The General Teaching Council for England
is the professional body for teachers formed in 2000 in accordance with the requirements of
the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998. The Council is responsible for establishing and maintaining a register of teachers and for seeking to maintain and improve standards of professional conduct amongst teachers.
Registration with the Council is now a legal requirement for all teachers wishing to teach in a "maintained school". (As in maintained by the government.) The Council has the power to remove teachers from the register in cases of serious misconduct or incompetence, and therefore to effectively bar them from teaching.