Sixty-one years after the Race Relations Act, England’s education system is still struggling with racial inequality.
This is not a peripheral issue. It affects pupils’ confidence, their opportunities and their long-term outcomes.
As organisations working together on the national EDIB Roundtable, we see clearly that schools cannot tackle these disparities alone, and they shouldn’t be expected to.
Lack of diversity in teaching
The data tells its own story. England’s teaching workforce remains overwhelmingly white, even as the pupil population becomes more diverse year on year.
The National Foundation for Educational Research’s analysis shows that around 60 per cent of schools had an all-white teaching staff in 2021-22, and 86 per cent had an all-white senior leadership team. In two-thirds of primary schools and nearly one-fifth of secondaries, pupils will never be taught by a teacher of colour throughout their schooling.
Representation matters. When children never see adults who look like them in positions of authority, it affects their sense of belonging and the expectations they form about their own futures.
It also deprives schools of the diversity of perspectives, experiences and cultural insight that strengthens teaching and leadership.
The frontline impact
The NFER’s evidence is clear: these disparities are structural. Applicants of colour are less likely to be accepted into initial teacher training (ITT). Those who qualify are less likely to be retained.
Those who stay are less likely to progress into leadership. This is not about isolated incidents of bias or individual behaviour, it is about a system that has not yet removed the barriers baked into its own processes.
Schools and trusts are working hard to respond. Across the country, leaders are reviewing recruitment practices, investing in anti-racist CPD, diversifying curricula and building partnerships with their communities.
But progress remains uneven and fragile because it relies on local effort rather than national commitment.
That is why we have written privately to the secretary of state for education, urging government to take the lead. Racial equality in the education workforce must be treated as a core driver of school improvement, not an optional or politically sensitive side issue.
Calls to action
As we made clear in our joint letter, we believe there are three achievable ways government can accelerate progress:
- Reflect clearly in the upcoming schools White Paper that the diversity of the teaching workforce matters for pupil outcomes, belonging and success.
- Encourage employers, schools, trusts and training providers to review recruitment and progression practices, so we retain talent rather than lose it, strengthening teacher supply and supporting retention.
- Engage directly with the EDIB Roundtable, working with us to drive change at national scale rather than relying on uneven local action.
These are not additional burdens; they directly support government priorities around recruitment, retention and school improvement.
We are calling for:
- A coordinated national strategy to increase racial diversity across teaching and leadership, supported by evidence and accountability.
- Reform of recruitment and selection processes, addressing bias and barriers at every stage from ITT through to senior leadership.
- Support for retention and progression, ensuring that staff of colour can thrive, not simply enter the profession.
- A clear government message that racial equity is integral to a successful, modern education system.
This is not about placing more demands on schools. It is about creating the conditions in which schools can succeed. It is about aligning policy with what the evidence already shows: inclusive systems perform better.
The anniversary of the Race Relations Act reminds us that progress only happens when leaders choose it. The sector stands ready to work with government on meaningful, sustained change.
Now is the moment to act so that every child, in every school, can grow up in an education system that reflects and respects the diversity of the country they belong to.
Evelyn Forde is chair of EDI Steering Group. Its other members are: Jan Shadick, CEO of Haberdashers’ Academies Trust South; Hilary Spencer, CEO of Ambition Institute; Gulcin Sesli, co‑CEO of Spring Partnership Trust; Ben White, a principal at LiFE Multi-Academy Trust; and Chris Bateman, of Teach First
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