headteacher-secondary

teachwire.net “You can say, ‘This is what my peers did when I was growing up, this is what you need to do to bridge that gap.’ I quite like the phrase ‘meritocratic hubris’ – the idea that people get to certain positions supposedly because of their talents alone, but fail to realise it's also due in large part to other people supporting them. It’s important to say to young people, ‘Whether to maintaining a balanced staff room. “Too often in education, you can sort of predict what people think – on politics, or the environment, or which newspapers to read,” she says. “I would find it very difficult to predict what my staff think, and the school tends to attract diverse thinkers. You could have had a different job, come from a working class background, or from the countryside or the city. You want children to be exposed to a real variety of people.” For Ismail, it’s not necessarily the teacher’s background that matters, as much as their commitment to the young people of Newham. “It is about high expectations,” he says. “If you have an Oxbridge degree, and you've had privilege your whole life, that's less important than if you have that passion and drive for supporting disadvantaged people getting to Oxford and Cambridge. VITAL STATISTICS According to findings from the Education Policy Institute (2020) and the latest government data, around 35% of secondary teachers are male (around 15% in primary schools) and the number is falling; around two-thirds of headteachers are female Government data from 2019 shows that 85.7% of all teachers (and 92.7% of headteachers) in state-funded schools in England were White British, compared to 78.5% of the working age population in the 2011 Census Reliable data describing other measures of diversity are difficult to find; a Teacher Tapp survey of voting behaviour dating from 2019 showed that out of 3,317 respondents, 56% supported Labour, 14% Conservatives, 13% Lib Dems and 5% Greens ABOUT THE AUTHOR AdamW Hunter is a former teacher turned writer, journalist and musician; follow him at @adamwhunter 31 S TA F F I N G you're from a middle-class background, or you're white, male or female – they're all there to support you.’” Pulling the levers And yet, individual headteachers will still find themselves faced with certain choices when appointing and promoting staff. All three seem to agree that diversity is important, so I ask what levers, if any, they can pull in matters of recruitment and staff development. Without an explicit policy being put in pace, the make-up of Bergin’s staff room has nonetheless changed markedly over his seven-year tenure. This is an organic result, he says, of values expressed in “Internal structures, how you advertise and the language you use about the school.” In Ismail’s view, “It's still about meritocracy. If there is an area where there isn't representation, then we encourage more people from a particular group to [apply], if they have the talent and experience. Identifying gaps is one thing; supporting people to think they should be applying is another.” For Birbalsingh, the issue is a complex one with no correct answer. “It's never cut and dried. You're looking for the right fit at that point in time. I would consider diversity, just as I would consider whether I need more presence in the corridors, or stronger organisational skills.” Teachers must therefore examine their own staff rooms, and consider whether the school truly represents their values, and is ultimately doing as well as it can by the students its care. KATHARINE BIRBALSINGH MOUHSSIN ISMAIL