Education systems: UK government action

The CERD recommendation was made in September 2024 and the ICESCR recommendation was made in March 2025.

Since the recommendations were made, the UK government has taken some action to provide culturally appropriate education adapted to the needs of the groups of children specified.

In November 2024, the UK government launched an independent review to refresh the national curriculum and statutory assessment system for children aged 5 to 19. The review aims to address barriers to progress and good outcomes, especially for children:

• from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds
• who have special educational needs or disabilities
• who are otherwise vulnerable

The UK government responded to the review’s final report in November 2025. It stated that the reformed curriculum would draw on a range of content that bests suits pupils’ needs.

The statutory guidance on Children Missing Education, last updated in September 2025, requires local authorities to identify and support children not receiving suitable education. This could include newly arrived migrant children, Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) children, children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and children in care.

In April 2026, the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 became law. The act contains several measures intended to support vulnerable and marginalised children. For example, the act introduced registers of children not in school in every local authority in England and Wales. This measure aims to support local authorities to meet their duties to:

• keep children in their areas safe
• make arrangements to identify children of compulsory school age who are not in school and are not receiving a suitable education

The act also contained measures aimed at supporting, and removing barriers to, school attendance for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. These included introducing free breakfast clubs in all state-funded primary schools and limiting the number of branded items schools can require in uniform policies.

Migrant, asylum-seeking and refugee children

All children of compulsory school age and those who are over compulsory school age but aged under 19 are entitled to access a school-based education when they are in England. The government’s school applications guidance that this includes children with an uncertain immigration status, those seeking asylum who are still awaiting a decision (including dependent children of an asylum seeker) and children who have been recognised as refugees.

Schools are required to prioritise children in the care of a local authority (looked after children) for admission. This will include unaccompanied asylum-seeker children.

In June 2025, the UK government extended free school meal eligibility to children in all households with no recourse to public funds (NRPF).

Disabled children

In September 2025, Ofsted published updated guidance on school inspections, which states that inspectors will consider how schools identify and support pupils with SEND.

In February 2026, the UK government published the ‘Every child achieving and thriving’ white paper. This included a commitment to making sure that there is inclusive mainstream education alongside high-quality specialist provision, and that schools are equipped to support children with SEND.

In February 2026, the UK government launched a consultation on reforming SEND provision by 2035. The consultation states that £1.6 billion of funding will be provided over three years with the aim of supporting mainstream education to be more inclusive. It also states that the reforms will be guided by the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The outcome of the consultation has not yet been published.

Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children

Between July 2021 and July 2022, before the recommendations were made, the government ran a £1 million education programme for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children. Programmes focused on improving educational attainment, tackling exclusion and drop-out rates and improving pathways to employment for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children. The programme did not continue after July 2022.

Children from disadvantaged backgrounds

The UK government continues to fund the Pupil Premium Grant, which was first introduced in April 2011.The grant provides funding to schools to improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged pupils in state-funded schools in England. This includes pupils who:

• are recorded as eligible for Free School Meals, or who have been recorded as eligible in the past 6 years
• were previously looked after by a local authority or other state care, including children adopted from state care or equivalent from outside England and Wales
• looked after children
• children who have or have had a social worker
• children who act as a carer

The School admissions code also permits schools to prioritise children eligible for the pupil premium for admission. These children can be prioritised immediately after looked after children and previously looked after children.

In June 2025, the government announced that from September 2026, over half a million additional pupils would be eligible for free school meals. This government programme ensures children receive nutritious meals during school hours. This expansion will build upon the existing provision which already covers:

• 2.1 million disadvantaged children
• 90,000 low-income students in further education
• around 1.3 million infants under the universal infant free school meals programme

The ‘Every child achieving and thriving’ white paper, published in February 2026, also included a commitment to halving the key stage 4 disadvantage gap, and to supporting children from low-income backgrounds to achieve around a full grade higher in each of their GCSEs than is the case today.

Assessment up to date as of June 2026.

The CRC recommendation was made in June 2023 and the ICESCR recommendation was made in March 2025.

