Since 31st May 2006, in accordance with the Education Act 2002 and the Education 2002 (Commencement No. 10 and Transitional Provisions) ( Wales) Order 2006, an applicant is not eligible for registration with GTCW unless the Council is satisfied as to the applicant’s suitability to be a registered teacher.

To be eligible to register you must:

• hold QTS for teaching pupils of school age;
• be deemed suitable for registration by GTCW;
• not be barred from teaching by the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, GTCW or any of their equivalents in Scotland, England and Northern Ireland;
• not have failed to successfully complete an Induction period in Wales or England.

Teachers who cannot be registered with the GTCW include:

• trainee teachers;
• teachers working towards QTS through the Graduate Teacher Programme (GTP);
• overseas-trained teachers who can work for a maximum of 2 years in total;
• unqualified teachers (e.g. instructors), where the school has been unable to find a qualified teacher with the necessary skills and expertise;
• teachers who have been deemed unsuitable for registration following the Council’s assessment of suitability for registration.

In determining suitability, GTCW makes a Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) Enhanced Disclosure check. In addition, for persons who have spent time overseas (born outside the UK, has lived outside the UK to adulthood or has spent more than three months in any one country outside of the UK in the last 5 years) the applicant will be required to sign a declaration to confirm the details of any criminal offences abroad or that he / she has no criminal record.

Any criminal offences or other information displayed on an Enhanced Disclosure will be formally considered by GTCW in determining a person’s suitability to be a registered teacher. This will include any offences committed prior to the application for registration being made.

Details of GTCW procedures for considering such matters and further guidance is available from the Council’s Professional Standards Team on 029 20550350; This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

How do I register?

In line with the above information, registration is subject to:

• completion and submission of all the documents in an application for registration pack, namely:
  • a new application for registration form
  • the relevant payment form and appropriate fee (if by cheque, it should be made payable to GTCW for the full amount of £81 (£45 registration fee; £36 CRB enhanced disclosure fee);
  • completion of an application form for an enhanced disclosure by the CRB, including the provision of original identification to the Council (reference should be made to the CRB applicants guidance booklet included with the pack to ensure the appropriate forms of identification are included);
  • a period of four to six weeks to process your application, although this can vary depending upon processing times at the CRB during which time, as an unregistered teacher, you will not be able to undertake the “specified work” of a teacher in maintained schools.

If we are unable to process your application, we will contact you to explain why but the top 5 most common causes of delay in processing applications for registration are:

• application forms are submitted to the GTCW without the CRB enhanced disclosure application form because the applicant is in possession of a previous check carried out by another organisation. The Council must, in all cases, make its own request for an applicant’s enhanced disclosure check;.
• inappropriate or no identification is sent with the application forms;
• photocopies rather than original forms of identification are submitted;
• no 5 year address history is provided on the CRB enhanced disclosure application form;
• the application fee is made payable to the incorrect organisation (CRB or GTCE).

Once we have confirmed your eligibility and suitability, we will register you and send you a letter of confirmation of registration.

In order to request an application pack you should e-mail the Qualification and Registration Team at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or contact them by telephone on 029 20550350.

Reimbursement towards the cost of the registration fee

All full-time, part-time and supply teachers who are employed in the maintained sector by a Local Education Authority (LEA) are entitled to receive a £33 reimbursement towards the cost of their registration fee. This does not include Supply Teaching Agencies who are not required to make the repayment to their staff.

The Council has no remit with regards to this reimbursement and any queries should be referred directly to the employer.

Tax Relief

Your registration fee is eligible for tax relief. If you are a basic rate tax payer, this in effect reduces the cost to you to £36 this year. This does not affect your ability to claim tax relief on existing teacher association or union subscriptions. To claim tax relief, please contact your local tax office.

Keeping Your Record Up to Date

The information held in a teacher's record may change from time to time so it is important that all details are kept up to date. The accuracy of our registered teachers’ records helps the Council in its analysis of the composition and future recruitment needs of the profession in Wales.

If you move address or take a job in a different school, please let us know by using the log in icon at the top of this page and registering to view and, if necessary, amend your record online. This will assist us in maintaining an up to date record for you.

You may also notify us of changes by completing the change of details form available here (PDF 24k) and posting it to us using the address on the form, or by contacting the Qualifications and Registration Team directly.

Contacts

For any matters concerning registration, please contact the Qualifications and Registration Team using any of the following media :-

• Address - General Teaching Council for Wales, 4th Floor, Southgate House, Wood Street, Cardiff, CF10 1EW
• Telephone - 029 20550350
• Facsimile - 029 20550360
• E-mail - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it