Gypsy Roma Traveller Advisory Teachers
(GRT AT’s)
Staffordshire County Council
Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) Policy
Staffordshire County Council provide an Advisory Education Service to ensure that
schools and settings are supported in meeting their statutory duties regarding the
safeguarding and inclusion of Gypsy, Roma, Travellers of Irish Heritage and
Occupational Travellers.
Why?
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The Education Act 1996 (Section 13) places local authorities under a statutory
duty to ensure that education is available for all school age children in their
area, appropriate to their age, ability and aptitude, and any special
educational needs they may have. This duty extends to all children residing in
their area, whether permanently or temporarily, and thus embraces Travelling
children. (DES Circular 1/81)
Staffordshire County Council has a statutory duty under the Equality Act 2010
to promote racial equality and to eliminate racial discrimination and
harassment.
There are many different GRT Communities in the UK including: English Gypsy, Irish
Travellers, Scottish Travellers, Occupational Travellers, Showmen, Circus, New
Travellers and Eastern European Roma. All of these communities have specific
educational needs due to their mobility, historic educational experiences and the
prejudice and discrimination which they face.
The predominant Traveller group in Staffordshire is English Gypsy but the County is
also home to a number of Irish Traveller, Showmen and Bargee communities.
Seasonal Migrant workers come to Staffordshire for agricultural work. There are also
a growing number of Eastern European Roma families.
Many primary schools in Staffordshire have good relationships with their Traveller
families and therefore experience better attainment and attendance from GRT pupils
than the national average. Early Years up-take is high and retention through middle
school is good. However, Staffordshire GRT families are often reticent to send their
children to high school and will often make the decision to electively home educate
(EHE),
Who?
SCC has two Advisory Teachers for Gypsy, Roma and Travellers (GRT ATs). They
work together across the whole County.
L Powis and C Escott
October 2015
Gypsy Roma Traveller Advisory Teachers
(GRT AT’s)
How?
SCC’s aim is to improve the educational opportunities for all GRT students by:
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providing advice and guidance to professionals working with Traveller
communities
working with local Gypsy Roma and Traveller communities to raise their
aspirations and expectations
developing strategies to minimise the risk and improve the resilience of
families in relation to the education of their children
networking with local and national Traveller Education Professionals
The GRT ATs offer advice, guidance and training for all services across the County.
They work closely with other agencies in Staffordshire to improve the life chances of
GRT young people.
The GRT ATs are proactive in maintaining the GRT Hub (a regional network of
professional working with GRT families) and are also involved with national
organisations for GRT education including NATT+.
To accommodate the range of needs of GRT families, the role of the Advisory
Teachers is diverse, and falls into three main areas:
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Safeguarding and Welfare
School Improvement
Elective Home Education
Safeguarding and Welfare
Building trust and relationships is the key to ensuring engagement with the Traveller
community. The established good practice and relationships which the GRT ATs
have with families enables them to be facilitators for families using mainstream
services and thus improving the opportunities and life chances of the young people.
Aspects of the role:
Outreach work –
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engaging with families in their homes which include: houses, chalets and
trailers on settled sites.
developing strategies to accommodate mobility.
visiting occupational seasonal Travellers and teaching Fairground / Circus
children when they are in the county.
L Powis and C Escott
October 2015
Gypsy Roma Traveller Advisory Teachers
(GRT AT’s)
Unauthorised Encampments (UE) –
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visiting all known UEs in SCC as soon as possible (aiming for less than 4
working days)
establishing need, signposting families to appropriate mainstream services
and facilitating access to these services.
working with and responding to the different approaches of the Districts when
an UE is reported
Access and attendance - GRT ATs work with families, school admissions and other
professionals to secure appropriate educational provision for GRT students. This can
include:
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advising on and facilitating access
attending appeal hearings
supporting schools and families through transition stages
working with families, schools and other professionals to retain students in
mainstream education.
They also advise schools and families on mobility and how to minimise its impact on
school attendance and student achievement, liaising with other LAs to maintain
continuity of education for families who are travelling.
Strategic planning – GRT ATs work with other SCC professionals and their partners
to ensure that GRT key priorities are included within Staffordshire’s strategic plan.
They proactively work with other agencies to plan for improving outcomes for GRT
families including: joint working with Local Support Teams and consultation on site
provision with planning officers. Protocols are being developed, reviewed and
updated with other agencies to deliver best practice. GRT ATs respond to specific
safeguarding priorities with regard to GRT families e.g. child sexual exploitation, esafety and fire safety.
Multi-agency working – linking with other agencies including; health, education,
planning and police. Joint home visits and delivering awareness raising training to
establish good working practices and to help dispel any prejudice which may be
perceived or real from families and professionals.
