Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Equality, diversity and inclusionCareer developmentEducationLatest NewsEthnicity

Ethnic diversity: report highlights disparities in school leadership

by Ashleigh Webber 18 May 2022
by Ashleigh Webber 18 May 2022 Shutterstock
Shutterstock

Ethnic minorities will continue to be under-represented in schools’ senior leadership teams unless recruitment, selection and promotion processes are improved and leaders are supported to make ‘equitable’ workforce decisions, a report has found.

Research conducted by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER), in partnership with education charities Ambition Institute and Teach First, found that middle leaders from Asian backgrounds are three percentage points less likely to be promoted into a senior leadership role than their white counterparts, while black middle leaders are four percentage points less likely.

Some 96% of headteachers are from white ethnic backgrounds, compared to 83% of the wider population. In contrast, ethnic minority groups other than white are underrepresented among headteachers by 60% (mixed ethnic group), 75%(black ethnic group), 83% (Asian ethnic group) and 88% (other ethnic group), compared to their proportions in the wider population.

The report finds that ethnic disparities in teacher retention rates are smaller in schools with diverse school leadership teams and larger in schools with all-white leadership teams.

Diversity

Ethnicity pay gaps: Not making reporting mandatory is ‘nonsensical’

Staff race networks: time to reinvigorate collective voice

Is the law confusing around positive action and diversity in the private sector?

All ethnic groups except white are under-represented at all career stages of the teaching profession, except for initial teacher training (ITT). For example, in 2021, 12% of ITT applicants were from Asian ethnic backgrounds, compared to 10% in the population as a whole .

Yet, many do not get accepted onto these courses. The acceptance rate is 13 percentage points lower for applicants from Asian ethnic backgrounds than white applicants, and 21 percentage points lower for applicants from black and other ethnic backgrounds.

The report concludes that the education sector needs to make racial equality a priority and address systemic disparities.

It recommends that:

  • training providers eview their application and selection processes to to pinpoint the extent, nature and causes of the lower acceptance rates experienced by ethnic minority applicants
  • training providers, multi-academy trusts and other large educational organisations commit to publishing data on diversity and act to address disparities
  • the government monitors progress across the system towards equalising the opportunities for progression
    for people from all ethnic groups
  • further research is needed into regional disparities in the representation and progression of teachers from different ethnic backgrounds.

Sufian Sadiq, director of teaching school, Chiltern Learning Trust, said: “Teacher recruitment and retention has been an ongoing crisis within our sector for a number of years. Yet in this report, we see evidence of interest in teaching – from black and ethnic minority candidates – and a pool of potential talent that is not currently being tapped. Addressing the racial disparities that exist within teaching is therefore not only a moral imperative, but increasingly necessary if we want to tackle teacher supply problems, and ensure every child has a qualified teacher standing before them.

“The positive number of applicants from ethnic minority communities shows that the issues and challenges around diversity in teaching are systemic, and not down to a lack of interest or something we can shift onto those from under-represented groups. The report highlights to me that the onus is on organisations in all points in the career pipeline to take responsibility and act now.”

NFER’s school workforce lead, Jack Worth, said:  “Our report shows that we currently do not have a teacher workforce that reflects the ethnic makeup of wider society and that opportunities to enter and progress within the teaching profession are not equal.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

“The evidence in the report adds detailed and analytical insights into where ethnic disparities in progression within the teacher career pipeline are greatest, which will support the sector to make improvements and lasting changes in the areas where they are most needed.”

Education sector HR roles on Personnel Today


Browse more HR jobs in education

Ashleigh Webber

Ashleigh is a former editor of OHW+ and former HR and wellbeing editor at Personnel Today. Ashleigh's areas of interest include employee health and wellbeing, equality and inclusion and skills development. She has hosted many webinars for Personnel Today, on topics including employee retention, financial wellbeing and menopause support.

previous post
Accreditation scheme will ‘encourage LGBT+ people to be themselves’
next post
Nurses leaving due to pressure and workplace culture

You may also like

Redefining leadership: From competence to inclusion

21 May 2025

Black security manager awarded £360k after decade of...

20 May 2025

Culture, ‘micro-incivilities’ and invisible talent

14 May 2025

Contract cleaner loses EAT race discrimination appeal

14 May 2025

West Yorkshire Police denies positive discrimination accusations

10 Apr 2025

Eight new equality laws in the pipeline

10 Apr 2025

Thames Valley Police ‘positive discrimination’ led to ‘divided...

4 Apr 2025

NHS trust took ‘reasonable steps’ to stop racial...

31 Mar 2025

Mid-sized UK firms slow to improve boardroom ethnic...

11 Mar 2025

Foxtons staff accuse firm of culture of harassment

26 Feb 2025

  • 2025 Employee Communications Report PROMOTED | HR and leadership...Read more
  • The Majority of Employees Have Their Eyes on Their Next Move PROMOTED | A staggering 65%...Read more
  • Prioritising performance management: Strategies for success (webinar) WEBINAR | In today’s fast-paced...Read more
  • Self-Leadership: The Key to Successful Organisations PROMOTED | Eletive is helping businesses...Read more
  • Retaining Female Talent: Four Ways to Reduce Workplace Drop Out PROMOTED | International Women’s Day...Read more

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+