Ankhara Lloyd -Hunte, Diversity and Equality Associate Teachers from BME Backgrounds and Career Progression

Results from a survey carried out by Powney et al (2003) indicated that 52% of classroom teachers from Black and other Minority Ethnic Backgrounds (BME) remain as classroom teachers compared with 29% of white women and 35% of white men. cited in Tony Bush et al (2005) Career Prospects Ankhara Lloyd-Hunte

Senior Leadership and Ethnicity: 2011 GroupBME % Nationally Nos. White Nos. BME Teachers5.7%465,18832,730 Headteachers2.3%23, Deputy and Assistant Heads 3.4%44, SWC 2011 Ankhara Lloyd-Hunte

Headship and Ethnicity: 2012 RegionBME % Nationally 2.5% East Midlands 2 %2 % West Midlands 3% East of England 1% SWC 2012 Ankhara Lloyd-Hunte

On your table identify what you see as the top 3 reasons why there are so few heads from BME backgrounds 3 minutes Barriers Ankhara Lloyd-Hunte

Lack of confidence Geographical Restrictions Negative Beliefs Lack of clarity Lack of preparation Internal Barriers Ankhara Lloyd-Hunte

1.How much thought have you put into what would be the ideal next post for you? 2.Why do you want to be promoted? 3.How focused and committed are you? 4.What is your success strategy? Internal Barriers: Lack of Clarity Ankhara Lloyd-Hunte

1.What level of preparation do you anticipate as being necessary for your next step promotion? 2.You are the CEO of Me, Myself and I incorporated - What is your marketing strategy? Internal Barriers: Lack of Preparation Ankhara Lloyd-Hunte

Marketing Negative Marketing Positive Marketing Ankhara Lloyd-Hunte

Disillusionment Concerns regarding work-life balance Lack of information and knowledge Lack of career planning Racism unrecognised Internal Barriers Ankhara Lloyd-Hunte

Disillusionment ‘ I left that school because I felt undervalued [...] and not even being offered promotion, not even being suggested. You’ve been there such a long time; you’ve got all these skills, why don’t you go for this job? I don’t remember ever having a conversation in all the schools I’ve been in. I never remember ever having a conversation anywhere, regardless of my qualifications, in any of those schools.’ Black Teachers in London (2006) Ankhara Lloyd-Hunte

1.Indentify the three toughest internal barriers for you 2.Share one of your barriers with a talk partner 3.Identify two solutions Internal Barriers Ankhara Lloyd-Hunte

BME teachers in the toughest schools given the toughest classes more likely to fail or burn out Not fully supported school leaders External Barriers Ankhara Lloyd-Hunte

Lack of support Discrimination Exclusion Marginalisation Overseas qualifications not recognised Cultural dynamics External Barriers Ankhara Lloyd-Hunte

years of being overlooked repeated “failure” at interview Lack of fair and accurate interview feedback Doubts about experience and or qualification “ You apply for something and you don’t get it so you don’t apply for a while. You don’t want to go back into it.” Black Teachers in London (2006), Lack of Confidence to Apply for Senior Posts Ankhara Lloyd-Hunte

Concern for Work/Life Balance BME families tend to be larger than their white counterparts Children in BME families tend to be younger than for their white counterparts Gender roles traditional for many BME families 50% African-Caribbean households single female Ankhara Lloyd-Hunte

Lack of Head teacher support for career progression can take many forms including –Not being given acting up opportunities –Restricted access to CPD –Outright blocking to attending CPD –Refusal to sign NPQH form –Refusal to recommend for threshold –Telling an aspiring head they’re not ready without making a considered assessment - External Barriers: Lack of SMT support Ankhara Lloyd-Hunte

Line manger role pivotal in providing first leadership experiences via Being delegated stretch tasks Recommendations to SMT for acting up opportunities Recommendations to SMT for substantive posts Support and encouragement around job applications External Barriers: Lack of Line Manager Support Ankhara Lloyd-Hunte

LA support is also critical to the development of BME leaders. “ Most support came from my General Inspector who was very clear about issues of race – felt able to discuss issue with him that I would otherwise have kept to myself. This was very empowering and also allowed me to depersonalise issues and deal with them in a seemingly professional way- despite hurting inside.”( female Asian primary) Bush et al (2005) External Enablers Lack of LA Support Ankhara Lloyd-Hunte

External Barriers: Discrimination at Interview Most governing bodies (GBs) not racially and culturally diverse Some GBs fearful of parental response Tendency to play it safe Giving vague feedback often reported Ankhara Lloyd-Hunte

External Barriers: Exclusion from informal networks “As a Muslim who goes to pubs and clubs I can get comments from Muslim colleagues and friends. Not in terms of my career progression, but certainly makes you feel … a lot of work needs to be done in communities to respect individuals as individuals.” Tony Bush et al (2005) Ankhara Lloyd-Hunte

External Barriers: Career Marginalisation EMA/ equal opportunities/community cohesion posts are places where BME educators most likely to be and most easily promoted EMA post often most vulnerable EMA posts tend to be lower status posts BME teachers over-represented in pastoral roles BME teachers under-represented in curriculum roles Ankhara Lloyd-Hunte

No qualification equivalence agreements long route to QTS 20 years experience and more not recognised External Barriers: Overseas Qualifications not recognised Ankhara Lloyd-Hunte

Bespoke BME Personal development Bespoke BME Leadership Development Programmes Coaching and Mentoring Career Guidance Access to local and national BME educational networks Opportunities for shadowing successful BME leaders and Early Access to Leadership Stretch Opportunities Solutions Ankhara Lloyd-Hunte

–Ofsted Shadowing –Aspire to Senior Leadership –BME Headteacher Internship Programme –BME Deputy Headteacher Internship Programme –MA in Education and Leadership –NPQSL etc Solutions Ankhara Lloyd-Hunte

Range of posts Range of contexts Range of pathways Solutions: Early Career Guidance Ankhara Lloyd-Hunte

Training followed by coaching yields best results ( Leadership training essential) Return on investment (ROI) established in business world Coaching and mentoring skills central to effective leadership and management Solutions:Coaching and Mentoring Ankhara Lloyd-Hunte