All-white teaching staff in two thirds of schools ‘impeding children’s development’

CHILDREN are being taught only by white teachers in almost two thirds of schools, a study has found amid warnings that it will harm “social cohesion”.

A report on racial equality in education found six in 10 English state schools, and 69 per cent of primary schools, have only white teachers. The study from the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) found that all ethnic groups apart from white teachers are under-represented at all stages of a teaching career, compared with their representation in the general population last year.

The disparity is most pronounced at senior leadership and headship levels, with 96 per cent of heads coming from white backgrounds that make up 83 per cent of the general population.

Nathan D’laryea, Teach First ambassador and assistant head teacher at Loreto High School in Chorlton, Greater Manchester, said that “often the teacher workforce hasn’t reflected our pupil and wider school community”.

He added: “I know that the staff don’t need to necessarily mirror the school community completely, but representation is vital for pupils’ personal and educational development – especially for those in disadvantaged communities.”

The NFER report also found “significant disparities” in career progression for non-white teachers, with the most serious seen in initial teacher training.

Jack Worth, co-author of the report and NFER’S school workforce lead, said: “Our report shows that we currently do not have a teacher workforce that reflects the ethnic makeup of wider society and that opportunities to enter and progress within the teaching profession are not equal.”

The research cited a Department for Education (DFE) policy paper about diversity in the teaching workforce, which said racial diversity is valuable in “fostering social cohesion and most importantly, in supporting pupils to grow and develop in an environment of visible, diverse role models”.

A DFE spokesman said: “The teaching workforce is becoming more diverse, with the latest data showing 9.3 per cent of teachers reported being from an ethnic minority background ... but we know there is further to go.”