Teacher misconduct: set aside a prohibition order
Find out how to apply to have a prohibition order set aside.
Applies to England
Set aside a prohibition order
You will no longer be prohibited from teaching in England if your prohibition order has been set aside.
If you have received a prohibition order with a review period, you can apply to have this prohibition order set aside once the review period has passed.
Make a set aside application
Requirements for making an application for a set aside are set out in the Teachers’ Disciplinary (England) Regulations 2012.
To make a set aside application, complete the and submit by email to [email protected].
You will need to provide:
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complete employment history since the prohibition order was originally imposed, including your current or most recent employer (we may contact a previous or current employer for a reference or to confirm employment dates are accurate)
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referees – you must clearly indicate your relationship to the referee and the length of that relationship
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details of training courses attended – please include details of the training provider, content of the training course and evidence of completion
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a statement detailing your reasons for their prohibition order to be set aside – please include as much detail as you feel is necessary to support your application
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a signed declaration
After you have submitted your application
We will check your application to ensure that you are eligible to apply for a set aside. If your application does not meet the requirements, we will write to you to explain why the requirements were not met.
If the requirements have been met, we will take the necessary steps to confirm the accuracy of the information provided within the application. We may make our own enquiries with your current, most recent or previous employers, or with training providers, for example.
We will write to the referees nominated by you, providing them with a copy of the full written decision related to your prohibition order. The referees will have one month in which to respond about your suitability to be allowed to undertake teaching work.
Arrangements will be made for a professional conduct panel to consider the set aside application.
In exceptional circumstances we are able to make a set aside decision without referring to a professional conduct panel in accordance with section 6.8 of the Teacher misconduct: Disciplinary procedures for the teaching profession May 2020.
We will send you a notice of hearing letter informing you of the date of your set aside hearing. At least 10 weeks prior to the hearing date, we will provide you with the hearing bundle. This bundle will include the application form, any references received, and the original Secretary of State decision.
Set aside hearing
You may choose to attend the hearing and you may choose to be represented, or you may arrange for a representative to attend on your behalf. We usually hold set aside hearings in public unless there is a reason why it is not in the interests of justice to do so.
Before the hearing the panel will read any documents submitted. If you are present, the panel will listen to any statements you would like to make and may ask you questions about the application and your suitability to return to teaching. If you want to bring witnesses who can give evidence about your suitability to return to teaching, they can also give evidence to the panel. The panel will also listen to a statement made by a presenting officer on behalf of the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA).
After the hearing has concluded, the panel will meet in private to consider their recommendation to the Secretary of State. They pass this recommendation to a senior member of TRA who will make the decision on behalf of the Secretary of State on whether the set aside application should be granted, allowing you to return to the teaching profession.
You will be notified in writing, usually within 2 working days of the decision being made.
Please note that in a set aside hearing:
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the onus is on you to prove to the panel that you are suitable to be allowed to teach again
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the panel will not revisit the original decision to impose a prohibition order – they will concentrate on whether you are now suitable to undertake teaching work
You may find it helpful to refer to the guidance about teacher misconduct.
The document, Teacher misconduct: the prohibition of teachers, is of particular importance as it contains advice from the Secretary of State on factors relating to decisions on the prohibition of teachers.
Your prohibition order remains in place until such time as you make a successful application for the order to be set aside. If your application is unsuccessful, you cannot make a further application within 12 months from the date of the Secretary of State’s decision unless a different time limit has been imposed.