Scottish Traveller Education Programme

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Launching of My Learning Record and Initial Rapid Assessment Guide (IRAG)* Perth March 2008

As a result of recent research with teachers, Gypsy/Traveller and travelling show and fairground families, a draft version of the My Learning Record was piloted, evaluated and developed with families alongside school and designated teachers across 4 local authorities: Moray, Angus, South Lanarkshire and Highland.

The Scottish Government funded published draft is written in a child friendly way, however, its sections map onto current educational legislation and policy. As a hand held record brought to the school by the family, the My Learning Record has space to record information about a young person’s learning.

It will provide a teacher with an initial transfer of curricular information that is meaningful to the child. The My Learning Record works alongside the IRAG. This spiral bound document provides a class teacher or teacher working in out-of-school settings with some fun activities to quickly assess a mobile pupil's learning needs.

Together with Keeping in Touch, a STEP leaflet designed to encourage parents to stay in touch with school or out-of-school teachers, these national documents aim to establish good practice in supporting learning and teaching, and in keeping track of mobile learners. In particular, they aim to support those learners living in or passing through education authorities with less well developed ‘education outwith school’ services.

John Fyffe, Executive Director (Education & children’s Services) Perth and Kinross welcomed a wide range of educational and support service professionals to the launch of these national documents. Staff from voluntary agencies, site managers, youth and community workers reflected the interest in education for Travellling communities. STEP welcomed the ELO’s from the Showmen’s Guild of Great Britain Scottish Section. STEP staff were also pleased to welcome a colleague from the SQA, their interest is important in taking the work of the documents forward – hopefully in influencing official recording of achievement that recognises Travellers’ learning and skills gained with families, and training achieved in outwith school settings.

The day included a display of comments by some of the young people and teachers who have used the My Learning Record. Together with comments from people on the day, these will be taken into account when the next batch of documents are re-printed – so keep sending in your views via the evaluation form included in the My Learning Record.

Professor Martyn Rouse, Chair in Social and Educational Inclusion and Director of the Inclusive Practice Project at Aberdeen University gave an inspiring keynote address that reflected his knowledge of and respect for Travellers and the learning and skills that Traveller children bring to formal education.

Jane Lopez, HMIe’s National Specialist: Gypsies and Travellers, commended the documents as a basis for good practice in supporting interruptions to learning, and focused her remarks on the capacity of Curriculum for Excellence approaches for inclusion of Traveller children’s knowledge and skills.

The afternoon session following the launch picked up the significance of Curriculum for Excellence - its potential for including Gypsy and Traveller children’s and young people’s knowledge and skills gained with their families.

All those involved in the development of these publications, including TENET and other colleagues, hope that families usage of these resources in schools and out-of-school settings will lead to more positive educational experiences: for families, educational support staff and schools. While the documents are intended to support and encourage access to learning and teaching for children and young people from Scotland's Travelling communities, they can also be used with mobile children from other backgrounds.

*Downloadable PDF copies of My Learning Record, IRAG or Keeping in Touch: WE WOULD PREFER TO POST YOU A HARD COPY BUT IN URGENT CASES FEEL FREE TO DOWNLOAD COPIES OF MY LEARNING RECORD.

STEP will post you hard copies of both documents or should you wish to contribute towards their development please contact STEP:
Pauline Padfield – tel 0131 651 6440 - email Pauline.padfield@ed.ac.uk or
Jean Oliver – tel 0131 651 6444 - email jean.oliver@ed.ac.uk