Best Practice

Leadership profile: A passion for diversity and education

Earlier this year, headteacher Marva Rollins received an OBE for services to education. A passionate supporter of diversity in education, she is keen to support high-performing teachers from the female and BME workforce. Jo Corrigan speaks to her to find out more about her life and work

Department for Education statistics show that the percentage of teachers recorded as White British is over 89 per cent and White British headteachers exceed 93 per cent of the workforce. Raynham Primary School is based in Enfield local authority where the BME pupil-teacher ratio is 2.38 (i.e. 50 per cent of pupils but only 21 per cent of teachers are of BME origin).

The school has many challenges to overcome in order to support individual pupil progress, including deprivation, a transient pupil population and cultural beliefs about education.

Yet, after 18 years as headteacher at the school, Marva Rollins still enjoys the role and making a positive difference for the children and families in her community. The following quotation is displayed on the wall of her office:

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