London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

Not enough black headteachers in England, says Nadhim Zahawi

Not enough black headteachers in England, says Nadhim Zahawi

Education secretary says schools must be inclusive and representative and should reflect their communities
There are not enough black headteachers working in schools in England, and more are needed to improve inclusivity and representation, the new education secretary, Nadhim Zahawi, has told a conference of school leaders.

In response to a question on diversity and leadership at the National Association of Head Teachers conference on Saturday, Zahawi said: “School leadership is not representative when it comes to race, and as you say, there aren’t enough black headteachers.

“I’d go further and say there aren’t enough black leaders in the civil service and higher echelons of departments across government, and we need to do better there as well.”

Zahawi added: “I really do think that it’s critical that teaching is an inclusive profession. Schools and their leadership teams should reflect their communities and their pupils and I’m absolutely determined to see improvements.

“I think we need inspiring teachers to represent and motivate pupils from all walks of life.”

Frances Akinde, the headteacher of Rivermead community special school in Gillingham, asked Zahawi: “In nearly every room that I enter as a school leader I’m often the only person who looks like me. Even more so when it comes to special education ... I would like to know what you are committed to doing to remove barriers to leadership and to increase diversity.”

Saying that current levels were “not good enough”, Zahawi said: “I want us to make sure that we continue to encourage more black and ethnic minority candidates into the profession.”

In his first speech to the sector since replacing Gavin Williamson as education secretary, Zahawi told the NAHT delegates that he wanted to investigate why some children were still absent from state schools in the wake of the pandemic.

“I want us to put wellbeing at the centre of everything we do in schools, alongside a drive for rigorous standards and high performance.

“But, of course, we can’t do this if children are not at school, so another key priority for me will be getting to the root of what is causing children to be persistently absent and then tackling it head-on,” Zahawi said.

In secondary schools the attendance rate dropped to fewer than 87% of pupils at the end of September, according to Department for Education figures. Pre-pandemic absentee rates were about 6%-7% of school sessions. The figures showed more than 3% of secondary students were absent for Covid-related reasons, leaving the remainder unaccounted for.

But Zahawi refused to reveal any details of the DfE’s bid for increased schools or recovery funding, telling delegates in London that he wouldn’t “provide a running commentary on the spending review” but was “making the case” for investing in education.

Paul Whiteman, the general secretary of the NAHT, said: “What we heard from Mr Zahawi was encouraging. The real test is what he is prepared to do immediately to prise more investment from the Treasury in the comprehensive spending review, and then how he chooses to develop policy.”

Earlier, delegates had voted overwhelmingly to oppose any attempts by the government to remove the 1,265-hour annual cap on teachers’ “directed time” workload.

Amy Lassman, the head of Nelson Mandela primary school in Birmingham, said the proposal said to be under consideration “reeks of disrespect” for the profession. “We cannot use teachers to fill a gaping hole in the government’s failing tuition policy,” Lassman said.

The conference also backed a motion calling for next year’s national Sats tests in England to be scrapped because of ongoing disruption caused by the pandemic.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×