Damian Hinds has called on more black and minority ethnic people to sign up as school governors.
The education secretary said schools needed “diverse governing bodies”, with only 5 per cent of governors currently coming from an ethnic minority background.
Mr Hinds also said that he hoped we will “soon” see a black or Asian Briton become education secretary.
Mr Hinds was speaking this morning at the ‘Break the Cycle’ conference in London, hosted by Oasis Community Learning, which is aimed at improving the representation of BAME teachers in school leadership positions.
During his speech, Mr Hinds urged more BAME people to sign up as governors.
“Last year I urged more people to become school governors,” he said. “If I had to make sure that message would be heard by one group above any other it would be those from ethnic minorities.
“Governors and trustees are absolutely crucial for the life of direction of a school, they decide how resourcing is spent, they support and they challenge leaders, they guide what children learn and the values they will live by. It’s vital that what they say and do reflects their communities.
“Schools need diverse governing bodies and that’s why we support the National Governance Association’s campaign called ‘Everyone on Board’, a push to get far greater board diversity.”
According to the NGA only 5 per cent of governors and trustees come from an ethnic minority.
Mr Hinds was asked by Oasis founder Steve Chalke: “How long do you think it would be, your guess, before we get a black or Asian secretary of state for education?”
He joked, to laughs, “does this involve me having to step down? I think it does.”
He then added: “I would hope that we would see that soon.
“We need more people from a diverse range of backgrounds also to be attracted into politics. That has improved a lot over recent years, but we still have a long way to go.
“It’s not enough to just not be discriminatory. You have to be actively non-discriminatory. You have to be thinking about how do we do things, how we present ourselves, the questions we ask, the things we expect, and making sure that in everything we do we are being welcoming, we are being open, and we are reaching as far and wide in society as we possibly can.”
