Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to address the inclusion of Roma children in United Kingdom schools.

The Government has moved away from bespoke top-down programmes and initiatives aimed at ensuring the inclusion of individual ethnic groups of pupils. Our approach is to set a clear expectation that all schools ensure that all their pupils, regardless of their ethnicity, are welcomed and fully integrated into school, and prepared for life in modern Britain.

The Department for Education continues to engage with the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) education stakeholder group, chaired by Baroness Whitaker, to disseminate good practice and encourage local action, particularly around how to improve GRT pupils’ attendance and attainment.