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Calls for more teachers from diverse backgrounds

Getty Images A teacher stands beside a classroom desk, helping pupilsGetty Images
Only 5% of teachers in the South East are from black, Asian or other ethnic minorities backgrounds

There are calls for more teachers from diverse backgrounds in schools across the south-east of England for the benefit of all pupils.

Department for Education figures show 19% of pupils in Sussex, Kent and Surrey are black, Asian or from other ethnic minorities.

But among teaching staff, only 5% are people belonging to ethnic minorities.

John Lynch, a former Brighton headteacher, said: “In the South East as a black or brown child you can go all the way through school from Reception to a PhD and never be taught by anyone who looks like you – and that’s significant."

John Lynch is a retired headteacher. He is black with a bald head and wears black-rimmed glasses. He wears a grey polo shirt. He is smiling at the camera.
Former headteacher John Lynch now uses his experience to mentor teachers from black, Asian and other ethnic minorities

Mr Lynch was a headteacher for 25 years in Brighton and Croydon.

Having broken barriers himself, he now campaigns to increase diversity among teachers.

He said: “There was a was a civil rights activist who said ‘you can’t be what you can’t see’."

He wants to empower schools to actively seek applications from teachers from diverse backgrounds and to monitor their progress and the status they achieve.

Isheeta Mustafi is a mother of Indian origin. She has short dark hair, wears a green t-shirt and is smiling at the camera.
Isheeta Mustafi is 'sad' about the lack of teachers from diverse backgrounds at local schools

Isheeta Mustafi was born in India but now lives in Eastbourne. Her six-year-old son has just gone into his third year at a local primary school.

None of the teachers there, or at most of the other schools his parents visited, are black, Asian or from another ethnic minority.

Isheeta said: “It makes me really sad. I think it’s a real shame.

“Teachers are people in a position of authority, they’re role models and for children to encounter that in their early experiences, in their impressionable years, I think forms a really strong foundation for their world view as they grow.

"My son and the other children won’t have that.”

'Supporting a diverse workforce'

Local authorities do not have any control over who schools employ. It’s the responsibility of school leadership teams and academy trusts.

Brighton & Hove City Council said it already included free training and guidance for schools in its Anti-Racist Education Strategy.

Councillor Emma Daniel, cabinet member for children, youth and families, said: “What we can do is support schools. We’ve been offering them training and now 98% of primary school staff and half of all secondary staff have now had training in anti-racist practice.

“We also offer help with recruitment processes to make sure that there’s no bias."

A Kent County Council spokesperson said: “KCC actively supports a diverse workforce, including through robust recruitment policies and modelling good practice.

"The county does not have high numbers of families from ethnic minority backgrounds.”

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