The Standards Site: Gypsy and Traveller Pupils

Go to FAQs

Gypsy and Traveller Pupils

How does the Government propose to raise the achievement and attendance of Gypsy and Traveller children?

What financial support is given to support Gypsy and Traveller education?

Is funding for Gypsy and Traveller children ring-fenced within the Vunerable ChildrensGrant?

Through the Aiming High: Raising the Achievement of Minority Ethnic Pupils - a strategy to tackle the under-achievement of minority ethnic pupils, including those from Gypsy and Traveller communities. In 2003 we published Aiming High: Raising the Achievement of Gypsy and Traveller Pupils: A Guide to Good Practice. This guide offers practical advice and guidance to schools on how to develop effective policies and practices to help raise the achievement of Gypsy and Traveller pupils. The guidance can be downloaded from this site. We will refresh the guidance during 2005 and a new version will be available early in 2006.

From 2003, for the first time, Gypsy/Roma and Travellers of Irish Heritage pupils were included as categories in their own right in the Pupil Level Annual School Census (PLASC) data (the two largest groups within the Gypsy and Traveller communities). From the data published in 2004 and 2005 we have been able to look at the performance of Gypsy and Traveller pupils. This has shown that we need to do more to help children from these communities achieve their potential. This data will help us to explore where the barriers are to Gypsies and Travellers reaching their full potential.

It is important for local authorities and schools to comply with the statutory requirements under the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 to monitor and assess the impact of their policies on children form Gypsy/Roma and Travellers of Irish Heritage. The Department is committed to creating the best environment in our schools to enable Gypsy and Traveller pupils to succeed. In order to do this we must work closely with local authorities, Traveller Education Services and other Government Departments to ensure that Gypsy and Traveller pupils receive a good quality education.

You can find out more about what we are hoping to accomplish and ongoing project work on this site.

What financial support is given to support Gypsy and Traveller education? to top ^

Schools receive funding for Gypsy and Traveller children in the same way as they do for all other children on the school roll, through the Education Formula Spending Share (EFSS). In addition, Gypsy and Traveller children also benefit from the Vulnerable Children Grant (VCG).

From April 2003 the Vulnerable Children Grant merged several Standards Fund Grants, including the Traveller Achievement Grant and made available £84 million - a substantial increase on the grants it replaces which totalled £31m in 2002.

For 2005-2006 the Vulnerable Children's grant remains at £84 million. The VCG grant allows LAs to allocate funding based on local needs in order to provide support to a range of vulnerable children, including those from Gypsy and Traveller backgrounds.

Funding for Gypsy and Traveller children, via the VCG mainly goes to the Traveller Education Support Services (TESS) whose staff work closely with their LAs and schools to help improve levels of school attendance and raise the awareness and understanding of Gypsy and Traveller culture within the educational community.

Is funding for Gypsy and Traveller children ring-fenced within the Vunerable ChildrensGrant? to top ^

No. The VCG is ring-fenced at LA level but not the different elements of the grant.

The VCG will allow LAs to provide more services and also gives them the opportunity to allocate funding based on local needs and priorities and provide coherent support across the different groups of vulnerable children, including Gypsy and Traveller children.

A Gypsy and Traveller family has requested places at school for their children even though they are camped on the roadside and may not be here long. Do I have to admit them? to top ^

Yes. They should be admitted on the same basis as any other children. Local Authorities have a statutory duty to ensure that education is available for all children of compulsory school age in their area appropriate to their age, abilities, aptitudes and any special educational needs they might have. This duty applies to children whether they are residing permanently or temporarily in the area and therefore includes Gypsy and Traveller children.

Three Gypsy and Traveller siblings asked for places mid-term. We have room for the Year 3 and Year 6 children, but our Year 1 Class already has 30 children. Will the parents have to go to appeal for a place in this class? to top ^

The Infant Class Size legislation makes sensible allowance for the entry of an additional child in certain limited circumstances. In the case of Gypsy and Traveller pupils this would usually arise "where a child moves into an area outside the normal admissions round and there is no other school which would provide suitable education within a reasonable distance".

There are no special provisions under the Regulations for Gypsy and Traveller pupils, who must fall into one of the general categories to become an excepted pupil.

