🖤 Reflections from Your Black Educators Officer
Dear Colleagues,
As the academic year powers forward, this week I want to reflect on the growing movement to centre anti-racist practice—not as an add-on, but as the backbone of education reform in the UK.
Recent discussions around Ofsted’s evolving inspection framework and the push for more inclusive curriculums offer us both a challenge and an opportunity. Black educators continue to be underrepresented in leadership and overrepresented in disciplinary processes. Yet, we are also the cultural architects—shaping safe, affirming spaces for our students and modelling the leadership we want to see.
🔍 Spotlight This Week:
- The NASUWT and NEU are both reviewing how schools approach racial equity post-2020. Are our schools still talking about racial justice—or has the momentum faded?
- Reports from Teach First and Runnymede Trust continue to highlight the “ambition gap” facing Black teachers in promotion and CPD opportunities.
So what can we do?
📌 Your Weekly Action:
- Share your story. Whether it’s a small win, a frustrating encounter, or an idea for change—your voice helps shape our collective power.
- Take up space unapologetically. Attend a SLT meeting, challenge bias in CPD, or simply be visible in your excellence.
We are not only teaching—we are trailblazing.
Keep rising.
In solidarity,
Dieko. Yoloye
Black Educators Officer, NEU-Staffordshire
For the NEU, the term ‘Black’ is used for “all members who self-identify as Black, Asian or any other ‘minority ethnic’ groups who do not identify themselves as white”.
This includes Gypsy and Roma non-white people.