Debate contribution: General Teaching Council Bill: Second Stage

Debate contribution by Mr David Brooks on 2 December 2025.

MLA

Mr David Brooks

Party at the time

Democratic Unionist Party

Date

2 December 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Executive Committee Business

Heading

General Teaching Council Bill: Second Stage

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5271796

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I do not intend to speak for too long. It will not surprise those present in the Chamber that we support the general thrust and direction that the Minister has outlined. Like others, however, we look forward to grappling with the Bill at the Committee for Education and asking some of the difficult questions that the leader of the Opposition was talking about. We will not forgo our duty in that regard. It is clear that the GTC's existing format and governance arrangements were not working for anyone, least of all the teachers whom the body was intended to serve. It was underperforming and had significant issues at board level, as has been outlined. It is also clear, however, as the Minister said, that there has been significant improvement, and we heard at the Committee that the GTC has been operating under the Department's oversight. That has shown that, with the right structures in place, the body can have a future and serve its purpose. That avoids the problem of completely dismantling the existing organisation and, essentially, creating in its image a rebranded and reformed version of the same body. Doing that would take significantly more time and resource than it would to make the necessary reforms to the existing structures. I understand that previous Ministers and others looked at doing away with the GTC, and for good reason. Some of the people who continue to call for a new structure, and, in particular, want a significant stake in the leadership of that structure, probably contributed to some of the issues that brought about the necessity for reform. Therefore, to further the leader of the Opposition's car analogy, it would be insane to go to the effort of creating a new independent body and give the keys of the new vehicle to the same unreformed driver who drove the previous vehicle into a ditch. The reformed GTC must have the leadership experience, knowledge and skills that, we were told, had been absent from it previously, as well as board members who can fulfil their roles and understand the parameters of their work and their responsibilities. I am reassured by the use of the public appointments process, which will be beneficial in ensuring that those who are appointed have a better mix of skills, knowledge and experience, and that they will be chosen on that basis rather than the factionalism that contributed to the failures of the past. As I said, I look forward to grappling with the Bill at the Committee and, alongside other Committee members, growing my knowledge of the GTC's work and roles. It is right to say that our knowledge about a body that has such an important role in our education system is not as wide as it should be. I look forward to doing that in the Committee.

473 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 14:06 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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