Education Workforce Council EWC Liz Brimble Director of

Education Workforce Council (EWC) Liz Brimble Director of Qualifications, Registration and Fitness to Practise

Session Overview • About EWC • Regulating in the public interest • Data sharing and GDPR • Working together 2

Regulating in the public interest 3

Legislation and Procedures Procedural area Procedural document The Education (Wales) Act 2014, as amended Legislation The Education Workforce Council (Main Functions) (Wales) Regulations 2015, as amended Rules EWC Disciplinary Procedures and Rules 2017 EWC Registration Rules 2017 Code of Professional Conduct and Practice for Registrants with the Education Workforce Council

What are the aims of the EWC? • To contribute to improving standards of teaching and quality of learning in Wales • To maintain and improve standards of professional conduct amongst teachers and others who support teaching and learning in Wales • To maintain public trust, confidence and to safeguard the interests of learners, parents and general public 5

EWC: Statutory Functions 1. Maintain public trust and confidence and safeguard learners, parents, public • Maintain a Register • Code of Professional Conduct and Practice • Investigate and hear cases about conduct and practice 2. Accredit school teacher initial programmes 3. Advice to WG about registrant groups and teaching & learning 4. Additional work on behalf of the Welsh Government • Award of QTS and Induction appeals • Administer funding and recording systems for Induction and MEP • Professional Learning Passport • Promotion of careers • Independent Secretariat for IWPRB • Other e. g. research projects, data analysis 6

Number of Practitioners Eligible to Work in Each Category – 1 March 2019 Youth worker 411 Youth support worker 696 Work-based learning practitioner 3, 306 FE learning support worker 5, 459 FE teacher 6, 695 School teacher 35, 545 School Learning Support Worker 37, 325 7

The Code What is it? • Sets out the key principles of good conduct and practice • Should guide a registrant’s judgement and decisions • Informs parents, guardians, learners, general public of the standards they can expect from you What can happen? • Failure to comply with the Code may call a person’s registration into question Help in understanding it? • EWC good practice guides e. g. • Social media use • Testing, assessment, examinations, invigilation • Appropriate touch, handling and restraint • Maintaining professional boundaries with learners 8

Referral of cases to EWC Criminal offences Dismissal/ Resignation Other Police referral Employer Complainant 9

Duty to Refer • An employer has ceased to use the services of a registrant on the ground of: o misconduct o professional incompetence o conviction of a relevant offence • An employer may have ceased to use a registrant’s services on such a ground had the person not ceased to provide those services. ‘May have’ means ‘any possibility’, including: o Settlement or mutual agreements where dismissal was a possibility. o Dismissal for ‘Some Other Substantial Reason’ (SOSR) where the termination of a contract of employment was as a result of a disciplinary issue (conduct and/or competence) o Where the disciplinary process did not reach a conclusion because person resigned o Dismissals which are ‘downgraded’ to lower disciplinary sanctions (for example, Final Written Warnings) following an offer to resign

Fitness to Practise Cases Concluded cases 2015 -16 Concluded cases 2016 -17 Concluded cases 2017 -18 Concluded cases 2018 -19 Concluded cases 2019 -20 to date Case ongoing 2019 -20 Total School FE FE LSW teacher School LSW WBL Youth support Multiple Total worker 37 4 0 0 0 41 35 6 1 2 0 0 44 25 8 2 14 0 0 0 6 55 22 9 4 16 4 0 1 9 65 15 11 6 8 4 0 0 7 51 35 13 2 25 10 0 2 7 94 169 51 15 65 18 0 3 29 350

Hearing Outcomes • Facts not proved • Facts proved but not unacceptable professional conduct / serious professional incompetence or a relevant offence • Facts proved – no order • Reprimand – recorded for two years on the Register of Education Practitioners. • Conditional registration order – recorded on the Register for period indicated. If no period set, then this Order will be held permanently. • Suspension order – removed from the Register for the period specified (not exceeding 2 years). Conditions can be applied to a Suspension order. • Prohibition order – removed from Register. Is unable to apply to be reconsidered as suitable for registration until after a specified period (not less than 2 years). ‘Expired Orders’ remain recorded on the Register of Education Practitioners. Such information can be accessed by employers and agents for a period of 12 months after expiry.

Case Outcomes 2015 -16 2016 -17 2017 -18 2018 -19 2019 -20 to date Concluded with no order 15 11 16 19 22 imposed (38%) (25%) (29%) (43%) Reprimand 6 6 14 13 11 Conditional Registration Order 2 4 3 Suspension order (no conditions) 2 6 5 5 3 Suspension order (with 0 4 4 4 1 conditions) Prohibition order 14 13 12 15 11 Application for restoration or 1 0 1 2 1 variation of conditions DBS Barred before EWC 0 0 0 1 0 concluded Case closed – registrant deceased 0 0 0 2 0

Case Examples • 12 learners had to resit exams as a result of a registrant’s malpractice, £ 60, 000 cost to the FE institution • A registrant failed to submit students’ work/internal assessment outcomes to examination boards • Exam malpractice - falsification / embellishment of learners work (2 cases) • A registrant committed plagiarism and then falsified the centre manager's signature • A registrant falsified Welsh Baccalaureate assessment results A number of similar cases pending

To maintain public trust, confidence and to safeguard the interests of learners, parents and general public – we MUST share information • The main legal basis relied upon to process personal data is article 6(1)(e) of the GDPR – public task as a regulator. • We require information in order to undertake our statutory function and disclosure is necessary for the purpose of any legal proceedings. Paragraphs 1 and 6 of schedule 8 provide the exemption criteria to allow disclosure of information to us. We cannot carry out our legislative function without evidence / information which may support any allegations made. • Receiving information from you which may be pertinent to a registrant or potential registrant, I think, is also relevant to our public task –"processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest’ and out ‘task’ is set out in the The Education Workforce Council (Main Functions) (Wales) Regulations 2015.

Working Together • Sharing information is paramount • Review privacy notice – confirm the sharing of information • Agree an MOU? • Contact: elizabeth. brimble@ewc. wales susan. street@ewc. wales