Susan Davis & Chantelle Haughton - Ethnic Minority recruitment to ITE and the teaching profession in Wales: an opportunity to have your say.

In January 2021, our multi-ethnic team at Cardiff Metropolitan University launched an important research project to evaluate ethnic minority (EM) recruitment into initial teacher education (ITE) and the teaching profession.

Within the UK, the under-representation of EM groups in teaching was initially highlighted in 1985 in the Swann report. There has been a long-standing concern about the under-representation of minority ethnic teachers (Carrington et al, 2000; HMSO, 1985). In Wales, the then General Teaching Council for Wales published a strategy for teacher recruitment and retention in 2003 which included the need to improve EM recruitment to teaching. It suggested that this would require more research, guidance and greater collaboration within the education sector (GTCW, 2003). More recently, Haque (2017) and Joseph-Salisbury (2020) have highlighted a persistent shortage of EM teachers in England.

In short, despite the issue of EM under-representation within teaching having been first raised nearly over 25 years ago, there has been little concrete change.

According to Stats Wales, (2020) 12 per cent of pupils aged 5 or over in Wales are from backgrounds other than white British. However, there are disproportionately low numbers of EM teachers in Wales in comparison to EM pupils. Across Wales teachers are less ethnically diverse than the pupils they are teaching with only 1.3 per cent of teachers in Wales categorising themselves as being from a non-white background. It is therefore clear that the Welsh teaching profession and Welsh universities need to embrace change and begin to provide equality of opportunity for EM ITE students, teachers and leaders. This issue needs to go back to basics, and the pro-active recruitment of a new generation of EM students onto ITE programmes (Egan, 2020) needs to be explored in depth.

How you can help

We have been capturing the views of serving EM teachers about their ongoing career progression and listening to learners aged 14+, to gain an understanding of their views of teaching as a possible career. This evidence we are gathering will inform the Welsh Government to determine the sort of changes that will be required to increase the recruitment of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic students into the teaching profession.

Through our research, we aim to identify perceptions and opinions from a range of groups. We want to know:

• Are EM school pupils and students in further and higher education aspiring to become teachers? And, if not, why?
• What do EM applicants who were unsuccessful when applying to ITE programmes feel are the factors which led to their rejections?
• How do newly qualified EM teachers and EM teachers at various stages of their careers feel about their career progression?
• What do EM school leaders think about these matters and what particular issues do they encounter on career journeys?

Our research will reflect on and unpick elements of socially constructed layers of lived reality for participants (Garcia et al., 2015) and will aim to understand this complex dynamic, taking into account participants’ culture, background and lived experiences.

Conversations and focus groups form the basis of our investigations. We expect the data will lead to a virtual vision map, a collaborative document which we will present to the Welsh Government along with the final report. This will enable a decolonised approach to future policy development in Wales.

Our research will continue until the end of March 2021. We are keen to hear from you if you are from an EM background, either as a student (14+) who may or may not have thought about a teaching career, or a serving teacher or leader. We need your voice in relation to this research project. Please contact our research assistant, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for further information.

References

• Egan, D. (2020) Ethnic Minority Recruitment to the teaching profession in Wales: Outcomes of a rapid review of background research evidence. Welsh Government.
• Carrington, B., Bonnett, A., Nayak, A., Skelton, C., Smith, F. Tomlin, R., Short, G., and Demaine, J. (2000) The recruitment of New Teachers from Minority Ethnic Groups, International Studies in Sociology of Education, 10 (1), 3-22
• Garcia, J. A., Sanchez, G. R., Sanchez-Youngman, S., Vargas, E. D., & Ybarra, V. D. (2015). Race As Lived Experience: The Impact of Multi-Dimensional Measures of Race/Ethnicity on the Self-Reported Health Status of Latinos. Du Bois review: social science research on race, 12(2), 349–373.
• General Teaching Council Wales, (2003) Action Plan for Teacher Recruitment and Retention in Wales. Wales: General Teaching Council for Wales.
• Haque Z (2017) Visible minorities, invisible teachers: BME teachers in the education system in England. Runnymede Trust and NASUWT. 
• HMSO (1985) The Swann Report. Education for All. Report of the Committee of Enquiry of Children from Ethnic Minority Groups. London: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office.
• Joseph-Salisbury (2020) Joseph-Salisbury R (2020) Race and racism in English secondary schools. Runnymead Trust. 
• Stats Wales.gov.Wales (2020) Pupil level annual census, September 2020. Available online at: www.https://statswales.gov.wales

