yah Sherae We need more Black teachers – and now!

IHAVE ONLY been taught by two Black teachers in my entire life. Once when I was in primary school, and the second was a temporary lecturer at university.

International Women’s Day gives us the opportunity to reflect on the amazing role models that have impacted our lives. When I think about the women that have inspired me, my mum immediately comes to mind, as well as my grandma, and the other incredible Caribbean women in my family.

I definitely feel lucky to have such strong Black role models.

However, I never really had the same experience in school, due to the lack of Black teachers.

Throughout my whole secondary and college education, I was never taught by someone who looked like me. Those are literally the years when you’re learning more about yourself, your identity, your history and, ultimately, becoming an adult.

Yes, I know you might be thinking “L’myah – aren’t you from Nottingham, it’s not that diverse there any way, is it?”

But actually Nottingham is only (approximately) 65 per cent white British. And, regardless of the fact that I’m originally from a smaller city, research shows that my experience is mirrored across most of the UK.

Almost half of schools in England and Wales have no ethnic minority teachers at all, even in diverse areas with a lot of Black and Asian pupils.

This doesn’t mean that Black adults aren’t applying to become teachers, or that the statistic is only representative of the wider UK population.

A study from the National Foundation for Educational Research shows that people from Asian, Black and other ethnic backgrounds are actually overrepresented among applicants to the initial teacher training course, which indicates a really high interest in teaching. When we delve further into the figures, it becomes very apparent that, sadly, ethnic minority candidates are simply rejected at disproportionately high rates when applying to the course.

Accepted

Two-thirds of people from white ethnic backgrounds have their applications accepted. However, only 57 per cent of candidates from mixed ethnic backgrounds are admitted; only 53 per cent of applicants from Asian backgrounds; and only 45 per cent of applicants from Black and other ethnic groups are permitted onto the programme.

I’m aware that some might be thinking “does it even matter what your teacher looks like? Shouldn’t it just be about the quality of teaching?”. But it genuinely does matter.

I’m not claiming that it’s the only characteristic that’s important, because we can all agree that having good quality educators should always remain at the core.

But what I am saying is that having greater representation of Black and Asian teachers is crucial for a better education system, especially when we think about how racism in schools impacts teacher-pupil relationships, and can have a severely detrimental impact upon a Black child’s life. And whilst we’re on this topic, it’s pretty impossible to discuss the effect of racism in schools without highlighting the problematic and disproportionate nature of dreaded school exclusions.

Here’s a figure – exclusion rates for Black Caribbean students in English schools are up to six times higher than those of their white peers in some local authorities.

I’m of Caribbean heritage myself (St Kitts and Jamaica to be exact), and Black Caribbean girls in England are twice as likely to be excluded from schools as white girls. But why?

Research by the Agenda Alliance shows that Black girls are often excluded from education after having experienced unaddressed sexual harassment and abuse, poor mental health, and racism from peers and teachers.

Studies also suggest that negative stereotypes, discrimination, and the adultification of Black girls, in particular, play huge roles in their exclusion from school.So imagine being 13 years old, facing all of these barriers, coupled with teachers repeatedly telling you to change your appearance, and to change your hair.

Overhaul

Let’s not forget that more than half of Black children have been sent home from school for wearing their hair naturally or in a protective style. Our education system needs an overhaul; I cannot stress that enough.

When I founded Enact Equality, which is a campaigns organisation that advocates for greater racial justice, I knew I wanted to create a powerful movement made up of organisations, political leaders and public figures to tackle core issues like these.

That’s why I was so pleased to build political support to launch the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Race Equality in Education, too.

It’s a cross-party cohort of MPs and Peers, and I’m really proud that it’s now the largest group across both Houses of Parliament.

Due to the nature of our work, I’m well aware that there’s a lot more that needs to be done to make our institutions better, not only for Black children, but for children across society.

In my opinion, recruiting Black teachers, supporting more diverse role models, and encouraging children to feel proud of their identity is an important step in the right direction.