Cranleigh School is leading an initiative to address the lack of diversity amongst teaching staff, with a new Graduate Trainee scheme that targets under-represented communities.
The first recruitment advertisements will be issued this month and it’s expected that the first successful applicants will start the scheme in September. Cranleigh will be working closely with the BAMEed Network who will offer support to candidates throughout the application process as well as providing mentorship for the Graduates who start the scheme.
Earlier this year the BAMEed Network issued a call to action to education providers to ensure race equity in schools1, and address the issue that Black and brown teachers make up less than 10% of the workforce.2 In October, Black History Month also focused on the lack of, in particular, Black male teaching staff.3
David Mulae, Cranleigh’s Assistant Head Pastoral and EDI Lead, has spearheaded the scheme, working with senior management and human resources as well as external bodies. He said: ‘We recognise the lack of representation across minoritised backgrounds in teaching and have a stated aim to increase that diversity in line with the diversity of our pupil body.
‘This Graduate Teacher Experience Pathway (GETP) scheme will positively encourage applicants from these groups by going straight to universities. We offer a great package and it’s a really positive and intentional step towards finding “culture add”.’
The Graduate Teacher Experience Pathway is a two-year graduate recruitment scheme aimed at supporting applicants from all backgrounds. It will upskill highly qualified staff in Year 1 to be able to fulfil wider aspects of a boarding school graduate assistant teacher role in Year 2 and equip them to apply for future roles. Alongside accommodation, term-time meals and a competitive starting salary, it offers mentorship, support and training specific to working within a boarding environment.
Allana Gay, Founder of the BAMEed Network said: ‘One of the biggest barriers to graduates from GMH backgrounds entering the teaching profession is the low acceptance rates to ITT programmes (NFER 2024). Add to this the personal barriers of needing experience to gain employment, housing and student debt, and you have a system that limits access.
‘Cranleigh has thought deeply about all of these areas and, has designed a comprehensive programme that removes key barriers, builds an enriched experience and will ultimately be a blueprint for widening access. BAMEed Network is proud to support this programme and its participants and looks forward to our future work together.’
Cranleigh’s Head, Samantha Price, added: ‘As a boarding school, Cranleigh is well placed to provide extended support for graduate trainees as well as accommodation and living arrangements that will help new teachers to thrive. It’s critical to offer support for minoritised teachers at a time when the profession itself is in crisis and struggling to keep numbers.
‘We’re hoping that this scheme will grow to provide trained and supported staff for the independent sector, where representation is even lower than in education as a whole. Providing these opportunities will start to redress the balance.’
Categories: Cranleigh School School News
