Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department has taken to increase representation of ethnic minorities in the schools workforce.

The most recent School Workforce census shows that 7% of the teaching workforce are from black or minority ethnic (BME) backgrounds. By comparison, 12% of initial teacher trainees who have started programmes in 2014/15 have declared themselves to be from a BME background.

This positive picture reflects the range of opportunities and benefits now available to talented people to enter teaching by a diverse range of routes, including bursaries and scholarships; personalised support; and a salary-based training option.

In addition, the Department for Education sponsors the ‘Teach First’ programme, aimed at raising standards in the most challenging schools and areas of the country. 15% of Teach First’s 2014/15 trainees are from a BME background. The Department recently announced that it would be expanding Teach First from next year to 2,000 places across the country.