Teacher training

Since the recommendations were made, the UK government has not provided specific training for teachers on not perpetuating stereotypes. However, in January 2016, it launched a website with resources for teachers on how to educate against hate. New content continues to be published regularly on the website.

Education materials

In March 2022, before the recommendations were made, the government published an Inclusive Britain Action Plan in response to a report by the government-appointed Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities. The government published a progress update on the action plan’s commitments in May 2024.

A model history curriculum expert panel was appointed in July 2022. The panel, which included experts in history, history teaching and curriculum design, was set up to advise the government on developing a model history curriculum aimed at reflecting diversity of the UK and the contributions made by different groups. However, the terms of reference did not refer to removing stereotypes or language influenced by colonialism. This work was subsequently not taken forward.

In Autumn 2024, Oak National Academy, a non-departmental government body that produces curriculum resources, published history resources for primary and secondary schools. These aimed to help schools deliver a diverse and inclusive history curriculum.

Statutory guidance for schools on relationships and sex education (RSE) and health education was first published by the government in June 2019 and last updated in July 2025. The guidance includes curriculum content that encourages the challenging of stereotypes. Schools will be required to teach the new content from September 2026.

In November 2025, the government published the final report from an independent review of the curriculum, assessment and qualifications system. In response to the review, the government committed to making sure that history education ‘supports pupils to understand Britain’s past and our connections to the wider world, as well as develop knowledge about other civilisations and people in and of themselves’ and to making sure that the curriculum ‘paints a picture of a modern and forward-looking Britain.’ The government also committed to making sure that teachers are able to reflect the diversity of British history, including British Black and Asian history. However, the document did not specify how this would be done. A revised curriculum is due to be published in 2027, and to be introduced in schools in 2028.

Assessment up to date as of June 2026.

The CERD and CRC recommendations were made in September 2024 and June 2023, respectively. Since then, the UK government has taken some action to reduce attainment gaps and improve educational outcomes for children in disadvantaged situations.

Action plan to improve educational attainment

In July 2024, the UK government launched a curriculum and assessment review, which included consideration of the main challenges to attainment, particularly for those who are socioeconomically disadvantaged or have special educational needs. The related Department for Education (DfE) call for evidence, launched in September 2024, referenced attainment gaps for different learner characteristics such as ethnicity and included questions on barriers faced by different groups. In March 2025, the curriculum and assessment review interim report was published. This did not refer to Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) communities, pupils of African descent or migrant, asylum-seeking and refugee pupils. However, it acknowledged, for example, that diverse representation and perspectives in set texts has been seen to support positive outcomes and engagement.

In December 2024, the UK government published the ‘Plan for Change’ which sets out the government’s priorities for this Parliament. This includes a commitment to helping every child achieve at school, with a focus on disadvantaged children and those with special educational needs or disabilities. The DfE definition of ‘disadvantaged’ is pupils who have been registered for free school meals in the past six years or are currently, or have previously been, looked after by the local authority. The document states that impact will be measured through attainment at the end of secondary school.

The document does not refer to pupils from GRT communities, pupils of African descent or migrant, asylum-seeking and refugee pupils. It also does not state whether plans will be developed in consultation with families. The DfE has an ongoing GRT stakeholder group which the DfE states informs policy and delivery.  

Providing financial and other support

From November 2020 to August 2024, the UK government ran the National Tutoring Programme to address learning loss and support education recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic. The programme provided schools with funding for tutoring, including to improve attainment by disadvantaged pupils, with schools required to consider offering tutoring to all their pupils eligible for pupil premium. 

The UK government currently funds the ‘pupil premium’. This is a grant that provides additional funding to state-funded schools in England to improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged pupils. Schools must spend their pupil premium in line with the department’s 'menu of approaches', which is informed by evidence of how best to improve disadvantaged pupils’ attainment. Guidance for school leaders about pupil premium explains that it is not a personal budget for individual pupils and can be used to support pupils who do not meet the eligibility criteria but have other identified needs. For example, it can be used to support pupils who are carers. The UK government updated this guidance in March 2025.

