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Inequality Still Rife in Schools, Says EHRC

Summary: Gay, lesbian and bisexual pupils, those with special educational needs and children from black communities continue to be among the worst hit by inequality in schools, according to a damning Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) report.

The EHRC's latest report on inequality in the UK found that a number of groups of children "are still not getting a fair deal out of the education system".

The commission is concerned that seven out of 10 excluded children have special educational needs and while a growing number of disabled young people are going on to university, "this group is still not achieving its potential".

The report adds: "Calls to our helpline related to disability and education also indicate that this is an area of concern."

The treatment of lesbian, gay and bisexual young people in school was also highlighted as a major concern. The report found that for many, their lives are blighted by bullying at school.

A spokesman for the charity Stonewall said that the school system is still suffering from a "hangover of hate" from section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988, which made it illegal to promote homosexuality in schools. The clause was repealed in 2003.

He said: "The discrimination and prejudice is coming from other pupils and teachers. Our research has found that 65 per cent of young gay, lesbian and bisexual pupils have experienced homophobic bullying in school."

He added that in a third of cases, adults, including teachers, were behind such treatment and nine out of 10 teachers had received no training to tackle homophobia.

Black pupils are far less likely to achieve a good university degree grade than their white peers, the report found, adding that the "relationship between ethnicity, literacy and numeracy is very strong".

The commission concluded that "being black and male appears to have a greater impact on levels of numeracy than having a learning disability".

Other victims of inequality were pupils in Wales, who are less likely to have basic literacy skills as children and into adulthood. One in four adults in Wales lack basic literacy skills, more than any region in the UK and far higher than the England average of one in six.

Source: Children and Young People Now

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