ISBL Exploring Ethnicity: school business leadership in England report 2020

Creaby, Fiona ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3986-2639 (2021) ISBL Exploring Ethnicity: school business leadership in England report 2020. Research Report. ISBL, UK.

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Abstract

Currently, data exploring the ethnicity of school business professionals in the English education system is limited. This report provides an initial exploration of ethnic diversity via a small-scale research contribution. The purpose of this is to serve as a catalyst for important conversations about diversity and an inclusive call to action across the sector. A secondary data analysis of the existing ISBL 2020 workforce survey (WFS) data was undertaken with a focus on the ethnicity of the respondents. This was combined with primary data collection and analysis to capture practitioner voice on matters of ethnicity within the sector. Key findings suggest a lack of diverse ethnic representation across the sector and illuminate experiences of institutional barriers faced by the participants. The findings present that there is much work to do to explore and address matters of ethnic representation and inclusion for school business professionals across the education sector, including recruitment, career development, voice and strategic participation in matters of school leadership. The key areas of recommendation include further work and collaboration with a range of key sector stakeholders to explore diversity and to act as a driver for inclusion both externally across the sector and internally within ISBL. This includes sector-wide equality and diversity activities, consultation, research and knowledge exchange, in addition to internal engagement with the membership on several key areas that seek to foster and embed a culture of inclusion and equity.