In October 2024, DfE announced £15 million to expand attendance mentoring. Attendance mentoring provides one-to-one support for pupils with persistent absence to help address barriers to attending school. In the Autumn 2024 / 2025 term, data on pupil absence in schools in England showed that 1.28 million pupils were persistently absent from school. The programme started in 2022 in five pilot areas. The additional funding has expanded this across an additional 10 areas, with a view to reaching 10,000 more children.

In April 2025, the UK government introduced free breakfast clubs in primary schools. This scheme provides funding to schools to run 30-minute sessions before school where all pupils are provided with a free breakfast.

In June 2025, the UK government announced free school meals would be extended to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit from September 2026.

Developing guidelines on absenteeism

In August 2024, the DfE published statutory guidance on improving school attendance, which includes providing support for disadvantaged pupils. This updated earlier non-statutory published in May 2022. 

Collecting and sharing data to improve policy making

The DfE publishes data collected through the annual school census. This includes data on attainment and school exclusions disaggregated by various pupil characteristics including ethnicity, sex, special educational needs, and disadvantage. In 2023, young carers were added to the annual school census. There is no evidence that the DfE publishes data on school completion rates disaggregated by ethnicity or other protected characteristics.

The government publishes information on the number of children missing education by year group. However, the latest publication on children missing education does not include a breakdown by, for example, ethnicity. The government does publish information on the number of children in school as of January each year by age, year group and characteristics such as ethnicity, and number of pupils at the end of key stage 4 by characteristics.  

In addition to this, in November 2023, the DfE published the findings of research to identify actions taken by trusts and academies to narrow attainment gaps between different ethnic groups, and understand whether practical lessons can be drawn.

Assessment up to date as of September 2025.  

Definitions (England) 

Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) are defined as needs and disabilities that can affect a child or young person’s ability to learn.  

Special schools are schools that specialize in areas of special educational needs. 

Alternative Provision (AP) is ‘education arranged by local authorities for pupils who, because of exclusion, illness or other reasons, would not otherwise receive suitable education; education arranged by schools for pupils on a fixed period exclusion; and pupils being directed by schools to off-site provision to improve their behaviour’.  

Assessment

In March 2023, the Department for Education (DfE) published the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan for England. One of the stated aims of the plan was to deliver an inclusive system that delivers timely, high-quality services and support in mainstream settings, ‘alongside swift access to more local state specialist settings, where required’. 

The plan was not fully in line with the definition of Inclusive Education in Article 24 of the CRPD. Despite some areas of the plan intended to maintain placements in mainstream schools, it was still based on a model of separate and tiered education.  

In May 2024, the UK government announced locations for 16 new special free schools and trusts appointed at a further 7 schools, as part of a commitment to provide 60,000 more special school places. 

Since July 2024, the plan no longer represents current government policy. The government has committed to ‘taking a community-wide approach’ with the aim of improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, as well as ensuring that special schools cater to those with the most complex needs. 

The DfE did not publish an update on the plan’s progress since publication, and therefore it is difficult to assess implementation of the plan. However, in January 2024, DfE confirmed that it had updated the content of the Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Frameworks in relation to supporting children with SEND, which was one of the plan’s commitments. 

On 1 September 2024, the government introduced a new mandatory leadership level National Professional Qualification (NPQ) for Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCOs). The NPQ must be completed within three years of taking up a SENCO post.

In July 2024, a review of the national curriculum was launched. This will consider barriers faced by children, including those with special educational needs or disabilities. Ofsted, the non-ministerial department responsible for inspecting schools in England, has committed to consult on including a new ‘inclusion’ criterion under the reformed education inspection framework. This will evaluate support for disadvantaged and vulnerable children, including those with SEND. 

Assessment up to date as of December 2024.  

Monitoring school enrolment practices  

The Office of the Schools Adjudicator (OSA) reports annually to the Secretary of State, including a summary of reports from local authorities on school admissions. The reports contain consideration of the specific issues faced by children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.  

