Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department has taken to help strengthen complaints and whistleblowing processes with respect to the Teachers Regulation Authority.

The Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA), acting on behalf of my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, is responsible for considering allegations of serious teacher misconduct. Lower-level complaints and concerns should be considered at the local level by schools and employers. Where concerns are raised through whistleblowing, these are ordinarily considered at the local level in the first instance, or through the department’s wider whistleblowing arrangements. Where such concerns relate to potential serious misconduct, they may subsequently be referred into the TRA’s misconduct process and considered in line with its statutory role. The TRA has published clear guidance on how referrals of serious misconduct can be raised.

In 2025, TRA introduced a triage process to strengthen how referrals are handled. This ensures that matters which clearly do not relate to serious teacher misconduct, and which are outside of the role and remit of TRA, are signposted to appropriate local or departmental complaints processes rather than being progressed as referrals to the TRA. This approach supports proportionate use of the misconduct regime while ensuring concerns are directed to the correct route and that teachers are not inappropriately drawn into regulatory proceedings.

These measures help ensure that safeguarding concerns continue to be identified and addressed effectively, while maintaining public confidence in the teaching profession and the fairness of the regulatory system.