The proportion of black and ethnic minority (BAME) teachers in Scottish schools has barely changed in a decade, according to figures released under freedom of information.
The data, published on the Scottish government website, also highlights the very low numbers of BAME teachers in leadership positions.
Tes Scotland analysis (tables below) of the published figures show that, in 2019, there were 47,467 (92.3 per cent) teachers recorded as white and 826 recorded as ethnic minority (1.6 per cent). In 2009, 49,719 (95.9 per cent) were recorded as white and 781 (1.5 per cent) as ethnic minority.
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If teachers whose ethnicity in not known or not disclosed are discounted, in 2019 there were 98.3 recorded as white (98.5 per cent in 2009) and 1.7 per cent as ethnic minority (1.5 per cent in 2009).
Figures for leadership roles have also published. While the method of recording means exact totals are not available, they show that, in 2019, between 1,611 and 1,617 primary headteachers were white, while between five and 20 were recorded as having different ethnicity. Some 26 were recorded as “not known” or “not disclosed”.
In secondary schools in 2009, between 323 and 326 headteachers were recorded as white and between one and four were recorded as having different ethnicity.
In special schools, 98 headteachers were recorded as white and zero were recorded as having different ethnicity. Between two and eight were recorded as “not known” or “not disclosed”.
In June, first minister Nicola Sturgeon said BAME people were “woefully underrepresented” in Scottish schools and that this was “unacceptable”. Between two and eight were recorded as “not known” or “not disclosed”.
In the 2011 Census, 84 per cent of Scotland’s population reported their ethnicity as “White: Scottish” and a further 8 per cent as “White: Other British”. Together, minority ethnic groups and white non-British groups (which included “White: Irish”, “White: Polish”, “White: Gypsy/ Traveller” and “White: Other white”) made up 8 per cent of the total population.
White teachers 2019
Ethnic minority teachers 2019
Not known 2019
Not disclosed 2019
Primary
23,314
296
1,070
347
Secondary
21,540
444
930
608
Special
1,801
33
66
28
Centrally employed
812
53
81
31
TOTAL
47,467 (92.3%)
826 (1.6%)
2,147 (4.2%)
1,014 (2.0%)
White teachers 2009
Ethnic minority teachers 2009
Not known 2009
Not disclosed 2009
Primary
22,646
235
170
192
Secondary
24,119
457
334
462
Special
1,903
49
8
25
Centrally employed
1,051
40
81
92
TOTAL
49,719 (95.9%)
781 (1.5%)
593 (1.1%)
771 (1.5%)
*If discounting the “not known” and “not disclosed” categories:
2019: 98.3% white, 1.7% ethnic minority
2009: 98.5% white; 1.5% ethnic minority
