Reappointment of Department of Education appointed members to the General Teaching Council for Northern Ireland (GTCNI)

The Department of Education has announced the reappointment of two members to the General Teaching Council for Northern Ireland (GTCNI), as part of the reconstituted Council.
Both members have previously served a four-year term on the Board of the GTCNI as Department of Education appointed members, with their first term of office ending on 14 October 2019.

The reappointments are as follows:

Paul Boyle is currently the Head of Department for Sport and Leisure at the Belfast Metropolitan College.  Mr Boyle has been a senior manager in education for over 15 years and brings to the Council experience in a number of governance areas including finance, business and corporate planning. He is a Director on the Board of Active Belfast Limited.  Mr Boyle has declared that he has not undertaken any political activity during the last five years and he does not currently hold any other public appointments.

Maria Mullally is a self-employed Barrister at the Bar Library. She brings to the Council strong leadership, communication and negotiating skills and, through completion of three judicial reviews, has experience of public body accountability. Ms Mullally has declared that she has not undertaken any political activity during the last five years and she does not currently hold any other public appointments.

Notes to editors: 

1. The General Teaching Council for NI (GTCNI) is a non-departmental public body established by the Education (Northern Ireland) Order 1998.  The Council is the statutory, professional and regulatory body for teachers in grant-aided schools and peripatetic teachers.
2. The Council has responsibility for maintaining a register of teachers; the approval of qualifications for the purposes of registration; regulatory functions relating to serious professional misconduct; providing advice to the Department and employing authorities on teacher registration, teacher training, career development and performance management, standards of teaching and conduct of teachers; and also for any additional functions the Department considers the Council may discharge.
3. The GTCNI is constituted under The General Teaching Council for NI (Constitution) Regulations (NI) 2001. The constitution provides for five members appointed by the Northern Ireland Teachers' Council; two members by the Education Authority (EA) and two from the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS); one member each from Comhairle na Gaelscolaíochta (CnaG), the Governing Bodies Association (GBA), Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education (NICIE), Transferors' Representative Council (TRC), the Archbishop of Armagh and the Bishops of Clogher, Derry, Down and Connor, Dromore and Kilmore acting jointly (as representatives of the trustees of Catholic maintained schools), the Universities Council for the Education of Teachers (NI); and four members appointed by the Department, of whom one is representative of industry and commerce and three are representative of such other interests as in the opinion of the Department will enable the Council to carry out its functions more effectively.
4. The overall Council also includes 14 elected members – teachers and principals – from nursery, primary, post-primary and special schools.
5. The Department is undertaking two reappointments to the reconstituted Council and will keep the vacant positions under review.  Under the regulations, members are appointed for four years and appointments will end on 14 October 2023.
6. Members on the GTCNI Council are not remunerated but may claim travel and subsistence allowances.
7. Media enquiries to the Department of Education Press Office on 028 9127 9772. Out of office hours contact the Duty Press Officer on 028 9037 8110.
8. Follow us on Twitter @Education_NI

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