Anthony Priest - Mental health, wellbeing and Covid-19: free support for schools in Wales

As the Covid-19 crisis continues in to 2021, the education workforce has shown an unwavering determination to ensure students are able keep learning, while juggling increasing professional and personal demands. Teachers and staff have adapted to new regimes and dealt with constant guidance changes, all while delivering daily lessons to students. This has left many of our professionals understandably feeling exhausted.

Yet we still hear of education professionals going the extra mile to support the children and young people they work with. This is particularly the case as the pandemic has crystallised pre-existing concerns such as learning inequality, child poverty, and access to technology.

Recent findings from Education Support’s Teacher Wellbeing Index 2020 research tells us that the wellbeing of education staff is significantly lower than that of the general population. Symptoms of poor wellbeing such as difficulty concentrating, insomnia and tearfulness are also on the rise.

If not addressed these symptoms can lead to diagnosable mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety. Stress levels also remain high across teaching professionals (62%) and senior leaders (77%), with long hours and workload being a major contributor.

This is why Education Support continues to call for staff wellbeing to be central to education policy and school practices. Support for teachers has become an issue of social chances and national recovery. This generation of children will be significantly affected by experiencing a global pandemic during their compulsory education. It is vital that those responsible for giving them the best chance are well enough to keep showing up - both physically and emotionally.

Education Support’s School Wellbeing Service - free support for schools

At Education Support, we are heartened by the courage and compassion of the education workforce and proud to be able to offer support during this difficult time.

Funded by Welsh Government, Education Support can now offer support to schools across Wales with a focus on supporting staff mental health and wellbeing. Through the School Wellbeing Service, we are offering free workplace wellbeing services. We can provide your school with resources, staff workshops and advice on policies and practices based on best practice that support staff wellbeing during this time.

You will be allocated a Wellbeing Advisor who can work with you to create a bespoke plan of support that is tailored to your school’s needs.

The advisor can also provide access to other services, through Education Support, including support for headteachers in Wales through a facilitated peer-to-peer support programme and the offer of one to one supervision delivered by trained counsellors. Again, this service is free for schools in Wales.

What schools using the service say

We have received an overwhelmingly positive response from staff who have already accessed the School Wellbeing Services in Wales. Here is just some of the great feedback that we have received:

“I have found it invaluable to have a 'go to' expert such as yourself who is always available and can signpost us to different levels of support for various scenarios…It has been particularly beneficial to gain collective support as a group and then reflect on how it has impacted back in our different school context…we are very grateful to Education Support and the part you are playing during the pandemic.

I felt uplifted when leaving school! It is really so important to talk and share, and good to speak to people outside my normal circle of support, too.

It was one of the best things I ever did to sign up for this support group. I truly value the opportunity to get together with such a lovely bunch!"

If you would like to get in touch to find out more about how we can help (or arrange a call) please This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Free confidential helpline available

In addition to the School Wellbeing Service for schools, Education Support’s free and confidential helpline is also available to all education staff in Wales. This includes teachers, lecturers and support staff or youth workers working in schools and colleges.

If you are struggling with difficult feelings you can get emotional support from a trained counsellor by calling 08000 562561. Support is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Call us. We’ll listen.

Anthony Priest

Anthony Priest is a Workplace Wellbeing Advisor at Education Support. 

