Voting Opens for Teacher Members of GTCW

31 January 2008

Voting opens this Thursday (31 January) among the 38,500 registered teachers in Wales to select the 12 people to represent the profession on the General Teaching Council for Wales.

Ballot papers have been sent to all teachers eligible to vote in the election, each of whom will have a say in which four candidates will be selected from each of the three categories: primary school teachers, secondary school teachers and headteacher or deputy/assistant headteachers. The 23 candidates were drawn from nominations received during November 2007.

The General Teaching Council for Wales is the statutory, self regulating professional body for teaching in Wales. The 25 member Council is drawn from a wide pool of individuals with expertise in education and teaching in Wales. Hayden Llewellyn, deputy chief executive for GTCW and returning officer for the elections, said: “The Council plays an important role in the development and delivery of strategic advice on matters that affect the teaching profession in Wales. Council is also responsible for maintaining professional standards and protecting public confidence in teaching. Alongside nominated and appointed teachers on Council, these 12 elected teacher members are the voice of the profession.”

Voting in the election is open until 27 February and, for the first time, teachers will be able to vote electronically via the Council’s website (www.gtcw.org.uk/election.html) as well as by post using their voting slips to Electoral Reform Services, which is acting as the independent scrutineers.

The teachers standing for election are:

Primary Candidates

• Jenny Cottrell
• Sheila Furniss
• Angela Jardine
• Cleo Sollars
• Anna Spokes
• Sarah Stockford

Secondary Candidates

• Frank Bonello
• Neil Butler
• Steffan ap Dafydd
• Roberto De Benedictis
• Neil Hendry
• Suzanne Nantcurvis
• Jane Setchfield
• Hopkin Thomas
• Stuart Williams

Head & Deputy Candidates

• Beth Davies
• Elwyn Davies
• Richard Edwards
• Linda Frame
• Gareth Jones
• Sue O’Halloran
• Glyn Roberts
• John Tobutt