Who can complain?

Any person or organisation can make a complaint about a person registered with the Education Workforce Council (EWC).

What can I complain about?

A complaint must be about the alleged unacceptable professional conduct or serious professional incompetence of a registered person.

For the EWC’s purposes, unacceptable professional conduct means ‘conduct which falls short of the standard expected of a registered person’. Serious professional incompetence means ‘conduct which demonstrates a level of competence which falls seriously below that expected of a registered person, taking into account all the relevant circumstances’.

What conduct will the EWC find ‘unacceptable’?

You should read the Code of Professional Conduct and Practice. This explains what the education profession might find ‘unacceptable’ in a practitioner’s behaviour, and therefore the kind of behaviour the EWC might have an interest in investigating. The Code does not, of course, cover all examples.

As a guide, you should note the threshold for a finding of unacceptable professional conduct or serious professional incompetence by the EWC is high. For example, if a registered person is dismissed because of their behaviour either inside or outside of an educational establishment, it is more likely the EWC will find this to be unacceptable.

Behaviour which is unlikely to lead to dismissal by an employer is less likely to be found to be unacceptable by the EWC.

Is there anything I need to do first before I complain?

Yes. The EWC will only accept a complaint if exactly the same complaint has already been reported to the registered person’s employer or agent, and a response to that complaint has been received. ‘Employer’ usually means the school (governing body) and/or local authority, further education institution, and any other relevant body which employs a youth worker, youth support worker, or work-based learning practitioner. If you have not done this, you will need to first.

The EWC will then need to see written evidence that you have made the same complaint, as well as the outcome of the employer or agent’s investigation when you send the complaint in.

Complaints the EWC will not accept

The EWC will not accept a complaint which is about:

1. a person who is not registered with the EWC
2. a registered person’s health
3. any issues you have with an employer, agency, local Council, governing body, further education institution, or other relevant employer or organisation which have not been resolved to your satisfaction, unless they are about the behaviour of a registered person

The EWC also cannot accept anonymous complaints.

I still want to make a complaint. How do I do it?

You will need to make sure your complaint is clear and easy to understand, and:

• is exactly the same as the one you made to the employer or agent (if it is not, the EWC will not accept it)
• is specific, clear, and succinct - you will need to confine it to the box on page three of the complaint form
• includes important names, date, and times
• has attached to it:
  • written evidence which shows you made the same complaint to the employer or agent (you must number this and make reference to it at page three of the complaint form)
  • written evidence which shows the employer or agent investigated your complaint, and told you the outcome, in writing, of that investigation (you must number this and make reference to it at page three of the complaint form)

If you do not provide your complaint in the format prescribed above, it will be returned to you.

Other written evidence which shows what you say has a basis

This might include statements written by people who witnessed the events you mention, minutes of meetings, reports, memos, diary entries, and so on. If you decide to use information which needs permission, please get this first.

It is very important you send in as much information as you can to add ‘weight’ to your complaint. Without it, the EWC might not be able to take it any further.

Please remember the threshold for a finding of unacceptable professional conduct or serious professional incompetence by the EWC is high.

Send in your complaint and supporting information together

If you send information in at a later date, or in several different chunks , the EWC might not accept it. This is because for fairness, it is important the registered person involved can see and answer any complaint made about them, and be given enough time to do this.

It is also important the EWC deals with complaints as quickly as possible to minimise stress to all people involved, and to make sure it operates in a fair and transparent fashion as a regulatory body.

How will the EWC deal with my complaint?

Where the EWC accepts a complaint, it will forward it to an Investigating Committee for investigation.

Before this investigation, the EWC will send the complaint and supporting information to the:

• registered person - they will be given time to respond to the complaint
• registered person’s employer - they will be asked whether or not they have received the complaint, investigated it, and for the outcome of that investigation if concluded

All information gathered will be given to the Investigating Committee.

What action can an Investigating Committee take?

An Investigating Committee does not take any ‘action’ as such, but it can make one of the following decisions:

• decide a registered person has a ‘case to answer’, in which case, the complaint will be sent to a public hearing by a Fitness to Practise Committee
• decide the registered person has ‘no case to answer’, in which case the EWC will take no further action

If an Investigating Committee decides the registered person has ‘no case to answer’, the complaint will go no further.

I am not happy that the Investigating Committee decided the registered person has no case to answer. Can I appeal?

No. There is no appeal process, and the EWC is not able to look at the same complaint more than once. The Committee’s decision is final.

For this reason alone, it is important you follow carefully the guidance set out above.

Disciplinary Procedures and Rules 2024

Relevant sections of the Rules are Rule 5(2), Rule 6, Rule 7 and Rule 8.

The EWC will write to you when it has reached a decision about your complaint.

