As the education sector faces an ongoing recruitment and retention crisis, and with Labour’s plan for a draft Race Equality Act that will include “a curriculum review to ensure diversity in schools”, the government must commit to tackling the systemic racism faced by many teachers and leaders.

So, what might this look like?

Firstly, there should be a public acknowledgement that the current lack of ethnically diverse leaders in the teaching workforce is unacceptable.

We also need to see a commitment to creating a strategic plan of action to address the issue, which could include putting together a commission or task force to identify tangible steps toward improving the diversity of the teaching workforce.

Using what works

There is no need to start completely from scratch here, since we already have a wealth of existing evidence and guidance on how to support the retention of ethnic minority teachers.

Much of the evidence available offers examples of the lived experience of teachers and leaders who have faced racism in the workforce, such as Institute of Education’s Making Progress - Employment and Retention of BAME Teachers in England; Runnymede Perspectives’ Race and Racism in Secondary Schools and the National Foundation for Educational Research’s Ethnic Diversity in the Teaching Workforce.

Not only do these reports highlight the barriers they face, but they also offer tangible approaches that could quickly and easily be adopted to make the changes that are so desperately needed.

Here are some of the steps we should expect to see in place to help achieve progress:

• An urgent review of the initial teacher training (ITT) process to eradicate any implicit or explicit racism in the application and recruitment process. The sector needs an increase in the number of trainee teachers from an ethnically diverse background who then become qualified teachers.
• An expectation that where trainees are placed in schools, due diligence is carried out to ensure placement schools have adopted an antiracist approach, which can be evidenced through practices, policies, culture and ethos. To support this in the years to come, racial literacy and antiracist training could become an essential part of the ITT course.
• Schools should have a mechanism for categorising racism and microaggressions as a safeguarding concern.
• There should be a directory of quality-assured trainers in the EDIB (equality, diversity, inclusion and belonging) space, set up and recommended to schools to improve their practice (this could also be part of reformed Diversity Hubs).
• Any new headteacher from an ethnically diverse background should be provided with a mentor of their choice, paid for by the school (and I would also argue this should be the case for every new headteacher).

Bring back Diversity Hubs

While the Department for Education is funding attendance, behaviour and language hubs, funding for Diversity Hubs was axed in 2020 and has not been reinstated.

This sends a deplorable message that an ethnically diverse teaching workforce is neither important nor necessary and could easily stop those who might be considering going into teaching from doing so.

Reinstating these hubs, or a similar model, would create a platform and space for there to be a nuanced programme that recognises that people of colour face different career challenges and provides them with the tailored support and guidance they need.

The programme could also identify best practice in schools and work with school leadership teams to offer them the guidance they need to ensure that all schools are safe places for staff from ethnically diverse backgrounds.

If we can begin here, we will be on the right track to having a more diverse teaching workforce with educators who feel valued and respected, and who want to stay in the profession.

Evelyn Forde MBE is the former president of the Association of School and College Leaders. She has recently released Herstory: A Leadership Manifesto

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