“We need diversity of thought in the world to face new challenges.” Tim Berners-Lee
Racial inequality continues to be a challenge for schools nationally. While we have seen a small increase in the proportion of teaching staff from global majority heritage backgrounds (DfE, 2023a; 2023b), there is still much work to be done.
The NFER’s recent report on racial equality (Worth et al, 2022) challenged traditional thinking on the recruitment and retention crisis and brought into sharp focus the urgent need to address racial disparity in the workforce. It concluded: “All ethnic groups except white are under-represented at all career stages of the teaching profession, except for initial teacher training.”
The report reveals that applicants with global majority heritage are over-represented when applying to post-graduate initial teacher training (ITT) courses, suggesting that there is high demand for places. However, these groups are significantly less likely to be accepted onto courses.
It also reveals stark contrasts in the conversion rates from early career teacher through to leadership roles, culminating in significant under-representation at senior leadership and headship level.
For example, middle leaders from Asian backgrounds are 3% less likely to be promoted to senior leadership than their white counterparts, and middle leaders from black backgrounds are 4% less likely.
At the same we are seeing increasing numbers of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds* (see author’s note below) in our classrooms (DfE, 2023c).
This of course means that many pupils will not see themselves represented in the teaching workforce. As a result, we risk all pupils missing out on the diversity of experience and understanding that race-conscious teams have to offer (Joseph-Salisbury, 2020). Some pupils, such as those from Traveller, Gypsy, and Roma backgrounds, may never be taught by a teacher from the same race as them.
Yet significant evidence has emerged from the United States demonstrating the positive impact of same-race teachers on the educational outcomes of pupils with global majority heritage, particularly for pupils from black backgrounds (Gershenson et al, 2021).
Leaders Like Us
The Church of England Foundation for Educational Leadership (CEFEL) has launched a new leadership programme entitled Leaders Like Us and aimed at addressing this very issue.
It seeks to develop the pipeline of leaders from global majority heritage backgrounds. Lasting 18 months, the programme develops the knowledge and skills required to prepare its participants to take on headship roles in the next two to five years. The course is open to teachers in all schools in England (you do not need to teach in a Church of England school).
The programme consists of four key components:
- Training: The CEFEL Racial Justice Team supports participants to find the right professional qualification for them (NPQ, NPQSL, NPQH). Participants also have the option to enrol with training provider Aspiring Heads. The team guides and tracks participants’ progress throughout their training.
- Shadowing: Participants have the opportunity to shadow a headteacher and senior leaders in an alternative setting for up to a week. The aspiring leaders can experience headship first-hand and tasks that require both operational and strategic thinking. During the shadowing, participants also explore aspects such as school culture, ethos and values, key documents, systems, policies and processes, self-evaluation and development plans, curriculum and CPD, strategies for SEND and disadvantaged learners, governance, community partnerships, and more.
- Mentoring: Course participants are offered a mentor who will be of global majority heritage or an ally. The CEFEL inclusion team ensures that mentors receive extensive training. The mentors are also experienced leaders and provide peer support for one another throughout the programme via a series of carefully scheduled “drop-in” sessions.
- Networking: The CEFEL curriculum and inclusion teams host virtual and in-person events throughout the programme. This enables participants to develop long-lasting professional relationships and establish a support network that endures long after the programme has ended. Participants can also become confidantes and advocates for one another, joining together at regional and national events to celebrate each other’s successes.
‘In diversity there is beauty and there is strength’ Maya Angelou
Utha Vallade, associate assistant principal at Bacon’s College in east London, described the impact the course has had for her to date: “I can confidently say that this has been a transformative experience. Before joining Leaders Like Us, I often felt like an outsider in the education system, grappling with the challenges of breaking through barriers that come with being ambitious for our students and being from global majority heritage.
“However, joining the programme has opened the doors to a supportive community of trailblazers and equally ambitious leaders who share my aspirations and understand the unique experiences and hurdles we face.
“This sense of belonging has been incredibly empowering, reaffirming my commitment to pursue a headship role with more confidence.”
Applications for the Leaders Like Us programme are open and the course is fully funded for teachers in maintained schools thanks to the Committee for Minority Ethnic Anglican Concerns’ Racial Justice Grant.
For the next cohort, participants are required to complete a short application form by November 6 and it is important to have the support of your headteacher.
Leaders Like Us is also on the look-out for additional host schools and mentors of high calibre who are committed to ensuring the teaching profession is equitable and diverse. You can apply to become a host school (see further information).
‘I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot. Together we can do great things’ Attributed to Mother Teresa
We know that the most significant ethnic disparities occur during early career stages and there are systemic issues regarding progression that have not yet been addressed.
However, teachers from diverse ethnic backgrounds encourage diversity of thought and enable us to view pupils’ cultural capital through a new lens (Wallace, 2018). When this collective force for good is properly harnessed, we have the potential to enrich the lives of all our pupils and society and as a whole.
Laura McPhee is headteacher at Loughborough Primary School in Lambeth. She is a member of the Virtual School Management Board, executive committee member of the Lambeth Safer Children Partnership and guest lecturer at London South Bank University. Find her previous articles and podcast appearances for Headteacher Update via www.headteacher-update.com/authors/laura-mcphee
* The term “minority ethnic background” is used here with an awareness of its problematic nature and homogenising effects. For the teacher workforce data, and following the government’s use of the term, we use it to describe all non-white British ethnic groups.
Leaders Like Us
- For more information on the programme, including an information film and to apply, visit cefel.org.uk/leaderslikeus
- You can find the 2024/25 participant application form via https://churchofengland.tfaforms.net/4903722
- If you are interested in becoming a host school or a mentor, apply here: https://churchofengland.tfaforms.net/4903719
Further information & resources
- DfE: Reporting year 2022: School workforce in England, 2023a: https://tinyurl.com/2p83ysu4
- DfE: School teacher workforce, 2023b: https://tinyurl.com/b9cunvrr
- DfE: Schools, pupils, and their characteristics (academic year 2022/23), 2023c: https://tinyurl.com/37ne8k27
- Gershenson et al: The long-run impacts of same-race teachers, SSRN Electronic Journal, 2017: https://tinyurl.com/383hd8je
- Joseph-Salisbury: Race and racism in English secondary schools, Runnymede Trust, 2020: https://tinyurl.com/463dpbmz
- Wallace: Cultural capital as whiteness? Examining logics of ethno-racial representation and resistance,British Journal of Sociology of Education (39:4), 2018.
- Worth, McLean & Sharp: Racial equality in the teacher workforce: An analysis of representation and progression opportunities from initial teacher training to headship, NFER, 2022: https://tinyurl.com/yr2prk8y