Increasing and retaining minority ethnic teachers: action guide for local authorities

2. Purpose and using the Action Guide

The purpose of the guide is to help local authorities in progressing Recommendation 14 as stated above on page 3. A few local authorities have addressed the recommendation and have developed policies and practices, as well as monitoring and tracking progress through action plans or similar developments. An example of one such local authority’s action plan is provided in Appendix 2 of this guide.

It is envisaged that local authorities will use this action guide in a variety of ways to complement their existing practices and processes. For example, the action guide could be used as a self-evaluation tool helping local authorities to review what action is needed in their individual context. As a result of this review process, local authorities would produce a plan that addresses any issues that are identified relating to recruitment, retention and progression aspects. Furthermore, as with any process, the need for systematic tracking, monitoring and rigorous evaluation would be essential to record the impact and difference that the interventions had made. Some local authorities have already reviewed their policies, procedures and practices and made changes to reflect their future ambitions and goals. For example, information about, and a link to the City of Edinburgh Council’s ‘Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan’ is included as Appendix 2.

Local authorities can include the developments and actions taken as part of their Equality Impact Assessment process in order to demonstrate that they have complied with their legal duties in relation to the public sector equality duty.