Please note: This resource is being hosted externally and not through ExChange Wales. Family and Community external events listings are posted to inform the wider community about external events including workshops, opportunities for families, children and young people, and helpful resources.

This post was originally posted by IWA.

Our director Auriol Miller was on the advisory board of The Health Foundation’s COVID-19 impact inquiry. Its report, which was launched in July 2021, found that:

• The uneven impact of COVID-19 is mapped onto pre-existing health issues and inequalities, compounded by living conditions.
• Geographical inequalities meant that those younger than 65 in the poorest 10% of areas in England were almost four times more likely to die from COVID-19 than those in the wealthiest parts of the countries, but some groups, including people from ethnic minorities, disabled people, prison inmates, were also more likely to be at a risk from the illness.
• The aftermaths of the financial crisis impacted the UK’s ability to rise to the challenges posed by the Coronavirus crisis.
• Government action, such as self-isolation support or restrictions in service access, were impactful in redressing or aggravating the effects of the crisis: any recovery strategy must address the root causes of inequality in the face of the virus, and will require cross-government action. 

You can watch the webinar launch here.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on higher education worldwide in virtually all aspects of its functioning. This analytical report provides a synthesis of the emerging evidence on what impact COVID-19 has on three specific aspects of higher education in Europe: teaching and learning; the social dimension of higher education (i.e. the effect on underrepresented, vulnerable and disadvantaged learners); and student mobility.

Drawing upon 14 rapid-response surveys carried out in 2020 by university networks, student organisations and researchers, as well as over 50 journal articles, reports and publications, the analytical report synthesises the emerging evidence and presents policy recommendations on actions to be taken at the level of higher education systems and by higher education institutions themselves.

Authors: Thomas Farnell, Ana Skledar Matijević, Ninoslav Šćukanec Schmidt

Please note: This press release was originally posted by the Welsh Government. Family & Community external events listings are posted to inform the wider community about external events including workshops, opportunities for families, children and young people, and helpful resources.

The Education Minister, Kirsty Williams, has accepted all of the recommendations of a report on Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Communities, Contributions and Cynefin in the new school Curriculum.

The Minister has also confirmed £500,000 will be provided to support the implementation of the report’s recommendations, as part of the delivery of the new Curriculum for Wales.

The report, by the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Communities, Contributions and Cynefin in the New Curriculum Working Group, chaired by Professor Charlotte Williams OBE, makes 51 recommendations in total.

The recommendations focus on a number of key areas, including improving educational resources, workforce training and professional development, and Initial Teacher Education.

The report also makes recommendations on issues such as sustainability and the importance of a ‘whole school’ approach, involving parents, governors and wider communities.

In the new curriculum, due to be taught to younger learners from 2022, the history of Wales and its diversity will be mandatory within Humanities, one of the curriculum’s six Areas of Learning and Experience. The Humanities What Matters Statement, the ‘big ideas’ and key principles in each Area, refers to a common understanding of the diverse history, cultural heritage and ethnic diversity of Wales and the wider world.

On the publication of the final report, Professor Williams said:

‘This work is unprecedented and much needed and the review represents a ground-breaking trajectory in curriculum reform in Wales. What happens in schools across Wales, the way in which they engage, take forward and sustain the concerns of this report is critically important to the wellbeing of all children and young people in Wales, to the wellbeing of those from minority backgrounds and to the wellbeing of society as a whole.

Education alone cannot address the social, cultural and structural factors that sustain racial inequality. However, education can take us a long way forward in producing the ethical and informed citizens of the future. I am confident that the proposals in this report will provide the education community with the means to address more systematically and coherently engagement with this priority area.’

In her response to the final report, the Education Minister, Kirsty Williams, said:

‘I am very grateful to Professor Williams and the Working Group for the report, which is thorough and thought-provoking, offering hard truths and clear recommendations. As the report states, our new curriculum can only be enriched by revealing the diversity of perspectives and contributions made by the ethnic minority communities to the development of Wales across its history and in the present.

If we are to achieve one of the core purposes of our new curriculum, to develop young people who are “ethical and informed citizens of Wales and the world”, we must ensure children’s experiences are expanded though engagement with ethnic minority perspectives, themes and contributions. I am delighted to accept all of the report’s recommendations and put financial support in place to ensure these recommendations are fully implemented.

Complementing the work of the education report, the Welsh Government will publish its Race Equality Action Plan next week, ‘An Anti-racist Wales’, which outlines the Welsh Government’s commitment to tackling structural and systematic racism and create a Wales that is anti-racist by 2030.’

This report was originally published at www.equalityhumanrights.com.

This report summarises evidence that helps us understand the effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on different groups in society. It highlights potential long-term risks to equality and human rights covering key issues in the areas of:

• Work
• Poverty
• Education
• Social care
• Justice and personal security

We make targeted recommendations for the UK, Scottish and Welsh Governments to ensure equality and human rights considerations are integrated into the policy response to the pandemic.

This report is part of the ‘Is Britain Fairer?’ report series.