Unknown Teacher

This report sets out the expenditure and performance of the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) over the period 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020.

Teaching Regulation Agency An executive agency of the Department for Education Annual report and accounts For the year ended 31 March 2020 Page intentionally left blank Teaching Regulation Agency Annual report and accounts 2019-20 | Teaching Regulation Agency An executive agency of the Department for Education Annual report and accounts For the year ended 31 March 2020 Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed on 15 July 2020. Accounts presented to the House of Commons pursuant to Section 6(4) of the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000. Annual Report presented to the House of Commons by Command of Her Majesty HC 522 3 | Teaching Regulation Agency Annual report and accounts 2019-20 © Crown copyright 2020 This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/ version/3. Where we have identifed any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned. This publication is available at www.gov.uk/government/publications Any enquiries regarding this publication should be sent to us at Ministerial and Public Communications Division, Department for Education, Piccadilly Gate, Store Street, Manchester M1 2WD or at www.education.gov.uk/contactus. ISBN 978-1-5286-2069-7 CCS0720825872 07/20 Follow us on Twitter: @educationgovuk Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/educationgovuk Printed on paper containing 75% recycled fbre content minimum Printed in the UK by the APS Group on behalf of the Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Offce 4 Teaching Regulation Agency Annual report and accounts 2019-20 | Contents Performance Report 7 Overview 8 Performance analysis 12 Finance 21 Accountability Report 25 Corporate governance report 26 Statement of Accounting Offcer’s responsibilities 28 Governance statement 29 Remuneration and staff report 36 Parliamentary accountability and audit report 48 Financial Statements 53 Statement of Comprehensive Net Expenditure 54 Statement of Financial Position 55 Statement of Cash Flows 56 Statement of Changes in Taxpayers’ Equity 57 Notes to the Accounts 58 Annexes 65 Glossary of key terms 69 5 Teaching Regulation Agency Annual report and accounts 2019-20 | Performance Report 7 | Performance Report Overview This section details the organisational structure and performance, key issues and risks of the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA or the Agency). Accounting Offcer’s introduction and perspective on performance The TRA is an executive agency of the Department for Education (DfE or the Department). At the time of writing we are working during the unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 global pandemic. It is in this context that our work to support educational and learning settings for children has a particular level of prominence, and will continue to do so for some time. In March 2020, all scheduled Professional Conduct Panels (PCPs) were postponed due to lockdown. However, we have continued to progress misconduct investigations up to the point of the PCP , in line with published procedures. We are now looking to deliver some PCPs virtually, and in the longer term as restrictions are eased, we are developing plans to deliver PCPs at our Coventry offce, complying with social distancing guidelines. The Department’s estimate and forward plans included provision for the continuation of the TRA into 2020-21. It is therefore appropriate to prepare the Agency’s accounts on a going concern basis. We have continued to regulate the teaching profession, whilst improving current working practices, and being responsive to the needs of stakeholders. During 2019-20 we introduced new guidance for TRA witnesses to ensure they are well prepared for misconduct panels and have introduced a new case management system for the scheduling of misconduct panels. We have worked with Department policy teams to support the development of, and the changes required for, the recognition of professional qualifcations for overseas teachers in preparation for leaving the European Union. We have reprocured our legal services contracts, ensuring best value in terms of quality and cost. Statement of purpose and activities Our purpose is to support employers, schools and headteachers with safeguarding responsibilities, as set out in our 2018-21 Corporate Plan 1. We are responsible for the Database of Qualifed Teachers (DQT) which provides employers the opportunity to complete pre-employment checks to ensure that they are employing teachers who are appropriately qualifed for their role. We have responsibility, on behalf of the Secretary of State for Education (‘the Secretary of State’), to act as the competent authority for teaching in England; and to operate as the regulatory system for all teacher misconduct, as defned by The Teachers’ Disciplinary (England) Regulations 2012 and the Teacher Misconduct Procedures – Disciplinary procedures for the Teaching Profession 2 3. The Agency is formed of two operational units: the Teacher Qualifcation Unit (TQU) and the Teacher Misconduct Unit (TMU). 1 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teaching-regulation-agency-corporate-plan 2 http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2012/560/contents/made 3 https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/fle/776859/Disciplinary_ procedures_for_the_teaching__profession.pdf 8 Structure of the TRA 2019-20 Teaching Regulation Agency Annual report and accounts 2019-20 | Alan Meyrick Chief Executive Offcer Anne Dennis Head of Teacher Qualifcation Unit Competent Authority & Recognition of Professional Qualifcations Qualifed Teacher Status Award & Induction Programme Management Offce Finance, Correspondence and Data Incidents Casework Operational Delivery & Stakeholder Engagement Contract Performance & Systems Management Casework Operational Delivery & Media Relations Dawn Dandy Head of Teacher Misconduct Unit COVID-19 The Agency is working with the unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 global pandemic. The Department took the decision on 16 March to close all offces, and staff were required to work from home, this was made possible by to the Department’s IT refresh two years ago. Agency staff have adapted positively to this change and have continued to perform their duties. The Teacher Misconduct hearing suite is located in the Department’s Coventry offce. Due to the Department closing its offces, as mentioned above, all planned misconduct hearings were postponed until further notice. Misconduct casework continues to be progressed up to the point of hearing, and Interim Prohibition Orders (IPOs) continue to be issued as required. The TRA are also looking at whether PCPs could be held remotely during this pandemic and are developing plans to deliver PCPs at our Coventry offce, complying with social distancing guidelines. To support the wider Government response staff were asked to volunteer to work across Government. From April 2020 several staff have been loaned to other teams within the Department, with one member of staff on loan to another Government Department. Other staff were asked to support the business as required. Along with the rest of Government, the Agency has adopted Procurement Policy Note 02/20 and is maintaining payments to suppliers in order to support the economy. The Agency continues to work with Government to support the wider response to COVID-19. 9 | Performance Report Key issues and risks faced by the Agency The Agency faced strategic risks that could cause operational delivery to differ from the desired outcomes. The table below shows four strategic risks taken from the Strategic Risk Register, along with a summary of how we managed these in 2019-20. Risk Area TMU Mitigation There is a risk that the TRA’s regulatory process, including its ability to make decisions on behalf of the Secretary of State, is discredited due to a successful challenge in either the High Court, by judicial review or by an individual’s actions. This would impact on the ability of the Teacher Misconduct Unit to operate, with cases potentially being put on hold until a review of current procedures and/ or regulations is carried out. If cases are halted, this could cause additional stress to teachers currently going through an investigation, and potentially prolong suspensions imposed by schools which could impact the teacher’s future career opportunities. It could also lead to adverse press and media scrutiny and reputational damage to the TRA and the Department. Risks for individual cases are identifed and discussed with a nominated Senior Responsible Of fcer (SRO). Close working relationships with the Department’s Legal Advisors Offce and policy colleagues to ensure potential issues are considered at an early stage to support a robust legal position. The TRA work closely with the Department’s Press Offce team to manage communications that arise from the reporting of hearings. The TRA made signifcant progress in reviewing its published procedures consulting with relevant stakeholders. The updated procedures were published on https://www.gov.uk/ on 20 May 2020. 4 There is a risk that the TRA’s interpretation and application of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is insuffcient and may be successfully challenged by a data subject. This could have both a fnancial and reputational impact on the TRA and the Department. TRA The TRA has specifed staff in TMU and TQU leading on GDPR and they have undertaken training to help them to understand the requirements of GDPR and the potential impact on the TRA. The TRA has worked closely with the Privacy and Inform