Overview
The Teaching Council manages concerns about teacher competence. This page explains our role, how the process works and the rights of the teacher.
Our role
One of the Council’s roles is to protect the safety of children and high quality of teacher practice by ensuring teachers continue their professional learning and maintain and enhance their competence to practice.
Teachers are expected to meet the Standards for the Teaching Profession | Ngā Paerewa mō te Umanga Whakaakoranga. If there is a concern or complaint raised about an individual teacher's competence, the Teaching Council will evaluate the concern and if required, support the teacher to meet the Standards | Ngā Paerewa and get their practice back on track.
What happens when a concern about a teacher's competence is raised?
For information about each stage of the process please follow the links below. Cases are subject to resolution at any of the stages.
Stage 1: A concern is reported
Stage 2: Initial assessment of concern
Stage 3:
- Referral of competence concerns for evaluation by Professional Practice Evaluator
- Referral of health issue or other problem to impairment process
Stage 4: Referral to Competence Authority
Teacher's rights and support
The Council’s role is to decide whether the teacher is practising at the required level of competence. Teachers involved in the competence process have a right to procedural fairness, including the right to answer and defend. Teachers will have several opportunities to provide their own evidence, respond to allegations and seek representation.
To ensure a fair evaluation is carried out the Council:
- seeks all relevant information from the kura/centre/school
- shares all information with the teacher and requests their response
- provides an appeal process if no agreement is reached.