The number of panellists who investigate teacher misconduct will double ahead of legislation extending banning powers to further education.
The Teacher Regulation Agency (TRA) has launched an advert for 150 volunteers who will decide the fate of teachers accused of serious misconduct, including imposing lifetime bans.
There are currently 157 panellists, who are unpaid and must have worked as a teacher in the past five years, on the TRA roster.
FE Week understands the hiring spree will replace only a small number of current members who are coming to the end of their standard five-year term – meaning there could be around 300 panellists at the Department for Education’s disposal.
Meanwhile, the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which is making its way through Parliament, proposes to expand the scope of the TRA to teachers employed within FE, independent training providers (ITPs) and online education providers.
Policy notes for the bill published this week said the process in which the TRA operates will continue “in the same way” but it is “important the teacher misconduct regime keeps in step with current policy and practice in the different ways that young people are now being educated”.
It added: “Bringing more settings within scope of the regime would enable the secretary of state to consider misconduct across the broad range of education settings.”
The TRA expansion is expected to come into force in September 2026.
Expanded function and budget?
The TRA has faced criticism for letting its caseload pile high, causing teachers facing allegations to wait up to eight years for a hearing.
FE leaders have expressed concern over the TRA’s capacity to handle additional cases coming from colleges and training providers following the expansion of its powers.
The TRA’s latest accounts show staff costs have swelled since the agency’s inception in 2018, largely due to increased staff capacity to “manage” its misconduct caseload.
In 2023-24, £4.8 million was spent on staff due to higher average staff numbers. It had an average of 96 workers last year, nearly a fifth more than the previous year and 39 per cent higher than in 2019-20.
Departmental spending for the TRA will be set out this summer when the multi-year spending review concludes, setting out budgets up to the 2028-29 financial year.
FE panellists needed
Once an initial investigation deems misconduct allegations against a teacher are serious enough, the three-person TRA panel attend in-person hearings. They then make a recommendation to the education secretary about whether a prohibition order is required, which bans the accused from teaching.
The TRA panellist advert states: “Would you like to help protect pupils and uphold confidence in teachers?
“Having enough panellists with education sector experience and the right skills is essential for the TRA to effectively regulate the teaching profession.”
The TRA is looking for two types of people to join its three-member professional conduct panels: teacher panellists are required to have experience in a school, sixth-form college, children’s home or 16 to 19 academy in England.
Meanwhile, for lay panellists, the TRA is looking to recruit people with experience working in FE, ITPs, and accredited online education providers.
The third panel member could either be a teacher or a lay panellist.
The position is voluntary and will require successful panellists to commit between 12 to 20 days per year to attend in-person hearings at TRA’s head office in Coventry.
The TRA currently pays schools up to £250 per day for the “difficulties and impact” of releasing a teacher. The DfE did not confirm whether the TRA will reimburse FE providers too.
Panellists will serve no more than two terms, with each term lasting between three and five years and no more than 10 years in total.
The closing date for applications is February 19.
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