The annual report on diversity in Scottish teaching shows that a key target is not on track to be met.
There has been a small increase in the number of minority-ethnic teachers in Scotland’s schools, from 945 in 2021 to 980 in 2022.
However, that amounts to only 1.8 per cent of the teaching workforce. The target of at least 4 per cent of teachers identifying as minority ethnic by 2030 is shown to be “highly ambitious”.
Meanwhile, Scotland’s largest teaching union, the EIS, has today highlighted concerns that a lower proportion of minority-ethnic probationers find jobs than the general population of probationers.
Diversity in the teaching profession: annual data report bluntly shows what needs to happen for the 2030 figure to be achieved: “To meet the target, it is broadly estimated that around 10 per cent of all new teachers until 2030 will need to come from an ethnic minority group. This compares to around 3 per cent that currently come from an ethnic minority group.”
Other key findings from the report include:
- Minority-ethnic teachers are less represented in promoted posts compared to the profession as a whole, with fewer than 1 per cent of teachers in promoted posts identifying as being from a minority-ethnic background.
- There is a higher proportion of ethnic-minority teachers in the secondary sector (2.3 per cent) than in the primary sector (1.2 per cent) of the workforce.
- A higher proportion of new teachers from minority-ethnic backgrounds, compared to the overall teacher population: in 2022, 3.6 per cent of secondary probationers and 2.2 per cent of primary probationers.
- However, a lower proportion of ethnic-minority probationers find employment compared to the whole probationer population: from the 2021-22 Teacher Induction Scheme, 23 per cent of secondary probationers from an ethnic-minority background found permanent employment in their first year of teaching, while 50 per cent of the secondary probationer cohort as a whole found permanent employment.
- In 2021-22, 165 (4.5 per cent) of UK-based entrants to Scottish initial teacher education (ITE) came from ethnic-minority backgrounds, “noticeably higher” than in 2016-17, when it was 2.7 per cent.
EIS general secretary Andrea Bradley said: “In the context of a cost-of-living crisis, with budget cuts adding to the growing pressures on education staff, more must be done to ensure change is positively experienced by [black, Asian and ethnic-minority] staff already in the profession - many who share, within the EIS’s own BAME network, that they continue to experience barriers at work, including in relation to career progression. There are still less than 1 per cent of BAME workers in promoted posts.”
The EIS underlines that it is “concerned” about the lower proportion of minority-ethnic probationers securing work.
Between 2009 and 2019, the proportion of teachers in Scotland’s schools recorded as minority ethnic increased only marginally, from 1.5 to 1.6 per cent, before reaching the latest figure of 1.8 per cent in 2022.
In 2022 the number of teachers in Scotland choosing “unknown” as their ethnicity in the Teacher Census reduced to 3 per cent from 4 per cent in 2021. The EIS is ”pleased” about this, saying: “Capturing accurate data is essential to monitor progress and inform strategies in working towards a more diverse profession.”
Nuzhat Uthmani, chair of the EIS Anti-Racist Sub-Committee, said: “To improve the diversity of the sector, teaching must be seen as a safe, welcoming and attractive career option.
“All teachers and pupils, no matter their race, ethnicity or background, should be able to bring their whole selves to school and be respected, valued and included. Racism has no place in educational establishments, whether affecting a pupil or a member of staff.”
Ms Uthmani, who is also chair of the Diversity in the Education Workforce Subgroup in the Scottish government’s Anti-Racism in Education Programme, added: “Diverse workplaces and schools should not be a postcode lottery. No matter where teachers are employed, they should be able to rely on an equally delivered commitment to diversity across local authorities.
“A diverse workforce reflects a multicultural and multi-racial Scottish society at all levels, promoting greater understanding and cohesion, towards a fairer and more inclusive society.”
Research by the EIS in 2022 found that only seven out of the 26 councils who responded (Scotland has 32 in all) had plans to specifically address the underrepresentation of black, Asian and minority-ethnic staff.
