The Teaching Council has today (20 June 2012) published a new
Code of Professional Conduct for Teachers which will guide
teachers’ professional judgement and practice. The Code sets out
the standards of professional knowledge, skill, competence and
conduct which are expected of registered teachers. In all, there
are 33 such standards which reflect the complexity and variety
of teaching and cover areas such as communication and
relationships, equality and inclusion, compliance with national
and school policies, professional development and pupil/student
welfare. The standards are underpinned by four core values -
respect, care, integrity and trust. The new Code of Conduct
replaces the existing Code which was published in 2007. It has
been developed following a process of consultation with teachers
and other stakeholders in education and takes account a number
of developments in the intervening years. One such development
is the emergence of new technologies and social media which play
a central role in the way