Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of establishing a registration system similar to the General Medical Council's register of doctors for teachers in (a) state and (b) independent schools.

The Department has not and is not considering a return to a registration-based system for teachers in state maintained or independent schools. Whilst the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) does not maintain a register of teachers, it does maintain a list of qualified teachers and a list of those individuals prohibited from teaching work. Prospective employers in the state maintained and independent sector are able to verify instantly, via the TRA’s Teacher Services system, whether a teacher is qualified and/or is prohibited from teaching work as part of any recruitment process. Members of the public may check whether an individual is on the prohibited list via the TRA.