General Teaching Council staff shortage hitting teachers' registrations

The registration of new teachers in Northern Ireland is "threatened with increasing delays" due to a lack of staff at the body which registers them.

If a teacher wants to be employed in a school they have to be registered with the General Teaching Council (GTCNI).

But an internal GTCNI memo obtained by BBC News NI claimed the organisation was facing "critical staffing issues".

BBC News NI has also learned that the chief executive of GTCNI, Sam Gallaher, is to stand down in April 2022.

Teachers pay an annual fee of £44 to GTCNI to be registered to enable them to work in a school in Northern Ireland.

The GTCNI is an arm's-length body of the Department of Education (DE).

The department has been contacted by BBC News NI to ask what it plans to do to address the staffing problems at GTCNI but has not yet responded.

The organisation faced criticism in August when it emerged that hundreds of newly-qualified teachers would not be registered to teach in Northern Ireland before the start of the new school term.

The internal memo prepared by the chair of GTCNI's council was written after a meeting of the organisation's policy, registration and regulation committee on 22 September.

At the meeting "serious concerns regarding the ability of the current staffing complement to deliver on GTCNI's statutory functions" were raised by a senior member of staff, according to the memo.

It said that in September 2019, GTCNI had 19 staff but as of 23 September 2021 there are only seven staff in the organisation.

"Staffing capacity is presently a critical issue on the GTCNI registration team," the memo said.

It said that members of staff who registered teachers were "under a huge amount of pressure" which was "leaving them at 'breaking point'".

"Registration team staff are currently working additional hours during August and September in evenings, weekends and for part-time staff working additional days.

"Currently there is no policy in place to pay overtime for these additional hours worked and staff only have the option of taking time off in lieu.

"The registration of new teachers to the NI workforce is now threatened with increasing delays because of lack of staff to process applications."

BBC News NI understands that the registration of just under 200 teachers has been delayed due to the staffing problems.

A number of other senior roles within GTCNI are also vacant, according to the memo.

Meanwhile, the organisation's current chief executive, Sam Gallaher, has written to the organisation's council to inform them he will be standing down from his position in April 2022.

He said that period of notice would offer "sufficient time for the council to undertake recruitment, any required notice period, a short hand-over and afford business continuity in the interim".

When contacted by BBC News NI, Mr Gallaher said: "I consider my decision to give notice to the board that I will be stepping down as CEO of GTCNI to be of little public interest and an entirely personal matter.

"That said reasons for this may become apparent in due course."