The employer and agent’s responsibility to refer

Employers of registered persons (schools (governing body), local authorities, further education institutions, any other relevant body) and agencies are responsible for referring cases of alleged unacceptable professional conduct, serious professional incompetence, and conviction of a relevant offence to the Education Workforce Council (EWC).
An employer or agent must refer a case in line with the Education (Wales)(Act) 2014, as amended, and The Education Workforce Council (Main Functions) (Wales) Regulations 2015, as amended, where:

• it ceased to use the services of a registered person in Wales, or might have ceased to use the services of a registered person in Wales had they not stopped providing them (an employer)
• it terminated arrangements with a registered person, or might have terminated arrangements with a registered person had they not terminated them or similar (an agent)

The following do not override an employer’s or agency’s statutory duty to make a referral:

• settlement or mutual agreements where dismissal was a possibility
• dismissal for ‘Some Other Substantial Reason’ (SOSR) where the termination of a contract of employment was as a result of a disciplinary issue (conduct and/or competence)

In any event, the EWC can investigate any case referred to it if it thinks the allegations are capable of amounting to an allegation of unacceptable professional conduct, serious professional incompetence, or a conviction of a relevant offence.

Responsibility on employers

An employer must report the facts of a case to the EWC where:

1. an employer has ceased to use the services of a registered person in Wales on the ground of:
   1. misconduct
   2. professional incompetence
   3. conviction of a relevant offence

2. may have ceased to use a registered person’s services on such a ground had the registered person not ceased to provide those services

Responsibility on agents.

An agent must report the facts of a case to the EWC where it:

1. has terminated arrangements on the ground of: 
   1. misconduct
   2. professional incompetence
   3. conviction of a relevant offence

2. may have terminated arrangements on such a ground if the registered person had not terminated them
3. may have refrained from making new arrangements for a registered person on such a ground if the registered person had not ceased to make themselves available for work

Referral papers – what to provide

Employers and agents should refer to Part 2 of Schedule 5 of The Education Workforce Council (Main Functions) (Wales) Regulations 2015, as amended, for a list of relevant paperwork which should be included with the referral if available.

Referrals and the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)

Where the EWC receives a referral from an employer or agent, and it appears such a referral may involve the harm, or the risk of harm, to children or vulnerable adults, it will forward the referral to the DBS.

The DBS may either decide to include the registered person in the Children’s Barred List or Adults’ Barred List, or refer the case back to the EWC for separate consideration on professional grounds.

The EWC has no remit to investigate or hear any matter which alleges the harm, or risk of harm, to children or vulnerable adults.

As the independent, professional regulator for the education workforce in Wales, our core function is to regulate in the public interest. To ensure we conduct our proceedings with transparency and fairness, we hold our fitness to practise hearings in public, unless there is an exceptional reason for privacy.

Members of the public and press can contact us to observe our public hearings, most of which are now held remotely.

Applications can be made for hearings to be held in private. If an application is granted by the independent fitness to practise committee on the first day of a hearing, any public and press attending will be unable to observe. Sometimes, only part of a hearing is held in private meaning any public or press attending can only observe the public sessions of a hearing.

The decision of a committee will always be announced in public.

Attending a hearing

Should you wish to attend a hearing, you should submit a request direct to the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Joining information will be provided approximately 24 hours before the start of the hearing.

You can stay for the entirety of the public hearing, including the public announcement of the decision.
Please note, if you do not attend a hearing, or only attend certain parts, we will only be able to provide you with the following information if you request it:

• a copy of the decision announced in public
• confirmation of the allegations and key people involved

This information will be available within 48 working hours of the hearing ending.

Additional queries

If you wish to clarify something about the evidence you hear whilst observing a hearing, please contact the case officer present who will consider your request. They will be unable to clarify anything not heard in public.

If you have any press queries following a hearing, or would like to request a copy of the documentation listed above, contact the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Why is the EWC using Egress Protect?

Due to our regulatory work, we often deal with large volumes of personal data, which we wouldn’t want to fall into the wrong hands. Increasingly we are sending information by email, as this is quick and convenient way of communicating.

Egress is a secure email and file transfer solution which allows the Council to send sensitive emails and documents in a safe and secure manner.
Messages or documents sent via Egress are protected with AES 256-bit encryption.

Is there a cost?

No, it is free to receive egress emails from EWC, and you are also able to securely reply to those emails. You will only be charged if you use Egress yourself to send to recipients other than the EWC.

How do I open an Egress email?

If you have been sent a secure email you will receive a message as shown to the right with the words:

This email has been sent to you securely by a contact at the Education Workforce Council (EWC). If you have any doubts about this email please contact the sender directly at their email address which should end with ewc.wales

To access the secure message you can create a free Egress account on their website by clicking on the new user link.

Or, if you already have an account you just need to sign in with the existing user link.

Having a free Egress account will also allow you to send secure replies to the Education Workforce Council.

Read more about Egress Switch secure email

Visit the Egress website for further support

Can I open Egress messaged on my phone or tablet?

Yes, Egress has a mobile website to help when opening on a mobile device and there are apps for Apple and Android devices.

What if I have technical issues?

Email the Egress support team at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or telephone 0871 376 0014.