818/mod_resource/content/1/Code-of-Professional-Conduct-f
Teachers%202016.pdf
Times Educational Supplement. (2017). False Allegations. Retrieved from tes: https://www.tes.com/articles/false
allegations-how-deal-them

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