Education Unions Respond to NFER Report on Ethnic Disparities in Teaching

Education Unions, the NEU, NAHT and NASUWT, have today responded to new research published by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) on ethnic disparities in entry to teacher training, teacher retention and progression to senior leadership.

The report finds there are significant ethnic disparities in postgraduate ITT (initial teacher training) rejection rates among UK-domiciled applicants that are not explained by differences in applicant and application characteristics.

Other key findings include that teachers from Asian and Black ethnic backgrounds are significantly more likely to intend to apply for promotion than their white counterparts, even after accounting for differences in characteristics. However, black teachers were more likely to report experiencing bullying and harassment, feeling undervalued by their school, and citing a lack of support from leadership as a major reason for considering leaving the profession.

According to the report, tackling ethnic disparities in teacher recruitment and retention could help the government recruit and retain 6,500 teachers. Additionally, retaining ethnic minority teachers in the state-funded sector at the same rate as their white counterparts would mean the system retaining an additional 1,000 teachers per year.

On improving recruitment and retention in the profession, the report says:

The Government has pledged to ‘recruit 6,500 new expert teachers in key subjects’ over the course of the current parliament (Labour Party, 2024). Achieving this target in the context of ongoing teacher supply challenges in England will require action that increases recruitment of new teachers and/or improves the retention of current teachers. Equalising the disparities in progression between applicants and teachers of different ethnic groups would support the Government’s goal of increasing the number of teachers in the education system.

The report makes a number of recommendations, including the following which address the Department of Education:

• The Department for Education (DfE) should play a more proactive role in encouraging ITT providers, schools and trusts to adopt more inclusive recruitment practices. This will help it deliver its key objective of recruiting 6,500 teachers, thereby increasing education quality, as well as promoting equality and fairness within the workforce.
• The DfE should use its comprehensive data collections that collect information on ethnicity and key workforce outcomes (such as rejection rates in Apply and retention and
  progression in the School Workforce Census (SWC)) to share comparative institution-level and benchmark data with institutions to allow them to understand ethnic disparities in their settings and make improvements accordingly.
• The DfE should embed equity, diversity and inclusion within programme frameworks and within selection criteria for appointing providers, including across Initial Teacher Training (ITT), Early Career Framework (ECF), National Professional Qualifications (NPQ) and Teaching School Hubs.
•  The DfE should pilot innovative approaches to improving equity in teacher recruitment and promotion processes and rigorously evaluate their impact to build the evidence base.
• The DfE should work with ITT providers to map the application process for international applicants, identifying opportunities to align expectations and streamline processes. For example, providers suggested that international applicants could be enabled to upload degree certificates within the DfE Apply platform to reduce additional requests. Guidance for international applicants should clarify the expectations, pathways and support available, with tailored guidance for next steps when an applicant does not meet a requirement.

Paul Whiteman, General Secretary at school leaders’ union NAHT, said:

“It is an uncomfortable truth that a lack of equality and diversity remain issues in education.

[…] While last week’s (June 5) latest school workforce figures again show a small increase in the ethnic diversity of teachers and school leaders, there is still a long way to go, and this report contains some sensible recommendations aimed at improving the situation further still.”

Daniel Kebede, NEU General Secretary commented:

“If the Government is to reach its 6,500 teacher target then it must recognise the patterns of discrimination and adopt active strategies to correct course. That work must include significant and fully funded pay and workload improvements for all teachers.

“Inclusive recruitment practices and supportive leadership would improve the whole workforce and wider system, as well as ending exploitative practices towards overseas trained teachers. Ethnic minority teachers must be paid fairly, supported to progress, and respected and valued as professionals.”

Acting General Secretary of NASUWT, Matt Wrack, has welcomed the report’s recommendations, commenting:

“Our research and casework consistently demonstrates that black and minority ethnic teachers are, on average, paid less than their peers, commonly face discrimination and prejudice when applying for jobs or promotion and typically face both overt and covert racism in the workplace.

“We welcome the NFER’s recommendations to place greater onus on the DfE, ITT providers, schools and academy trusts to take concrete actions to evaluate their own processes to identify and root out institutional bias. We need levers to force acknowledgement that racial discrimination exists at all levels of the education system, followed by reflection and positive action to ensure teaching is genuinely open to all and is a career in which teachers from all backgrounds can make the most of their skills and talents.”