Thursday, 10 September 2026
Learning objectives:
- Understand the Teaching Council’s conduct, reporting and competence processes, including serious misconduct criteria, mandatory reporting obligations, investigations, interim measures and disciplinary proceedings
- Apply practical strategies for managing teacher conduct and competence concerns at school, including responding appropriately to reporting requirements, police involvement and requests for information from the Teaching Council
Chair
Tim Fox, Deputy Principal, Hutt Valley High School
Description
Attend and earn 1 PLD/CPD Hour
This Session is included in the Te Mahere Whanake Tumuaki Principal Development Plan list of Courses and Programmes on the Education Workforce website.
Conduct and Reporting and the Competence Process: Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand
- Conduct and Reporting
- Criteria for reporting serious misconduct
- Voluntary undertakings not to teach and interim suspensions
- Investigation reports and the requirement to provide information to the Teaching Council
- Police involvement and the Teaching Council's regulatory role
- Recent Disciplinary Tribunal decisions
- Competence Process
- Managing competence concerns at school
- Mandatory Reporting obligations
- Teaching Council Competence Process
Presented by Leigh Gilbert, Lead Investigator, Amy Taylor, Senior Investigator, Morgan Reynolds, Senior Advisor Competence, and Jocelyn Pollock, Senior Advisor Competence, Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand
Presenters
Tim Fox, Deputy Principal, Hutt Valley High SchoolTim Fox is the Deputy Principal of Operations & Community Relationships at Hutt Valley High School in Lower Hutt, New Zealand. He leads discussions on discipline, often balancing punitive and restorative responses to ensure students are treated fairly. He also chairs the Health and Safety committee, where he investigates issues and recommends improvements to practices.
Leigh Gilbert, Lead Investigator, Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand
Leigh has been with the Teaching Council for four and half years and currently serves as Lead Investigator. In this role, Leigh provides leadership and oversight to a multidisciplinary team of ten investigators and two professional practice evaluators, supporting the management of conduct and competence complaints.
Amy Taylor, Senior Investigator, Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand
Amy has been with the Teaching Council for six years and currently holds the role of Senior Investigator. During her time with the Teaching Council, she has developed extensive expertise in managing complex investigations, including some of the organisation’s most sensitive and high-profile cases.
Morgan Reynolds, Senior Advisor Competence, Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand
Morgan is a registered teacher with a primary teaching background and has been with the Teaching Council for two and a half years. As a Senior Advisor Competence, she provides advice and guidance on competence matters. In her role as a Professional Practice Evaluator, she supports the Competence Authority by preparing reports that evaluate matters relating to a teacher's competence.
Jocelyn Pollock, Senior Advisor Competence, Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand
Jocelyn is a primary-trained teacher who has been with the Teaching Council for five years. She has more than 40 years’ teaching experience in New Zealand, London, and China. As a Senior Advisor Competence, Jocelyn works with the profession to provide advice on meeting the Standards for the Teaching Profession. In her role as a Professional Practice Evaluator, she prepares recommendations to the Competence Authority when evaluating competence concerns.
