Concern raised over schools' 'diversity' fund

Concerns have been raised about a government scheme to address the “under representation of certain groups” within the senior leadership of schools.

Concerns have been raised about a government scheme to address the “under representation of certain groups” within the senior leadership of schools.

The Leadership Equality and Diversity Fund 2015 provides grants of up to £30,000 to enable schools to develop “solutions” to “equality and diversity challenges” in their leadership teams.

To qualify for funding, schools must be developing a scheme that targets at least one of the Equality Act 2010’s protected characteristics.

A guide for schools, produced by the National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL), which administers the scheme, says that “These include ethnicity, age, gender, disability, sexual orientation.”

It fails, however, to mention other protected characteristics such as “religion or belief”.

The NCTL also has expectations that funded programmes will result in the advancement of individuals from the targeted groups.

Projects should ensure that 90% of those helped secure a “next stage promotion” within 12 months of the programme’s completion, according to the NCTL guide.

The nature of the scheme has prompted concerns over ‘positive discrimination’ and the risk that those from target groups will be promoted ahead of those most eligible for the role.

“Discrimination, positive or not, is still discrimination by its very nature”, Conservative MP David Nuttall commented.

"The problem is that by having an artificial mechanism in place that guarantees one group special treatment over another not only is it patronising to that group, but by definition it means that others who might be better qualified for promotion are discriminated against", he continued.

His concerns were echoed by David Green, founder of the think tank Civitas, who told the Telegraph:

"The assumption behind the Leadership Equality and Diversity Fund is that there has been discrimination if there is not proportionate representation of any of the above groups in leadership roles.”