In 2020, after the recommendation was made in 2017, the DfE conducted an open consultation on changes to the Admissions Code, including to Fair Access Protocols (FAPs). FAPs are developed by local authorities with the aim of ensuring groups of children, including those with SEND (but not EHC plans) who are having difficulty securing a place in-year, are allocated a school place as quickly as possible. Organisations supporting students with SEND, and their parents or carers, participated in the consultation.

An updated Admissions Code was published in 2021. This reminds schools of their Equality Act 2010 obligations not to discriminate on the grounds of disability. In particular, the new code clarifies that schools deciding whether to admit a child based on previous ‘challenging behaviour’ should consider case law on pupils who exhibit tendencies to physical abuse of other persons as a result of their disability.  

The July 2024 King’s Speech included a Children’s Wellbeing Bill with provision to include a requirement on schools to co-operate with local authorities on school admissions, SEND inclusion, and place planning.

Remedies and compensation for discrimination in enrolment practices 

The 2023 DfE SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan included a commitment to prevent discrimination on the grounds of disability by supporting schools to comply with their duties under the Equality Act 2010. The plan also committed to reconsidering the current policy on how disability claims against schools are dealt with.  

The plan also committed to strengthening routes to redress. This included a commitment to offering training and support, and further promoting minimum standards, to the SEND Information, Advice and Support Services (SENDIASS). SENDIASS provide support and free advice to families and local areas to resolve disputes early and at formal stages. 

The plan also included a commitment to updating the SEND code of practice to clarify who is responsible for resolving complaints and the routes of escalation if families are unhappy with the way their concerns have been addressed. As part of this, the government committed to reviewing whether the role of the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO), who consider complaints against local authorities, should be in a reformed SEND system. It is unclear to what extent the plan has been implemented. 

Assessment up to date as of December 2024.  

In March 2023, the Department for Education (DfE) adopted a plan to improve Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) in schools in England. The plan met many requirements of the UN recommendation. One of the stated aims of the plan was to create a new national SEND and alternative provision system that delivers timely, high-quality services and support in mainstream settings. However, the plan was not fully in line with the definition of Inclusive Education in Article 24 of the CRPD, and is based on a model of separate and tiered education.  

DfE states that the plan was informed by a 16-week public consultation and a range of consultation events, which included the views of charities and voluntary organisations, including the Disabled Children’s Partnership who represent children and young people with disabilities. The consultation report was published in 2022 and updated in 2023. Alongside the plan, DfE published a ‘roadmap’ which sets out timelines and measurable goals. The DfE committed to support delivery of the plan by allocating £400 million to local authorities’ high needs budgets in 2023/24, as explained on page 6 of the SEND and AP plan.  

The plan included commitments to improve support provisions for disabled children in schools by proposing a longer-term approach for teaching assistants and training speech and language therapists. 

The plan set out various commitments including to provide funding for up to 5,000 early years staff to gain an accredited Level 3 early years SENCo qualification by August 2024, among others. The review of the initial teacher training and early career framework (ITTECF) has now taken place, with an update published in January 2024. DFE states that this includes significantly more content related to adaptive teaching and supporting pupils with SEND and edits to improve inclusivity for SEND throughout the framework. 

On 1 September 2024, the government introduced a new mandatory leadership level National Professional Qualification (NPQ) for SENCos. The NPQ must be completed within three years of taking up a SENCo post. 

The plan did not include requirements for schools to implement inclusive policies ensuring socialisation between lessons and outside school.  

The plan did not include an awareness-raising campaign on inclusive education among parents of children with disabilities. However, the focus on creating a single national SEND and alternative provision system, which DfE states should provide parents and carers with more clarity about the support that is available for their children.  

Since July 2024, the improvement plan no longer represent government policy.  

In England, DfE report on the number of students and their outcomes, comparing pupil numbers and outcomes for mainstream provision, special schools and alternative provision, disaggregated by impairment, age, ethnicity and sex. 

Assessment up to date as of December 2024.