The Scottish government has the aim that, by 2030, at least 4 per cent of the teaching profession should come from a black, Asian or minority-ethnic background (BAME), which would bring it into line with the population as a whole.
To hit the target it was estimated that an additional 200 minority-ethnic teachers would have to be recruited into the workforce every year from August 2022 to August 2030 inclusive.
However, the latest figures published today show - while the profession is gradually becoming more diverse - progress is slow, with the number of teachers from a minority-ethnic background increasing by just 38 between 2020 and 2021.
In 2020, 1.7 per cent of the teaching population was from a minority-ethnic background, a total of 907 full-time equivalent teachers.
By 2021, 1.8 per cent of the teaching population was from a minority-ethnic background, a total of 945 full-time equivalent teachers.
In 2021, there was a higher proportion of minority-ethnic teachers in the secondary sector, 2.2 per cent of the workforce, than in the primary sector, 1.3 per cent of the workforce.
Less than 1 per cent of minority-ethnic teachers were in promoted posts in 2021.
Responding to the figures, Professor Rowena Arshad - who chaired the 2018 diversity in the teaching profession working group - said: “If things are moving in the right direction you have got to be optimistic. I do think that 4 per cent by 2030 is a mountain to climb - it’s a K2 figure, not an Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh figure - but you have to have aspiration in a target or you are not going to make the changes that are needed.”
She added: “The pace of change has been glacial but it is not going backwards and I think that is a very important message.”
Professor Arshad said that it was now important to drive up the number of teachers in promoted posts - she criticised Edinburgh City Council for “bowing down to a potential backlash” and diluting plans to ringfence principal teacher posts for those from BAME backgrounds.
She also said more work needed to take place promoting teaching as a career with community and religious groups.
Professor Arshad said: “We need to work with parents to encourage them to see teaching as a profession of choice for their sons and daughters. We should be using the BAME teachers already in the profession and those entering the profession to promote it, but I don’t think that’s happening in any sustained way at the moment.”
The annual data report said that “there is a higher proportion of new teachers coming into the profession from minority-ethnic backgrounds, compared to the overall teacher population”.
It also highlighted progress in two local authorities - Aberdeen City and East Renfrewshire - which were “showing a slight increase, particularly within the secondary sector, in the percentage of teachers who identify as coming from a minority-ethnic background”.
But the report added: “These are very small increases and, across the teaching workforce, minority-ethnic teachers continue to be significantly underrepresented in Scotland’s schools. The Scottish government recognises that considerable work is required to address this important issue.”
Key figures in the report include:
945 Full-time-equivalent teachers from minority-ethnic backgrounds across the whole profession in 2021 - up from 907 in 2020, and 725 in 2017.
1.8% - Teachers in Scotland who came from a minority-ethnic background in 2021, up from 1.7 per cent in 2020, and 1.4 per cent in 2017.
<1% - Teachers from a minority-ethnic background in promoted posts in 2021.
4% -Entrants to initial teacher education programmes at Scottish universities in 2020-21 who said they came from a minority-ethnic background - in 2019-20 that figure was also 4 per cent and in 2016-17 it was 3 per cent.
16% - Primary probationers from a minority-ethnic background who secured permanent contracts the year following their probation in 2020-21 - compared to 23 per cent of all primary probationers.
40% - Secondary probationers from a minority-ethnic background who secured permanent contracts the year following their probation in 2020-21 - compared to 45 per cent of all secondary probationers.
4% - Teacher workforce in Scotland whose ethnic background was “unknown” in 2021 - the report said reducing this figure was “fundamental to developing robust and informed policy”.
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