This week, MPs will be quizzing education experts about how to tackle inequalities faced by the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities.

Gypsy, Roman and Traveller (GRT) people have some of the poorest educational outcomes in the UK and the Commons Women and Equalities committee is looking into whether government commitments to improve the situation made in 2012 have helped.

Sean Harford, Ofsted’s education director, will be among the witnesses appearing in front of the committee on Wednesday.

The other witnesses at the inquiry will be Professor Kalwant Bhopal, professor of education and social justice at Birmingham University, David Bishop, head of alternative provision, attendance and independent schools at Birmingham City Council and Lisa Smith, vice chair of the advisory council for the education of Romany and other Travellers.

Here is what you need to know about what the inquiry and the issues it is tackling.

What is the inquiry looking into?

In 2012, a ministerial working group published 28 commitments to tackle inequalities faced by Gypsies and Travellers - the inquiry will look at these commitments and the progress made in achieving them.

The 28 commitments covered education, health, accommodation, tackling hate crime, improving interaction with the prison and probation service and improving access to employment and financial service.

How do Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children do in primary schools?

Not well compared to others. In 2011, the year before the ministerial working group’s commitments were made, just 25 per cent achieved national expectations in English and maths at the end of primary, compared with 74 per cent of all pupils, a gap of 49 percentage points.

By 2017, after exam reforms, the percentage of pupils achieving the expected standard in reading, writing and maths at the end of primary was 61 per cent on average - but just 16 per cent of GRT pupils achieved this, a gap of 45 percentage points.

And what about their secondary education?

At the end of secondary education just 12 per cent of GRT pupils achieved five or more good GCSEs in 2011, including English and maths compared to 58.2 per cent of all pupils.

In 2017, 59.1 per cent of all pupils achieved grade 4 (equivalent to the old grade C) or above in English and maths, but just 10.7 per cent of Gypsy and Roma pupils did so and 22 per cent of the Travellers of Irish heritage did so.

Why is this?

The ministerial working group said that the low educational performance of GRT pupils was a “complex issue” and a combination of factors could be behind it including: financial deprivation, low levels of parental literacy, low aspirations for academic achievement, poor attendance and bullying.

Are there any other issues?

There were also high levels of permanent and fixed-term exclusions. Department for Education statistics for 2016-17 show that while 2.29 per cent of all pupils have one or more fixed period exclusions this rises to 7.1 per cent, of Gypsy/Roma pupils and 7.3 per cent of Travellers of Irish heritage.

The government has set up a school exclusions review which will consider the exclusion of groups of pupils who are more likely to be excluded, such as GRT pupils.

What did the ministerial working group say it would do?

There were six commitments given on educational issues:

1.       GRT pupils are highlighted as a vulnerable group in the revised Ofsted framework.

2.       The DfE will establish a virtual head teachers pilot for GRT pupils. This will run in a small number of local authorities where a senior individual will champion the interests of GRT pupils across the authority.

3.       To tackle poor attendance, there will be a consultation on repealing legislation that protects mobile gypsy and traveller families from prosecution for non-attendance if they are engaged in a trade that requires travel and the child has attended school for at least 200 half-days.

4.       In response to unacceptably high levels of exclusion, to take steps to assess the impact of school-based commissioning, alternative provision and early interventin.

5.       Ofsted to conduct a survey on prejudice-based bullying in 2012.

6.       DfE to collect and publish case studies from higher performing primary and secondary schools for GRT pupils.

And how has work on these issues been going?

This is what the inquiry, which originally opened in November 2016 but re-opened in September 2017 following the general election, will be looking into.

It is also asking whether these commitments have delivered a tangible improvement in the position of Gypsy and Traveller communities, whether sufficient funding has been provided and whether there is enough evidence to inform effective policy making.

Among the actions that have been taken are:

Virtual head teachers were appointed in Cambridgeshire and Kent in 2012, with funding from DfE, to raise attainment of GRT pupils.

Ofsted published a report on how to tackle bullying in 2012 along with nine good practice case studies, although it has little mention of GRT pupils.

And the DfE published four case studies in 2014 on successful ways to improve attainment and attendance for GRT pupils.

What has the committee heard so far?

In a evidence session earlier this year on health issues - Michelle Gavin, project manager of Friends, Families and Travellers (FFT), a charity that works with GRT communities, explained that public health messages do not reach the community partly due to low levels of literacy. She said that in FFT 45 per cent of clients have no literacy or low literacy.

What do Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people say?

A submission to the inquiry from the National Federation of Gypsy Liaison Groups says that since the 28 commitments were produced there has only been “limited progress” in tackling the inequalities experienced.

They say that there has been little in the way of leadership or monitoring and there is a lack of adequate data.