Diversity in Education Fund Launch: Mission 44 announces first two grants to increase diversity in teaching

The National Institute of Teaching (NIoT) is thrilled to announce that, in partnership with Now Teach and Mindful Equity UK, it has successfully secured grant funding from Mission 44 to test solutions focussed to increase diversity in teaching through Initial Teacher Training and recruitment practices. This initiative is part of Mission 44's Diversity in Education Fund, dedicated to addressing systemic barriers faced by teachers from ethnic minority backgrounds.

Despite a high number of applications from people of ethnic minority backgrounds, this group remains significantly under-represented in the teaching profession. To tackle this disparity, the NIoT and its partners will test innovative solutions focused on Initial Teacher Training (ITT) and recruitment practices. The initiative will include a special focus on career changers, particularly in Birmingham, where a pilot campaign will support ethnically diverse career changers through the recruitment process.

Jason Arthur, CEO of Mission 44, expressed his enthusiasm for the project:

“I’m delighted that Mission 44 is launching the first partnerships from our Diversity Education Fund, to tackle the systemic barriers that teachers from ethnic minority backgrounds face at the recruitment and selection stage. Alongside six brilliant organisations, we hope this work will highlight real solutions that can be adopted across the teacher recruitment sector, to ensure our teaching workforce is representative of the diverse student population it serves.”

The partnership's key initiatives include:

• Creating a working group to build anti-racist expertise and mindsets.
• Launching a pilot campaign in the West Midlands to attract ethnically diverse career changers.
• Capturing and amplifying learnings to embed in the wider sector and NIoT’s approaches.
• Embedding anti-racism into the ITT curriculum across NIoT’s network

Melanie Renowden, CEO of the NIoT, shared her excitement about the partnership:

“We are thrilled to announce our partnership with Mission 44. This project will be focused on diversifying the teaching workforce, in turn ensuring every child has access to a quality education. Working together with Now Teach and Mindful Equity UK, we will drive impactful change, and are excited to embark on this journey together.”

These efforts are a significant step towards creating a more inclusive and representative teaching workforce, one that mirrors the diverse student populations they serve. The National Institute of Teaching looks forward to the positive impact these changes will bring to the education sector.