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

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

It comes after a report by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) warned racism, discrimination and the lack of opportunities for promotion are damaging the teaching profession and driving away staff from ethnic minority backgrounds.

The charity also warned that retention was significantly lower for teachers of ethnic minority backgrounds than for their white peers.

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

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

In 2023, Ms Knight – the only black teacher at the college at the time – took her employer to court and won. But it took a toll on her health.

“At that time, to be honest with you, I felt really suicidal. I felt like, you know, worthless, but I had to pull myself together for my students, so they didn’t have to see me in that way.”

She doesn’t feel like 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… because they changed who I was. I was a very outgoing person. Now I’m a different person. I don’t go out now.

“I just feel very much like an outsider, which I never did. I just feel like I don’t belong here.”

A Havant & South Downs College spokesperson said: “The tribunal found that an email communication sent amounted to harassment related to the claimant’s race.

“We apologised to Ms Knight for that act and any distress caused.

“The college values its employees highly, and always endeavours to treat them fairly and equitably.”

Ethnic minority teachers ‘vastly underrepresented’

Jack Worth, school workforce lead at the NFER, said: “People from ethnic minority backgrounds are vastly underrepresented in the teaching workforce, particularly at senior leadership level.

“That’s down to a range of factors, including disparities in progression, all the way from applications to initial teacher training, to teacher retention, to the way that head teachers are appointed.”

Lack of opportunities to progress

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

The NFER also suggests that teachers from ethnic minority backgrounds leave due to “a lack of opportunities for progression”.

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Evelyn Forde, a former headteacher, who is also black, said: “Black and Asian leaders… we do have the credentials, but too often we’re not given those opportunities.

“I turned the school from ‘Requires Improvement’ [a ranking by Ofsted inspectors] to ‘Good’ and achieved accolades, which proves that we can do this job.

“Three per cent of headteachers are from a black or Asian background, where we are a minority, and that comes with its own challenges.”

A spokesperson from the Department for Education said: “These accounts are deeply distressing, and we are clear that racism and discrimination have absolutely no place in our schools, nor in society.

“Issues around diversity, recruitment and retention have been neglected for too long, and we are working hard to recruit teachers from lots of different backgrounds.

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

Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK