Teaching profession - diversity: annual data report - March 2021

2. Summary

2.1 Teacher Census

Minority ethnic teachers are significantly underrepresented in Scotland's schools. At the time of the publication of the Teaching in a Diverse Scotland report, the number of teachers from ethnic minority backgrounds across the whole profession was 672 or 1.4% of the workforce, where this information had been disclosed^[7]. In 2018 the average percentage of teachers from ethnic minority backgrounds in the primary sector was 1.1% and in the secondary sector was 1.8%, whereas the number of teachers from ethnic minority backgrounds in the special sector was 35 or 1.9% of the workforce. Less than 1% of teachers who were employed in promoted posts were from an ethnic minority background.

By 2020, the number of teachers from ethnic minority backgrounds across the whole profession had increased to 907 or 1.7% of the workforce⁶. The proportion of teachers in the primary sector from ethnic minority backgrounds was 1.3% whereas the proportion for the secondary sector was 2.1%. The number of teachers from ethnic minority backgrounds working in the special sector was 34 in 2020, or 1.8% of the workforce. The percentage of teachers from ethnic minority backgrounds who were employed in promoted posts in 2020 remains under 1%.

2.2 Initial Teacher Education

This progress report also includes data relating to entrants to, and qualifiers from, Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programmes in Scotland. In 2017/18 the number of UK domiciled entrants from ethnic minority backgrounds, where this information was disclosed, was 110 or 3%. 85 teachers, or 3%, from ethnic minority backgrounds qualified from ITE programmes in Scotland in that same year.

In 2019/20 155 entrants onto ITE programmes in Scotland were from an ethnic minority background, which is 4% of the total entrants. In the same year 110 qualifiers from ITE programmes were from an ethnic minority background, which is 3% of the total qualifiers that year.

From 2016/17 to 2019/20, a higher proportion of entrants to ITE programmes in Scotland from an ethnic minority background were in the secondary sector when compared to primary. In 2019/20 5% of entrants to secondary ITE programmes were from an ethnic minority background whereas the equivalent figure for primary was 4%. This proportion by sector is also reflected in teachers from ethnic minority backgrounds qualifying from ITE programmes in each year from 2016/17 to 2019/20.

It is worth noting that for all of the data included in this report that there is a significant number of teachers who have not disclosed their ethnicity to their ITE provider or employer. The quality of the data included in this report would be greatly enhanced with an increased rate of ethnicity disclosure.