Earlier this week, the @EHRC released a new report in their 'Is Britain Fairer?' series.

Here's a summary of the points relating to Gypsies, Roma and Travellers in 'How coronavirus has affected equality and human rights'.

A thread:

https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/sites/default/files/equality_and_human_rights_commission_how_coronavirus_has_affected_equality_and_human_rights_2020.pdf

1/

Britain's response to the Covid-19 pandemic has created gaps in education for most children.

These gaps threaten attainment at primary and secondary levels. Inequalities in home-learning environments, changes to grading systems risk exacerbating educational inequalities.
2/

The impact will be disproportionately severe on boys, Black pupils, Gypsy, Roma and Traveller pupils, pupils who need support in education and those who are socioeconomically disadvantaged.

Difference in support for remote learning during the pandemic threaten to...
3/

widen inequalities for those who perform less well than their peers, particularly boys, Black pupils, some Gypsy, Roma and Traveller pupils, pupils who need support in education, and those who are socio-economically disadvantaged.

4/

It is too early to assess the impact of school closures on attainment, but there are concerns that closures will exacerbate existing attainment gaps for groups who already attain lower educational outcomes than their peers.

5/

Gypsy, Roma and Traveller pupils continue to have the lowest attainment levels of any ethnic group by a significant amount.

6/

Boys, Black pupils, some Gypsy, Roma and Traveller pupils, pupils who need support in education, and those who are socio-economically disadvantaged all at risk of falling further behind in education.

Based on research on school closures across different countries...

7/

The @EducEndowFoundn estimates that the socio-economic attainment gap in England will widen by 36%. Teachers surveyed in England estimated that the gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers had already increased by 46%. (Sharp et al, 2020).

8/

The digital divide is a additional significant challenge and likely to contribute to these inequalities. The UK, Scottish and Welsh Governments have set up different systems to try to mitigate the digital divide, including provision of free laptops and online services.

9/

Yet 1 in 10 parents in Britain w/ a child struggling in education gave lack of devices as the reason. Children from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds have less access to technology needed for online learning, including a computer and connection to the internet.

10/

"Small scale research on digital exclusion conducted
prior to the pandemic indicates that this
may be a particular issue for Gypsy, Roma
and Traveller pupils."

11/
https://www.gypsy-traveller.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Digital-Inclusion-in-Gypsy-and-Traveller-communities-FINAL-1.pdf?swcfpc=1

Issues around parental support may be more pronounced for children from migrant backgrounds and for Gypsy, Roma, Traveller pupils, whose parents often face language or literacy barriers and who face additional COVID-19 risks.

See @GypsyTravellerM:

12/
https://travellermovement.org.uk/news-news/125-open-letter-to-the-department-for-education-don-t-further-marginalise-gypsy-and-irish-traveller-school-pupils

The decision to replace exams with teacher estimates raised concerns about how attainment of certain groups would be affected. Research conducted before the pandemic indicated potential for unconscious bias in teachers' grading, with particular implications for...

13/

children from lower socio-economic backgrounds, ethnic minority pupils, including Gypsy, Roma and Traveller pupils, and children with SEND/ASN/ALN.

The report recommends Governments should identify the impact of school closures on the attainment gap affecting pupils...

14/

facing socio-economic disadvantage, giving particular attention to the overlap between disadvantage and protected characteristics.

And Governments should support schools developing catch-up plans to meet needs of pupils and within 6 months, report on progress and outcomes.

15/

FFT's perspective:

Covid-19 will contribute further to the already lowest attainment levels of any ethnic group that GRT experience. The Government must invest in targeted catch up support for Gypsies, Roma and Travellers and...

16/

invest in the digital support to counter high levels of digital exclusion experienced in the communities.

In addition to the points raised in the report, a significant number of Gypsy and Traveller children, along with other children, are now not in school...

17/

due to anxiety and fears of bringing back Covid-19 into the intergenerational sites and households they live in. Targeted support will be need to catch-up any pupils who have missed an extended period of school due to shielding their households.

/END