Question reference: S5W-01917
- Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
- Date lodged: 11 August 2016
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Current status: Answered by John Swinney on 31 August 2016
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to increase the number of teachers from ethnic minority backgrounds.
Answer
While it is ultimately the responsibility of individual local authorities, as employers, to ensure they undertake fair and inclusive recruitment activity for all posts, the Scottish Government is taking a number of actions to increase the number of teachers from ethnic minority backgrounds.We have established the Strategic Board for Teacher Education which includes universities, local authorities and professional associations to oversee and evaluate reform to teacher education. We have tasked this board to investigate the barriers to wider representation in the teaching profession and to come forward with suggestions to support diversity in order to ensure that the teaching workforce within schools reflects the communities that they serve.The recently published delivery plan “Delivering Excellence and Equity in Scottish Education” details a number of actions the Scottish Government will take with its partners to address issues related to minority ethnic groups which are under-represented in teaching. This includes extending our #inspiringteachers recruitment campaign, building on the positive work of the current campaign.