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The Teaching Council has marked twenty years as the statutory regulator of the teaching profession in Ireland, protecting the public by promoting and regulating professional standards in teaching. The Council’s work ensures that families and the wider public can continue to have confidence and trust in the teaching profession.
The Teaching Council was established in law in March 2006 marking a significant milestone in the development of teaching as a regulated profession in Ireland.
Since then, the Teaching Council has promoted and regulated professional standards, reinforcing public confidence in the teaching profession.
Today, there are over 129,000 teachers on the Teaching Council’s register, which now is the largest professional register in the country.
Central to the Teaching Council’s work are the values of Respect, Care, Integrity and Trust. These principles underpin the Code of Professional Conduct for Teachers, guiding professional practice for teachers.
As the twentieth anniversary is marked, the Teaching Council supports the commitment of teachers who demonstrate these values each day, and who contribute to the transformative impact of education in communities nationwide.
The Teaching Council’s responsibilities include maintaining a register of qualified and vetted teachers, establishing standards and codes for teachers related to: knowledge, skill and competence and professional conduct, commissioning and conducting research, and investigating fitness-to-teach matters in the public interest.
Over the past two decades, the Teaching Council has introduced the accreditation of Initial Teacher Education programmes, the establishment of the Droichead induction framework for newly qualified teachers and the commencement of the Teacher’s Professional Journey’s longitudinal study, jointly commissioned by the Department of Education and Youth and Teaching Council. The Council has also introduced an online registration system to simplify and streamline the registration process for teachers.