A new coaching service for black and ethnic minority teachers (BEM) and school leaders has been launched.

The service, provided by coaching and leadership development company Integrity Coaching, has been designed to help local authorities increase the number of BEM teachers and head teachers in their schools.

Currently the government and the National College for School Leadership (NCSL) jointly predict that the education system will experience a shortage of head teachers, in particular between 2009 and 2011 when many existing heads reach retirement age. In addition, the NCSL is pressing learning authorities to find ways of increasing their intake of BEM teachers in the hope of securing the next generation of head teachers.

"The under representation of BEM people in middle and senior leadership roles contributes to the potential shortage of school heads and provides few role models for the next generation,” said Integrity coaching director, Viv Grant.

"Integrity Coaching is passionate about helping to re-dress the balance and provides support and encouragement to vastly under represented groups. We want coaching for BEM teachers to be viewed in much the same way as it is in the business world, as a tool for helping individuals get to the top of their profession."

The BEM services offered will support teachers at every stage of their careers and include leadership development training, one-to-one coaching for senior and head teachers, and race equality impact assessments.