White teachers earn more than Black counterparts
Department for Education (DfE) pay data obtained by the NEU via a Freedom of Information request2 shows a mean average ethnicity pay gap in favour of white teachers in England. At a national level much of this differential is obscured due to the greater prevalence of Black teachers in London, where average salaries are higher. Breaking salaries down by pay region gives a truer picture, showing average pay is around seven per cent lower for Black teachers compared to white counterparts (Figure 1 – see download).
This gap has not closed in the past decade in England. In fact, the only region where significant movement has occurred is Inner London, where the pay gap has increased.
Pay gaps persist when broken down by grade
Some of the pay gap is explained by the greater prevalence of white teachers in leadership positions and the corresponding under-representation of Black teachers as leaders (Figure 7- see download). However, even within the classroom teacher grade, pay gaps persist in each pay region (Figure 2- see download). Across England (excluding the London pay regions), average pay for Black classroom teachers was 4.5 per cent lower than for white counterparts in 2023/24. In Inner London and Outer London, where Black teachers form a larger proportion of the workforce (Figure 6 – see download), the pay gaps for classroom teachers were 1.8 per cent and 3.0 per cent, respectively. As in the overall figures, the pay gap in Inner London has risen rather than closed.
Among school leaders, the pay gaps in each region are smaller, but in London they are still evident, fluctuating around 3.5 per cent. Outside London, though, there is no significant ethnicity pay gap for leadership roles (Figure 3 – see download).
Pay differentials can be partly explained by a lagging effect of greater numbers of Black teachers entering the workforce over time. Particularly across the whole teaching workforce, the greater numbers of teachers from Black backgrounds take longer to filter into leadership roles, leading to a pay lag.
Even within the classroom teacher grade and leadership roles, this may play a small part in explaining the differentials, with a greater proportion of Black classroom teachers in the early stages of their classroom or leadership careers than white counterparts.
The question is how far these gaps can be explained away by demographic changes and how far they represent a continuation of a trend identified by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) in 2022, that “people from most ethnic minority groups and at most stages of the teacher career pipeline are less likely to progress to the next stage compared to their white counterparts”.
The teaching profession has become more diverse over time
Since 2010/11, when comparable records began, the teaching profession has become more diverse (Figure 4 - see download). The full-time equivalent (FTE) number of Asian/Asian British teachers has risen by almost 10,000 since 2010, a 72 per cent increase4. There are 3,342 more Black/Black British teachers than in 2010, an increase of 39 per cent. Teachers described as ‘any other Mixed background’ have increased by 3,971 (112 per cent) and those described as ‘any other ethnic group’ have increased by 1,534 (66 per cent), albeit from smaller bases.
Over the same period, the number of white teachers has ostensibly declined by 21,771 (six per cent). However, the picture is complicated by an increasing failure of employers to properly report ethnicity data for teachers. In 2023/24, some nine per cent of teachers were recorded as ‘[ethnicity] information not yet obtained’, up from just three per cent in 2010/115. This is an increase of 28,213, so if the distribution of these teachers with missing data is in line with national averages, the number of white teachers would have held broadly steady since 2010.
Excluding those who refused to provide ethnicity data or for whom no data was available, Black teachers now make up 11 per cent of the full-time equivalent teacher workforce, up from seven per cent in 2010.
Secondary schools are significantly more diverse than primary or special schools. Excluding those for whom no data was recorded, some 14 per cent of teachers in state-funded secondaries are from Black groups, compared to nine per cent of those in state-funded nurseries and primaries and nine per cent in state-funded special schools and pupil referral units (PRUs).
The increase in racial diversity among teachers is most visible among those entering teaching for the first time (Figure 5 - see download). In 2010/11, some eight per cent of FTE newly-qualified entrants to teaching in the English state sector were Black people. Just before the pandemic in 2018/19 this had risen to 13 per cent, and in 2023/24 the figure was 18 per cent. This comprises ten per cent Asian/Asian British; four per cent Black/Black British; three per cent any other mixed background and two per cent any other ethnic group. The remaining 82 per cent of newly-qualified entrants are white. These figures again exclude all those for whom ethnicity data was unavailable.
As we might expect, diversity varies considerably by location. In London around a third of teachers are from Black backgrounds, along with 16 per cent of those in the West Midlands (Figure 6 - see download). At the other end of the scale, over 97 per cent of teachers in both the South West and North East are from white backgrounds. All these figures exclude those for whom ethnicity data was not available, as previously referenced, so should be treated with some caution.
As we might expect, diversity varies considerably by location. In London, around a third of teachers are from Black backgrounds, along with 16 per cent of those in the West Midlands (Figure 6- see download). At the other end of the scale, over 97 per cent of teachers in both the South West and North East are from white backgrounds. All these figures exclude those for whom ethnicity data was not available, as previously referenced, so should be treated with some caution.
