Teaching Council Rules 2016

Part 3 Criteria for reporting serious misconduct

9 Criteria for reporting serious misconduct

(1)

A teacher’s employer must immediately report to the Teaching Council in accordance with section 394 of the Act if the employer has reason to believe that the teacher has committed a serious breach of the Code of Professional Responsibility, including (but not limited to) 1 or more of the following:

(a)

using unjustified or unreasonable physical force on a child or young person or encouraging another person to do so:

(b)

emotional abuse that causes harm or is likely to cause harm to a child or young person:

(c)

neglecting a child or young person:

(d)

failing to protect a child or young person due to negligence or misconduct, not including accidental harm:

(e)

breaching professional boundaries in respect of a child or young person with whom the teacher is or was in contact as a result of the teacher’s position as a teacher; for example,—

(i)

engaging in an inappropriate relationship with the child or young person:

(ii)

engaging in, directing, or encouraging behaviour or communication of a sexual nature with, or towards, the child or young person:

(f)

viewing, accessing, creating, sharing, or possessing pornographic material while at a school or an early childhood education service, or while engaging in business relating to a school or an early childhood education service:

(g)

acting dishonestly in relation to the teacher’s professional role, or committing theft or fraud:

(h)

being impaired by alcohol, a drug, or another substance while responsible for the care or welfare of a learner or a group of learners:

(i)

permitting or acquiescing in the manufacture, cultivation, supply, offer for supply, administering, or dealing of a controlled drug or psychoactive substance by a child or young person:

(j)

an act or omission that may be the subject of a prosecution for an offence punishable by imprisonment for a term of 3 months or more:

(k)

an act or omission that brings, or is likely to bring, the teaching profession into disrepute.

(2)

Misconduct described in any of paragraphs (a) to (e) and (k) of subclause (1) may be—

(a)

a single act; or

(b)

a number of acts forming part of a pattern of behaviour, even if some of the acts when viewed in isolation are minor or trivial.

Rule 9: replaced, on 19 May 2018, by rule 6 of the Education Council Amendment Rules 2018 (LI 2018/59).

Rule 9(1): amended, on 29 September 2018, by section 12 of the Education (Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand) Amendment Act 2018 (2018 No 35).