One of the most challenging debates in education among schools, academic researchers and policymakers in the past three decades has been how to close the achievement gap of Black and ethnic minority disadvantaged students and tackle the underachievement of Black and ethnic minority pupils (Hutchinson, 2019; Gillborn & Youdell, 2000; Demie, 2023). The issue of ethnic minorities facing underachievement truly resonates with me – my recent book (Demie, 2025) addresses Black and ethnic minority achievement in schools, and makes the case that education disparities are significant and require urgent action.

The book examines the journey towards educational improvement and addressing inequality using original evidence from case studies, school surveys, and interviews with headteachers, teachers, school staff, policymakers and parents. The results from longitudinal studies show that schools in disadvantaged inner-city schools have successfully raised the attainment of Black and ethnic minority students to levels that significantly exceed the national average. This success is due to effective leadership by exceptional headteachers, high-quality teaching, diversity in the school workforce and effective targeted interventions in schools. A comment by one of the outstanding school headteachers summarises the success story:

‘Effective use of targeted intervention using best teachers has helped ethnic minority and SEN pupils with level 3 or below in English and Maths to achieve the expected standard and higher level at end of KS2.’

The issue of ethnic minority underachievement in England has been acknowledged and there is now much research to show that Black students are underachieving within the education system in England and that they are less likely to achieve their full potential at school (Gillborn & Youdell, 2000; Demie, 2023; Hutchinson, 2019; Cushing, 2025). Of particular concern is the growing inequality in educational outcomes for some disadvantaged groups, such as Black Caribbean, Black African, Pakistani, mixed-race, Gypsy/Roma, other White pupils, and students who speak English as an Additional Language (Iqbal, 2015; Demie 2023; Cushing, 2025). Concerns remain today, as recent government data indicate, that by the time students complete key stage 4, the attainment gap is still significant and shows no signs of narrowing.

‘The previous government failed to tackle race issues and ended the Ethnic Minority Achievement Grant funding … [which was aimed at] ending the shocking underachievement of ethnic minority pupils compared with their White British peers.’

Researchers now agree that the main barriers to improving the achievements of Black and ethnic minority students are the inadequacy of government policies and initiatives to address the needs of a diverse, multiethnic society (Gillborn & Mirza, 2000; Demie, 2023). It appears that government education reform acts since 2010 haven’t fully considered the unique needs of Black and ethnic minority pupils. In the past, the Ethnic Minority Achievement Grant (EMAG) was used in England by the government as a means of supporting the attainment of pupils from ethnic minority groups and ending the shocking underachievement of ethnic minority pupils compared with their White British peers. The previous government failed to tackle race issues and ended the EMAG funding. It is essential to thoroughly examine these specific requirements to guarantee that every student receives the necessary support for success.

What should the new Labour government do?

The improvement demonstrated by students in the case study schools is remarkable across all measures. Central government, local authorities, school governing bodies and school leaders can take valuable lessons from this. The lessons from this study and other successful schools suggest that it is possible to tackle the barriers to learning and the link between poverty and underachievement for ethnic minority students (Ofsted 2009; Demie 2023). The key strategy is to ensure access to additional support for ethnic minorities from government policymakers and schools to tackle barriers of ethnic minorities through targeted intervention. It is recommended that a national strategy be developed to address the needs of Black and ethnic minority students in schools. This should be supported by policy changes to restore EMAG funding to tackle the underachievement of ethnic minority groups in schools.

References

Cushing, I. (2025, March 3). Documenting and dismantling language ideologies in education. BERA Blog. https://www.bera.ac.uk/blog/documenting-and-dismantling-language-ideologies-in-education  

Demie, F. (2023). Tackling educational inequality: Lessons from London schools. Equity in Education & Society, 2(3), 243–266. https://doi.org/10.1177/27526461231161775

Demie, F. (2025). Black and ethnic minority achievement in schools: Strategies and successful practice to tackle inequality. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003499633

Gillborn, D. & Youdell, D. (2000). Rationing education: Policy, practice, reform and equity. Open University Press

Hutchinson, J., Bonetti, S., Crenna-Jennings, W., & Akhal, A. (2019). Education in England: Annual report 2019. Education Policy Institute. https://bit.ly/3ETGflu

Iqbal, K. (2015, October 9). Pakistani boys’ education in Birmingham schools. BERA Blog. https://www.bera.ac.uk/blog/pakistani-boys-education-in-birmingham-schools

Office for Standards in Education [Ofsted]. (2009). Twelve outstanding secondary schools: Excelling against the odds. https://dera.ioe.ac.uk/id/eprint/11232/2/Twelve.pdf