Ethnic diversity by local authority shows an even wider range of outcomes. As might be expected, the most diverse authorities include London boroughs and urban areas with large Black populations, such as Walsall, Slough, Luton, Leicester and Birmingham. As far as figures are available, the teaching profession appears to be almost exclusively white in rural areas and even in urban areas of the North East such as Newcastle, which does have significant populations among Black groups.
Leadership roles remain disproportionately dominated by white teachers
Despite an increase in Black teachers across the workforce, this group remain significantly less likely to enter leadership roles than white teachers (Figure 7 - see download). Among classroom teachers, 12 per cent are from Black backgrounds, but among deputy and assistant heads the figure is only eight per cent, falling further to just five per cent of heads.
Looking at this another way, one in 19 white teachers are heads and another one in nine are deputy or assistant heads. Among Black/Black British teachers, only one in 48 are heads and another one in 12 are deputy or assistant heads. And among Asian/Asian British teachers, just one in 61 are heads and one in 14 are deputy or assistant heads.
As mentioned above, some of this disparity will be due to the lag in demographic changes – an increase in diversity will naturally appear in the classroom workforce first before filtering through to leadership roles over time. However, the NFER’s progression analysis on racial equality in the workforce suggests additional barriers to progression exist for most Black groups that are not there for white teachers.
Black teachers leave the profession at higher rates than white teachers
English schools have a problem retaining Black teachers (Figure 8 - see download). Since comparable records began in 2010, each year around six to eight per cent of white teachers have left the English state-funded system for reasons other than death or retirement. During the same period, leaver rates for Black teachers have typically ranged around eight to 12 per cent. In most individual years, the loss rate of white teachers from the profession is at least two percentage points lower than for any other ethnic group.
We know that teachers in early career leave at higher rates than established teachers, so it is worth examining wastage rates by both age and race. This confirms that, within every age group, white teachers are more likely to stay in the profession than Black counterparts (Figure 9 - see download).
As well as the likely role of conscious or unconscious bias in selecting teachers for leadership roles, the fact that Black teachers leave the profession at higher rates than white counterparts is also likely to play a role in the comparative lack of diversity among middle and senior leaders. Failure to retain Black teachers means there is a smaller pool to pick from when looking at promotions to leadership roles.
A majority of Black teachers report stress caused by workplace discrimination
In the most recent NEU State of Education survey, we asked about causes of stress for members. Black teachers reported slightly higher rates than white counterparts for many of the categories listed, but the most striking difference was in the role of workplace discrimination (Figure 10 - see download).
Over a quarter of Black teachers (28 per cent) described workplace discrimination as a major cause of stress, three times the rate of white teachers. A clear majority of Black teachers (59 per cent) described workplace discrimination as at least a minor cause of stress, more than double the rate of white teachers (28 per cent). This gap in reporting workplace discrimination as a cause of stress along racial lines was much wider than the gaps when analysed by gender or age.
Given the increasing numbers of Black teachers in the profession, the under-representation of these teachers in leadership roles and the clear pattern of losing these teachers at higher rates, there is a strong argument that addressing workplace discrimination should be a higher priority within schools.
Greater transparency should clarify disparities on pay and progression by ethnicity
In her remit letter to the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB), the secretary of state committed to “publication of pay and progression data by protected characteristics, in parallel with the Department’s written evidence [to the STRB]”. This is a welcome step, and something that the NEU has been demanding for many years.
Given the push towards recruiting increasing numbers of overseas trained teachers (OTTs), and reports that these teachers are in some cases being underpaid compared to British colleagues, the published data should identify place of training as a characteristic for analysis. This will both help identify malpractice and establish whether underpayment of OTTs is contributing to the ethnicity pay gap.
If the proposed data is of high quality and is coupled with stronger efforts to force employers to obtain and report ethnicity information for their workforce, it should lead to a lot more transparency around the ethnicity pay gaps that exist and the under-representation of Black teachers in senior roles.
The NEU recommendations
For the government:
- Identify the main causes of loss of Black teachers such as stress and discrimination and pledge to address these at every career stage.
- A national strategy to address the specific additional barriers faced by Black teachers.
- Commit to goals around building a diverse teaching profession.
- Collection of data from schools on workforce ethnicity data and place of training.
For employers:
- Maintain a pay policy which sets out how pay decisions are made and which is compliant with the Equality Act 2010.
- Give teachers ready access to this pay policy and review it annually in consultation with the teachers and union representatives at the school. This should include teachers’ right to annual progression on the pay scale.
- Set out clear information about their pay structure with transparency over all pay decisions – pay progression, payment of allowances such as teaching and learning responsibility (TLR) payments, and pay for leaders.
- Publish procedures for teachers seeking to review a pay decision in line with the ACAS Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance.
- Provide details of pay outcomes by equality groups.
- Ensure that full information on and access to promotion opportunities are provided to all staff.
- Replace discredited and unfair performance-related pay systems with automatic pay progression and supportive appraisal.
