White boys need extra help, ministers told

Some white working-class boys are so far behind classmates they should get special treatment like traveller children and the disabled, says the Equalities and Human Rights Commission. It wants the Government to introduce regulations that would require public bodies to take action on the biggest inequalities in their areas. In education, it cites “children sharing certain protected characteristics including boys, disabled children and gipsy and traveller children”.

SOME white working class boys are so far behind classmates they should get special treatment like traveller children and the disabled, says the Equalities and Human Rights Commission.

It now wants the Government to introduce regulations that would require ministers and public bodies to set out action plans to reverse the biggest inequalities in their areas.

In education, it cites attainment gaps and high exclusion rates among “children sharing certain protected characteristics including boys, disabled children and gipsy and traveller children”.

A commission spokesman said: “Attainment is an issue particularly for white boys on free school meals or from disadvantaged backgrounds, whereas exclusion rates are higher for Gipsy, Roma, traveller boys and black boys”.

Official data shows white boys on free school meals are 13 points behind disadvantaged black pupils in key phonic literacy skills when they start school. By 16, the average GCSE score for white boys on free school meals is just 29.5, compared to 40.5 for Asian disadvantaged boys, based on their score for eight GCSES.

Three times as many boys are excluded as girls while black and traveller children are at least three times more likely to be excluded than white pupils.

Traveller children are eligible for grants to support extra teaching, outreach staff who work with parents to improve attendance, and additional training for teachers on how to handle the cultural and social differences. Special needs children are legally entitled to specialist one to one support.

Schools and local councils where disadvantaged white boys are underperforming, particularly in literacy, would be required to draw up action plans to reverse the gap.

Becky Francis, director of University College London’s Institute of Education, said that social inequality was far more influential in accounting for the difference in academic performance than gender.

But she added: “There’s reasonably good evidence that challenging gender stereotypes in the home and school is actually effective and is the best strategy for narrowing gaps.”