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Equality diversity and inclusion

NAHT’s EDI Strategy 2024-2025

NAHT is dedicated to promoting equality for all of its members, and this commitment is enshrined in NAHT’s constitution. In order to support NAHT in achieving this commitment, we have a union-wide strategy that outlines how we embed equality, diversity and inclusion at the heart of our activities.

NAHT’s work in this area, including the progress of our strategy, is overseen by NAHT’s national executive (via our Diversity and Inclusion Group).

This strategy is centred around three main aspects; these are underpinned by the work NAHT does to empower, upskill and support NAHT staff.

  1. Supporting our members as leaders: As school leaders, NAHT members are ideally positioned to create inclusive learning and working environments for all of their pupils and staff – one which welcomes diversity and champions equality. NAHT recognises the need to support and empower our members to effectively achieve this.

    To achieve this, we have the following core objectives:
  1. Increase our support for members to effectively embed EDI within their own settings. This includes work to:
    1. Maintain our resources hub and develop our own advice and guidance as appropriate
    2. Support members to mark key EDI dates throughout the year (eg LGBT+ History month)
    3. Run three free EDI webinars for members, alongside paid EDI training and courses for members
  2. Ensure our campaigning and policy work (in relation to pupils and school staff) explicitly considers and includes equality to achieve our aim of embedding EDI throughout the education system.
    1. Areas of policy focus may include: RSE implementation and/or review, transgender pupil policy for schools, SEND/ALN/SEN sector (including funding and support), refugee pupils, accessibility in assessments and exams, inclusive curriculum and pupil mental health/well-being.
  1. Supporting our members as individuals: We know members with certain protected characteristics face additional and/or specific challenges in their roles. As a trade union, our core purpose is protecting our members, whether proactively (for example, campaigning to remove systemic inequities in the system), or reactively (such as aiding members who are experiencing issues in their workplace, through our representation and/or legal teams).

    To achieve this, we have the following core objectives:
  1. Increase our ability to effectively represent and negotiate on behalf of all members and press forward on wider equality gains in the system. This includes work to:
    1. Increase the training and support for our paid and lay officials to support them in tackling discrimination in their line of work
    2. Improve our monitoring of cases to tackle discrimination in the workplace, and any equality gains achieved as a result
  2. Continue to extend our insight into the challenges faced by school leaders or future school leaders with protected characteristics. This includes work to:
    1. Increase the growth and profile of our equality networks, and explore the need for any further networks
    2. Ensure all key NAHT research (focused on members as individuals) includes demographic questions, and that data analysis is considered from this perspective
  3. Ensure our campaigning and policy influencing explicitly includes equality (in relation to our members) to achieve our aim of embedding EDI throughout the education system
    1. Areas of policy focus may include gender pay gaps, representation within leadership (including renewal of government funding to support this), EDI training in NPQs, flexible working, reasonable adjustments in schools and during inspections, workload and well-being, and mandatory anti-racism training. 
  4. Increase our international presence in relation to EDI issues, recognising that much of the equality legislation and rights of members comes not just from domestic law and conventions, but are part of wider international agreements.
  1. As a democratic organisation: NAHT recognises that we are most effective in representing the views and needs of school leaders when we engage with all of our membership. We are therefore committed to ensuring our own democratic structures are inclusive and reflect the diversity of the educational professionals and learners that we serve.

    To achieve this, we have the following core objectives:
  1. Increase the amount of demographic data we hold in relation to our members and improve our analysis of this data
  2. Increase representation within NAHT’s democratic structures
  3. Continue to empower and upskill our lay officials around EDI issues. This includes work to:
    1. Launch a new regional equality rep pilot
  4. Increase the inclusivity and accessibility of NAHT’s communications
  5. Continue to increase representation in NAHT communications and events. This includes work to
    1. Increase the diversity of members representing NAHT, providing training as appropriate
    2. Development of an EDI comms plan for 2024 and 2025
  6. Increase the inclusivity and accessibility of NAHT’s events. This includes work to:
    1. Develop an online (and hybrid) accessibility policy to support member engagement at online events, guided by input from our Disabled Members' Network
    2. Develop an accessibility policy to support member engagement at in-person events, guided by input from our Disabled Members' Network
  7. Ensure that our policies, processes and/or practices enhance both democratic and general NAHT engagement for all NAHT members and reflect our wider EDI goals/values. This includes work to:
    1. Keep our democratic processes and procedures under regular review, with consideration of EDI as part of any updates and amends

NAHT’s equality networks

NAHT has four informal equality networks for members. These are led by members, for members.

