Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she has taken to implement the recommendation of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in 2024 to help tackle attainment gaps and improve education attainment of children belonging to (a) minorities and (b) Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities.

The ‘Every Child Achieving and Thriving’ white paper establishes our plan to improve outcomes for all children and tackle unacceptable disparities in attainment. Our ambition is that all children achieve higher standards and the disadvantage gap is halved.

As part of our Best Start in Life strategy, we will invest close to £1.5 billion, subject to the Spending Review, over the next three years on improving family services and early years education with better targeted support to disadvantaged children and families. This includes through Best Start Family Hubs, with up to 1000 hubs and 2000 network sites providing integrated health, early years, and family support services by 2028.

Building on this, we will deliver a refreshed, high-quality curriculum, introduce a new pupil engagement framework and support schools to improve behaviour, attendance and parental engagement.

This is alongside recruiting an additional 6,500 teachers and strengthening our tools for faster and more effective school improvement through regional improvement for standards and excellence (RISE) teams.

Alongside this, through our Gypsy, Roma and Traveller stakeholder group, which includes representatives from Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities and the education sector, the department continues to engage with communities, and discuss issues faced by Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children.

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