The General Teaching Council for England (GTCE) was the professional body for teaching in England between 2000 and 2012. The GTC was established by the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998 which set two aims: "to contribute to improving standards of teaching and the quality of learning, and to maintain and improve standards of professional conduct among teachers, in the interests of the public". The GTC was abolished in 2012 with some of its functions being assumed by the Teaching Agency, an executive agency of the Department for Education, which in 2013 became the National College for Teaching and Leadership.