Nick Hudd - 'Blended learning', not 'blended teaching'

The Covid 19 virus appears to have acted as an antecedent to the increased use of the term ‘blended learning’. The educational sector, whose stakeholders I have previously argued are at very different stages of embracing and utilising digital technologies, have responded quickly to the emerging challenges of a new reality.

Schools, colleges and universities; which have all acted as bastions of formal education, accommodating not only resources and educators but also environments which enable attendees to learn vicariously from others, are looking increasingly obsolete during these times. Although concerned with non-formal and informal approaches, I also include youth centres in this categorisation. Whilst all these establishments offer a myriad of benefits, the risk posed with the mass congregation of learners and staff, during a global pandemic, clearly affects their ability to function effectively. So, like a knight in shining armour, digital technologies afford a quick, cost-effective solution, with the generic term ‘blended learning’ increasingly being offered to describe a very new pedagogical approach.  

At times, during strict lockdowns, when access to these establishments has been prevented, this online offer has become the primary delivery process. If we are to take the term ‘blended learning’ to describe a method of education by which students learn via digital means as well as traditional face to face approaches, then surely in the absence of this latter element the use of the word ‘blended’ becomes redundant. This is a major shift in an educational paradigm, which the use of such simplistic terminology fails to convey; the lack of physical resources and social interaction opportunities, the ability for the educator to engage learners in conversation, debate, responding spontaneously to questions, are all diminished. Providing the space, means and culture that enables them to express themselves, feel empowered, be truly participative in their own learning, feel included; are all compromised. Whilst not entirely absent from a digital offer, the lack of these elements undoubtedly impede learning.

Having said this though, with adversity comes opportunity. What if the term ‘blended learning’ was used to describe and prescribe a far more expansive approach? Whilst teaching has been impacted in these unprecedented times, learning opportunities have not. Aristotle taught us that learning can be found in all the things we do. It seems that the term ‘blended learning’ is arguably being used incorrectly at times to describe ‘blended teaching’. Arguably the bastions I referred to early have become gate keepers of, rather than gateways to learning.

Youth and community work has always concerned itself with experiential learning. Providing young people with an opportunity to learn from the things they experience, but not dictating what they should learn; focusing on inputs, rather than outputs. Utilising the community as a learning tool, enabling young people to both play an active role in it but also to benefit from what it has to offer, in regard to such opportunities. For those who are experiencing trepidation now, expecting to read an argument relating to the merits of these approaches outweighing those of a formal education system; sorry to disappoint. The Covid situation has exposed the fragility of the whole education system which is heavily reliant on the educational strongholds referred to previously.

Real ‘blended learning’ should surely mean just that; unequivocally blending formal with informal and non-formal methods. Recognising, harnessing and capturing the learning opportunities young people are exposed to in their everyday lives, whilst complementing them with structured curricula activities. Acknowledging educators can be teachers, youth workers, parents, guardians, business owners, and community representatives, broadens opportunity and mitigates some of the associated risks of being overly reliant any singular education provider. Whilst some parents and guardians have been reluctant to act as teachers during lockdowns, perhaps due to their own academic abilities, capacity and time, developing an education system that asks them to work to their own skills set, may encourage rather than discourage participation in the processes. Focusing on what young people are currently experiencing rather than missing out on, in terms of formal education, can unearth new learning opportunities.  Young people are living through a major historical event. Whilst not wanting to make any comparison in the nature of events; Ann Frank’s diary is just one example where viewing history from the perspective of a young person has proved a powerful educational tool itself.

The challenge is now surely to take what we have learnt through these times and make lasting change. Whether it’s reviewing the implementation of Donaldson’s Successful Futures Curriculum, the Youth work strategy for Wales, or exploring what role bodies like Estyn can play in ensuring some of these principles are being applied, we have an opportunity to do things differently here in Wales.

Nick Hudd

Nick Hudd is currently a Senior Youth Work Practitioner for Pembrokeshire County Council and has been a fulltime youth worker for the past 16 years, both for statutory and voluntary sector organisations. Nick is a JNC qualified youth worker and has a BA(Hons) in Youth and Community Work from UWTSD.