One of the country’s most powerful trade unions has been lobbying a watchdog about censoring its public reports into hearings about bad teachers.

The Educational Institute for Scotland (EIS) believes too much detail of disciplinary cases is published and wants the regulator to rethink the volume of information made available.

However, Tory education spokesman Liz Smith called on the move to be “resisted”.

The EIS has around 60,000 members and acts as the main voice for teachers in primary and secondary schools.

As well as defending the terms and conditions of teachers, the union also represent members accused of wrongdoing.

The General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) is responsible for upholding professional conduct and is tasked with ensuring compliance with codes of behaviour.

So-called 'Fitness to Teach' hearings are held to decide whether teachers who are the subject of a complaint are fit to continue in the classroom.

Sanctions include a reprimand, a conditional registration order and removal from the GTCS register.

Judgements, including the teacher’s name and the full details of the case, are published online.

However, the Sunday Herald can reveal the EIS believes the information about the outcome of cases should be restricted.

At the EIS annual general meeting last year, delegates backed a motion calling for a rethink: “That this AGM call upon the GTCS to review its procedures in relation to the publication of matters overtaken by the GTCS Fitness to Teach Panel.”

The union secured a meeting with the GTCS to discuss the reporting of the regulator’s decisions and talks are ongoing.

However, any move away from public rulings could be seen as an attempt to protect teachers who have behaved unprofessionally.

In the most recent GTCS case, Jane Callister - who was a teacher in Moray - was banned from the classroom after she invited a pupil to her house to watch movies and later helped him conceal a knife.

Smith said: “People expect bodies such as the GTCS to be absolutely transparent. Any watering down of this could damage the trust in the organisation parents have.

“We’re supposed to be living in a time where public bodies are more accountable and honest, not less. That’s why the public will want the GTCS to resist this call.”

Tavish Scott, the Liberal Democrat education spokesman, agreed.

He said: "The GTCS has set a gold standard for transparency and when we are talking about decisions that will affect the sort of education our children receive it is easy to see why parents would be concerned at moves to restrict the information they publish.

“The EIS is right to represent the views of its members and there is a balance to be struck here but that should not mean an end to the publication of reports and judgements."

A GTCS spokesperson said: “We publish the outcomes of all Fitness to Teach hearings for legal reasons and to help the teaching profession and the public understand how we have come to a particular decision. We also do so to provide public assurance that we are performing our fitness to teach functions effectively.

“In our last reporting year we published 19 fitness to teach hearing outcomes. We acknowledge that there is sometimes extensive media coverage of cases that can be intrusive and we work hard with other organisations, such as the EIS, to try and make the Fitness to Teach process less stressful and challenging for those involved.

"We will continue to discuss this process with professional associations (including the EIS) and other interested parties.”

The EIS confirmed they were talking to the GTCS about the information released.

A spokesperson said: "The concerns raised by the EIS relate to the outcome of GTCS hearings being published in full on the GTCS website. This is to comply with statutory requirements, and so can only be restricted in certain circumstances. The EIS is engaged in ongoing dialogue with the GTCS, to explore whether detailed findings can be presented in a different way, while the outcome and the principal reasons leading to a decision continue to be posted online."

"However, from the EIS point of view, the level of detail that is provided on the GTCS website is a matter for concern - although the GTCS has been willing to limit information that is particularly sensitive, such as in relation to any health issues faced by those concerned.

"We are continuing our dialogue with the GTCS and hope to agree a way forward in the future."