What is The Teaching Council?

The Teaching Council promotes and develops teaching as a profession at primary and post-primary levels. It provides a forum for presenting the views of the profession on all aspects of the teaching career from initial recruitment to in-career professional development. As the regulatory body for teachers in Ireland, the Teaching Council produces a code of professional conduct for teachers, which covers standards of teaching, knowledge, skill and competence. It also maintains a register of all teachers who teach in recognised schools in Ireland.

Registration with The Teaching Council

All teachers working in the primary and secondary level education sectors in Ireland are required to register with The Teaching Council. There is an attached annual fee for registration, part of which can be claimed back through tax. It can take up to 8 weeks to process applications and the Teaching Council is busiest at the end of the Summer.

If you are a final year student teacher in an Irish college or university, a member of staff from the Teaching Council will visit your college or university to provide information about the role of the Council and on teacher registration. At this information session, you will be required to fill in a form which authorises your college or university to transfer your contact and exam result details to the Teaching Council.

Since 1st September 2007 you are also required to complete a Garda vetting form during this visit. The result of the Garda vetting will be issued to you as soon as the result is returned to the Teaching Council. You will then be sent a personalised application form. If the form is completed correctly and if your qualifications are in order, the Council will then confirm your registration. Currently, there is no charge applied when a new graduate is added to the Register of Teachers. New graduates will be granted conditional registration until they have successfully completed a process of induction (for post-primary teachers) or probation (for primary teachers).

For teachers who qualifies outside of Ireland, you must apply to the Teaching Council for recognition of your qualifications prior to applying for registration.

There are a number of categories under which teachers may apply to the Teaching Council for registration. Qualified teachers working in recognised schools can download application forms for registration, details of registration for teachers and the codes of professional conduct (pdf) from the Teaching Council website.

Contacting The Teaching Council