Ambleglow looks after the recruitment advertising needs of around 600 schools. In a typical week, we’ll place around 150 vacancies in all kinds of media. From the mainstream education job boards to the selected local press, social media, and of course specialist media. So we know more than most that the education sector has its fair share of hiring challenges. Be it recruiting for hard to fill subjects (Physics anyone?) or Government teacher training quotas consistently being missed, meaning an even smaller pool of talent each year.
With diversity and inclusion being a vital and important part of any recruitment strategy and the positive influence of the Black Lives Matter movement to adopt change, the education sector is looking ever more closely at ways to ensure balance, and encourage a greater diversity of applications for their roles.
As a result, we have seen a significant increase in the number of new enquiries from schools wanting our help with attracting greater numbers of BAME candidates. So with this in mind, we thought it about time to jot down some thoughts. Statistics would show that schools enjoy a reasonable reputation as equal opportunity employers, BAME teachers are well represented in the profession. For example, 16% of teachers in the UK are from a BAME background (the current BAME population is approximately 13%, according to the Office for National Statistics.).
How to attract BAME candidates in a diverse hiring process?
There’s still more that could be done to attract BAME candidates and ensure that a school’s staffing body is representative of the community it serves. Especially given that 27% of pupils are from a BAME background. Young people need a diverse range of role-models. They need to feel they’re represented by the adults in charge of their education and preparation for the wider world.
It’s estimated that an extra 68,000 teachers are needed to redress this imbalance.
Further problems lie in the fact that BAME teachers remain under-represented in leadership positions. Only 3% of headteachers come from BAME backgrounds, reported the government’s Statement of intent on the diversity of the teaching workforce, published 11 October 2018.
So what can be done to ensure greater racial diversity in schools and colleges?
#1 Use blind CVs
Many claim to be colour blind when it comes to hiring but blind CVs would ensure that this was genuinely the case. BAME applicants send 60% more applications than their white counterparts before receiving a response, the Nuffield College’s Centre for Social Investigation (CSI) reported last year.
Many businesses and recruiters approach the screening process by removing candidates’ names, ages, and addresses to ensure the focus is on the candidates’ credentials.
#2 Who’s doing the hiring?
More diverse hiring process begins with greater diversity among those doing the hiring. Those applying for a headship must give a presentation to the school governors. Under-representation on school governing bodies and board of trustees is an issue, with just 4% from a BAME background. More needs to be done to promote the importance of BAME parents becoming governors. When vacancies arise, communities should be encouraged to spread the word.
Greater diversity on interview panels would do much to counter the impression, that it’s not a level playing field. Facing an all-white interview panel might not be a big deal the first time around. When it’s your tenth interview, and you’ve yet to be successful, you may begin to wonder whether it’s a factor.
#3 Mentoring, ongoing support and appraisal
Candidates will be interested in what you’re doing for BAME teachers in your school. Approachable, inspiring, can-do mentors are especially important in the early years when teachers are likely to leave the profession. A Runnymede report found that many BAME teachers feel isolated and unable to seek help from colleagues.
A spokesperson for the DfE said, “We provide a range of support to teachers from black and ethnic minority backgrounds such as the Leadership, Equality and Diversity Fund.”
Leeds Beckett University research revealed that appraisals which enable teachers to “argue their case” for a promotion particularly helped ethnic-minority women with their careers.
Appraisal should be a two-way process. It is the chance to ask questions, including those about diversity in schools and integration, and listen carefully to the answers. What issues have arisen over the years? What has their career looked like in your care? If they’ve been with you for some time, is it for the right or the wrong reasons?
#4 Policies and codes of conduct
A 2015 report by the NASUWT found that 54% of BAME teachers had reported experiencing discrimination and harassment as a result of their ethnicity. Applicants will want to know how schools deal with racism faced by pupils and teachers alike.
Teacher and author, Jeffrey Boakye, makes the point that school leaders should treat racism like safeguarding or health and safety. “Who is trained to tackle it? What precautions have been put in place?”
Prejudice comes in many forms. There is much anecdotal evidence of low-level undermining by colleagues of the contributions of BAME teachers. Some say that white colleagues are questioned less about their experience or subject knowledge. Complaints are often dismissed as “oversensitivity”. Headteachers have a duty to provide environments where dialogue is actively encouraged. BAME staff should be able to raise issues of discrimination without being made to feel they’re upsetting the apple cart.
BAME applicants will also be interested in how systems work to protect BAME pupils. In addition, is there an achievement gap between white and BAME students? What policies are in place to counter this?
As an aside, where teacher training once included in-depth exploration of racial issues and how best to teach inclusivity and acceptance, this has been squeezed out in recent years. Let’s hope that support for the Black Lives Matter movement will reverse this.
#5 Diversity in school classrooms, corridors, and calendars
The national curriculum aims to “provide pupils with an introduction to the essential knowledge they need to be educated citizens… the best that has been thought and said”. Now is the time to argue the case that this should include an introduction to the greatest minds of other cultures.
Though tied to the national curriculum, schools can champion diversity by carving out space for multiculturalism. Consider bookshelves, wall displays in rooms, and on the calendar. Inclusivity means providing clubs and prayer rooms for different faiths. Supporting Muslim students during the month of Ramadan. Review key events on the calendar. Which days get special treatment? Is it time to make more of National Windrush Day (22nd June) and Black History Month in October?
“A social enterprise founded in 2019 by young people to address the lack of Black British history in the UK Curriculum”. It’s chock full of ideas and resources.
Learning should reflect the learners, celebrating their histories and backstories. Some BAME students feel, however, they’re treated like empty vessels to be filled with white history and culture.
Final thoughts: diversity in UK schools
We don’t wish to suggest for a minute there are easy solutions or quick fixes to such long-standing issues in hiring for diversity. Change doesn’t happen overnight. Recent events and the groundswell of support for the Black Lives Matter movement does suggest that this is the time to act, however.
We also know what diversity means to the schools we work with. They want to reflect the communities they serve while preparing pupils for the complexities of the world beyond the school gates. Hiring for diversity should flow through an organisation at every level. It adds to the enrichment of both staff and the pupils. It’s also the right thing to do.
If you need help with ensuring your advertising and media choices are encouraging a diverse audience, then Ambleglow can certainly help.
Don’t forget to download our FREE Guide to Diversity and Inclusion here.