Empowering families – the GRT ATs work with families to build their capacity and
resilience enabling them to act independently and access appropriate services, thus
enhancing their life chances.
Children Missing Education (CME) – the GRT ATs have regular meetings with the
LA’s CME officer to discuss existing GRT CME and endeavour to minimise these.
Safeguarding - the GRT AT’s have Level 3 training from Staffordshire Safeguarding
Children’s Board. They work closely with colleagues where appropriate.
L Powis and C Escott
October 2015
Gypsy Roma Traveller Advisory Teachers
(GRT AT’s)
GRT children and families must be subject to the same criteria as the mainstream
population. There is no place for cultural assumptions and stereotyping.
The GRT ATs have a close working relationship with the Education Safeguarding
Officer and are part of relevant working groups e.g. Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE)
etc.
SEND – the GRT AT’s work with families and colleagues in SEND during the
development of the EHCP and continue to maintain appropriate links with regard to
the child’s education.
School Improvement
The GRT ATs work in partnership with the schools, educational settings and other
LA officers to ensure that:
GRT children
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have unhindered and full access to their legal entitlement to education.
are given the opportunities that will enable them to become adult participants
in a democratic society.
are included in an environment which accords respect to all pupils whatever
their ethnic, racial, religious and cultural backgrounds.
Educational establishments and services
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monitor the opportunities available to pupils through policies and practices,
and analyse outcomes with reference to ethnic, linguistic and cultural
background.
have high expectations of all pupils.
monitor the educational progress and attainment of pupils.
monitor achievement with reference to ethnic, linguistic and cultural
background.
identify whether disparities in outcomes exist (with reference to data that
encompasses measures of progress, attainment, attendance and exclusion)
between GRT pupils and all other pupil groups.
develop strategies to address any disparities in outcomes.
adhere to the Equality Act 2010 with regard to GRT pupils and their families.
Aspects of the role:
Delivering Continued Professional Development – cultural awareness which
includes; challenging stereotypes, developing inclusive practice and celebrating
culture.
L Powis and C Escott
October 2015
Gypsy Roma Traveller Advisory Teachers
(GRT AT’s)
Outreach work – to improve parental understanding of education issues including
ascription, attendance and attainment .To establish positive home/school community
links and develop good practice around parental school engagement.
Teaching Intervention – negotiated, targeted, short term teaching intervention which
has specific criteria and a set time period.
Attendance – advice and guidance to schools regarding the absence of pupils,
including those who travel for cultural, religious and work purposes and the
appropriate strategies to minimise the impact on education, for example use of the
‘T’ code and dual registration.
Distance Learning – assisting in the development of school based distance learning
(SBDL) work for pupils who are absent due to their parents’ travelling for work
purposes. SBDL helps to minimise the disruption to their education and enable the
continuity of education when they are able to attend another school on a dual
registration.
Achievement and Attainment – scrutinising data provided by the LA, schools and
settings to ensure that GRT pupils both individually and as a group are achieving
appropriate level of progress. GRT ATs provide advice and guidance for schools and
settings to develop strategies to maximise pupils’ achievement.
EHE
Whilst most GRT families choose to educate their children in mainstream schools for
Key Stage 1 and 2, the situation is very different at Key Stage 3 and 4 where the
majority of Staffordshire GRT families opt to home educate.
Part of the GRT AT’s role is to conduct EHE visits. The GRT ATs follow the same
policies and procedures as the other SCC Home Education Support Officers
(HESO’s).
Due to the existing relationships developed by the GRTS ATs with most GRT
families, when considering EHE the majority of GRT families are engaging with SCC
and the students are following suitable programmes of work taking into account their
age, ability, aptitude and any special educational needs that they have.
Monitoring and Review
The impact of this policy will be monitored through an annual report.
The policy will be reviewed and amended annually.
L Powis and C Escott
October 2015
Gypsy Roma Traveller Advisory Teachers
(GRT AT’s)
Supporting Documents
National Planning Policy Framework (2012) - Gov.UK
http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/publication/ehrc-annual-report-2009-2010
http://www.essex.gov.uk/Business-Partners/Partners/Schools/schoolgovernors/Latest-Updates/Documents/Ofsted-Inspecting-equalities-briefing.pdf
http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/sites/default/files/documents/research/12inequa
lities_experienced_by_gypsy_and_traveller_communities_a_review.pdf
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/improving-the-outcomes-for-gypsyroma-and-traveller-pupils-final-report
https://www.gov.uk/government/case-studies/gypsy-roma-and-traveller-pupilssupporting-access-to-education
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/gypsy-and-traveller-accommodationneeds-assessments
Appendix A – SCC Documents
GRT AT Team documents
L Powis and C Escott
October 2015