Teacher felt ‘worthless’ after facing discrimination – report warns racism is damaging profession

A teacher who faced discrimination from senior staff at her former college has told Sky News how she felt “worthless” and “suicidal”.

It comes as a report from the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) warned that racism, discrimination and lack of opportunities for promotion were harming the teaching profession and deterring ethnic minority staff.

The charity also warned that ethnic minority teachers have significantly lower retention rates than their white peers.

Sky News spoke to Betty Knight, a teacher who faced discrimination at her former college in Alton. Hampshire.

She was placed on an improvement plan after an unannounced 25-minute lesson observation, which was against the college’s own policy and despite her excellent performance.

In 2023, Ms. Knight, the only black teacher at the college at the time, sued her employer and won. But this affected her health.

“At the time, to be honest with you, I felt really suicidal. I felt, you know, worthless, but I needed to pull myself together for the sake of my students so that they wouldn’t see me like that.”

She doesn’t feel she can return to teaching after this experience.

“I feel like an outsider”

Ms Knight said: “They wanted to shut me down and break me and (they) did that… because they changed who I was. I was a very sociable person. Now I’m a different person. Now I don’t go outside.

“I just feel like an outsider, which I’ve never felt before. I just feel like I don’t belong here.”

A Havant and South Downs College spokesman said: “The tribunal found that the email sent constituted harassment based on the complainant’s race.

“We apologize to Ms Knight for this action and the distress it caused her.

“The College values its staff and always strives to treat them fairly and equitably.”

Ethnic minority teachers ‘significantly underrepresented’

Jack Worth, head of school staff at NFER, said: “People from minority ethnic backgrounds are grossly underrepresented in teaching staff, particularly at senior leadership level.

“This is due to a number of factors, including differences in progress, from applications for initial teacher training, to teacher retention, to the way school principals are appointed.”

Lack of opportunities for progress

According to the charity’s research, the reasons people leave the profession include “overt and covert racial discrimination by staff, pupils and parents”.

The NFER also suggests ethnic minority teachers should be fired due to a “lack of career opportunities”.

Evelyn Ford, a former school principal who is also black, said: “Black and Asian leaders… we are empowered, but too often we are not given those opportunities.

“I moved the school from Requires Improvement (Ofsted inspector rating) to Good and received accolades, which proves we can do the job.

“Three percent of school principals are black or Asian, where we are a minority, and that comes with its own challenges.”

A Department for Education spokesman said: “These reports are deeply concerning and we are clear that racism and discrimination have absolutely no place in our schools or in society.

“Issues of diversity, recruitment and retention have been ignored for too long, and we work hard to recruit teachers from a diverse range of backgrounds.

“That’s why we are removing barriers to applying for initial teacher training and offering tax-free bursaries for trainees teaching key subjects.”

Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call the Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email [email protected] in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.