We had a child on the school roll for a few months but they seem to have left the area as we have not heard of them for a considerable time. Can we take them off roll? to top ^

It would be reasonable to expect the parents to let you know if they are going travelling and if they expect their child to return to your school. If they have not done so and the child has been continuously absent from school for a period of not less than 4 weeks and the school and LA have failed, after 'reasonable enquiry', to locate the pupil, they can be taken off roll. However, if you are the Base School for this pupil, their absence should be recorded as 'authorised' and a place kept open for them.

If you are not sure whether you are the Base school, your LA Traveller Education Support Service will be able to offer advice.

We have Gypsy and Traveller children in school at the time of the end of Key Stage Tests, what do we do? to top ^

If the children are on your school roll, you should administer the tests in the same way as you would do for all other children. Their marks should be added to the school mark sheet for each subject taken, their scripts should be sent for marking in the usual way, and you should report their results to their parents.

If the children have dual registration and they are 'guests' in your school, you should administer the tests in the normal way and then pass the results to their base school which should take 'ownership' of the results and report them to their parents.

We are an over-subscribed school. Our over-subscription criteria include giving preference to children whose older siblings have attended the school and a newly arrived Traveller family is objecting to this on the grounds that it discriminates against them. Are they right? to top ^

Admission Authorities should carefully consider the possible impact, direct or indirect, on equal opportunities of their criteria. Bearing in mind the Race Relations (Amendment) Act, your criteria could disproportionately (even if unintentionally) disadvantage Gypsy and Traveller families who have more recently moved into the area.

How do we record absences of Gypsy and Traveller children? to top ^

In exactly the same way as for any other child with the exception of instances where it is known that the family is travelling away from the area. In that case the mark 'T' or other chosen letter is put in the register and the absence is recorded as authorised.

What do we do if the poor attendance of a Traveller child is causing concern? to top ^

Your local Traveller Education Service may have a specialist Education Welfare Officer who will assist the school, in the first instance, in liaising with the family to improve attendance rates. If the issues persist then the mainstream Education Welfare Officer should be involved and procedures followed as for any child, with due regard for the need for sensitivity.

There are always at least ten Gypsy and Traveller children in our school as we are the closest school to a Traveller site that opened six years ago. The local Traveller Education Service put plenty of support in for the first few years but they now give us support only when new children arrive even though we keep requesting extra. Shouldn't we be having more help? to top ^

Support from Traveller Education Services is targeted towards the most vulnerable children and the first priorities would usually be:

highly mobile children to secure access and attendance at school;
transfer to secondary school;
maintenance of attendance at secondary school.

When a Gypsy and Traveller child enrols in a school the child "belongs" to that school, not the Traveller Education Service. Those schools that are located near sites and always have Gypsy and Traveller children on roll usually develop their own expertise in this area of work and may well become beacons of good practice for other schools who take these children in less frequently. However, Traveller Education Support staff can always be contacted to discuss specific issues and can provide a wide range of practical help and advice.

Can a Gypsy and Traveller child be registered at two schools at any one time? to top ^

Yes. To help ensure the continuity of learning for Traveller children, dual registration is allowed. This means that while a Traveller child is away, the base school holds the place open and records the absence as authorised.

The school cannot remove the child from the school role while they are travelling. Schools with Traveller children as guest pupils should report results of any test the child takes to the base school who should take ownership of the results.

Most LAs have a standardised KEY for the register, which is sometimes the letter 'T' to represent travelling. There is no standard registration mark across the county at national level.

Can schools exceed the class size regulation to accommodate Gypsy and Traveller children? to top ^

Yes. The Infant Class Size legislation makes allowance for the entry of an additional child in certain limited circumstances.

The Education (Infant Class Size) (England) Regulations 1998 covers that law on which pupils may be admitted to an infant class which already has 30 pupils. The schedule to the regulations lists the circumstances in which a child may be regarded as an excepted pupil.

Gypsy and Traveller children are not listed specifically, so a school cannot admit a chid to a 'full' infant class simply on that basis. Such children must fall into one of the more general categories. Many of the categories listed refer to children who are admitted outside the normal admission round. This condition will often be fulfilled by Gypsy and Traveller children, but it is not sufficient on its own.