Jump to content

How diverse is current school leadership?

According to Ofsted’s autumn 2009 report, school leadership in England is the best it has ever been and getting better. Despite this, and whilst accurate data remains a challenge, research and experience tells us that many individuals and groups face significant barriers to their career progression and that the current leadership workforce is not representative of the populations and communities it serves.

Ethnicity

The teaching workforce is becoming more diverse and there has been a gradual upward trend in the proportion of teachers who are from a black and minority ethnic (BME) background - from 3.8 per cent in 2004 to 5.6 per cent in 2010 (Department for Children, Schools and Families form 618g and School Workforce Census 2010 data).

However, only 2.4 per cent of headteachers are from a BME background (School Workforce Census 2010 data), which is a significant under-representation. Research shows that many teachers from backgrounds other than White British have faced specific barriers to school leadership, and action needs to be taken to address these challenges.

Gender

There are few men working in the early years sector, however, men are still more likely to be promoted to headship than women. Further to this, their journey to leadership is often faster than their female counterparts.

The proportion of female headteachers has increased in recent years but there is still under-representation. Within the primary phase, 71 per cent of headteachers are female, even though 86 per cent of teachers are female. Within the secondary phase, only 37 per cent of headteachers are female even though 61 per cent of the teaching workforce are female (School Workforce Census 2010 data).  

Disability

There has been a steady overall increase in the proportion of declared disabled students undertaking Initial Teacher Training (ITT) courses - from 3 per cent in 1998-99 to 6 per cent in 2009-10 (Training and Development Agency). However, there is little data pertaining to disabled school leaders.

Research by the National Union of Teachers (NUT) suggests that a third of disabled teachers would not disclose their disability when applying for a job. Disabled teachers experience barriers to applying for new jobs, remaining in existing jobs, and to seeking promotion (NUT, 2008 and General Teaching Council (GTC), 2011).

Age

Age may become an increasingly important issue. As a significant number of experienced headteachers retire and efforts are made to support and develop the next generation, it is important that this is not interpreted as ‘younger is better’ and that work continues to retain experienced leaders. Alongside this, there is also a need to encourage teachers to consider their progression to leadership earlier in their careers if the supply of leaders is to be increased to meet need.

Sexual orientation

Evidence from experts and professional associations suggests that lesbian, gay and bisexual issues are not being given sufficient attention and consideration, and many educational institutions and staff do not challenge homophobia either because they feel unprepared to do so, or think they will be unsupported if they do take action.

Research taken from Stonewall's Teachers' Report (2009) indicates that secondary school teachers say homophobic bullying is the second most frequent form of bullying, and 9 in 10 primary and secondary school teachers believe staff have a duty to prevent and respond to bullying. However, only two in five secondary school teachers and less than half of primary school teachers say their headteacher demonstrates a clear leadership role when it comes to tackling homophobic bullying.

Gender identity

Gender identity and gender reassignment issues are becoming increasingly important to recognise and address within our schools. A school environment supportive of diversity should educate pupils and staff about transgender issues and offer advice and support to individuals who identify as being transgender.

Religion and belief

There is a lack of evidence and data pertaining to religion and belief within leadership. However, it remains a key part of the diversity work and we continue to look for ways in which we can increase our knowledge in this area. No individual should face discrimination or barriers to progression on the grounds of their beliefs or religion.

Further information