Find out more about our networks, including how to join and planned meetings, by clicking on the links below. 

NAHT's EDI statements

Following a resolution at NAHT Annual Conference, we are developing a series of policy statements outlining NAHT’s views and commitments around equality, diversity and inclusion. These have been developed in conversations with NAHT’s equality networks, our diversity and inclusion group, and our national executive.

Click below to see our EDI statements:

Statements will continue to be reviewed and additional statements may be developed, as led by our membership.

Our statement of action and commitments on EDI in education

Coordinated by NAHT, this statement of action sets out commitments from 13 education organisations to advance equality, diversity and inclusion. In December 2024, we published an update to the statement. Read the statement of action and commitments on EDI in education.

Resources

Advice and support

For more about the advice and guidance available from NAHT, along with resources to support members with EDI in their schools, see our EDI hub page.

TUC equality conferences

Every year, the TUC hosts a series of equality conferences that supplement the general work of TUC Congress. These conferences focus on supporting the advancement of issues that disproportionally impact minority groups. Find out more and how NAHT members can get involved.

Latest news and advice

Lit in Colour campaign

Penguin, in collaboration with The Runnymede Trust, has launched a new campaign called Lit in Colour to explore ways it can support schools with making the teaching and learning of English literature more inclusive. The project aims to help increase students' access to more books by writers of colour and those from minority ethnic backgrounds.

Campaign aims:

  • Commission research from The Runnymede Trust to better understand the scale of the issue and the barriers and make practical recommendations for change. You can access a full description of the research. 
  • Offer long-term support for schools by providing tools, resources, training, book donations and author involvement to equip and empower teachers and students to make changes.
  • Develop alliances with experts and organisations already fighting for education reform.

External Advisory Board

NAHT is a member of the Lit in Colour External Advisory Board, represented by NAHT's president Ruth Davies. The Board aims to provide insight, thoughts and experiences and to help shape the campaign proposals and work. 

Latest updates

The Lit in Colour campaign has published new free teaching resources for a range of texts for KS3 to KS5, including resources on poetry, non-fiction and fiction for KS3, resources for KS4 that support student's exam practice and a KS5 resource for English Language that develops students critical thinking and discussion skills. All resources include an extract of the selected text, videos of the author reading the extract aloud and/or talking about the text, and interactive activities. They can be downloaded for free here.

Penguin Talks is a programme of free, creative talks for young people, giving them the opportunity to both hear from, and directly question, a world-renowned thinker, writer or influential figure from the Penguin family of authors. The aim of Penguin Talks is to help equip young people for the future by introducing a new generation of readers to new ideas and perspectives, and broadening their understanding of issues that speakers feel to be particularly prevalent for this generation. You can apply to host a talk in your own school , and the full library of previous talks is available to watch online.

There are a few places left on World of Stories, a programme to equip schools with the books, materials, training and resources they need to champion reading for pleasure across the whole school, and reinvigorate their school libraries and reading spaces. If your school is based in one of our target regions, you may be eligible to take part this year – find out more and express interest in applying.

A free webinar is being held on Wednesday 30 March to support primary and secondary teachers, and library staff, to further understand the different ways they can support readers when accessing problematic texts from their collections. Participants will explore a range of methods to promote anti-racism through a study of literature and contribute to a discussion about the role that schools and libraries can play in prompting meaningful conversations about race and prejudice – find out more and sign up.

You can also access the ‘Lit in Colour’ campaign’s list of ‘Best new children's books by Black authors and illustrators'.

Resources

As part of the campaign, Penguin is releasing a range of free resources for all age groups. These resources will be aimed both at the English literature and language curriculum, and also to support reading for pleasure and extracurricular activity.

Newsletter

You can sign up for the Lit in Colour newsletter. The newsletter will share news about the campaign as well as opportunities to access practical support from Penguin, including future book donations and free teaching resources, as well as opportunities to share your views.

First published 17 May 2021

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