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Scottish Traveller Education Programme

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STEP at the Scottish Learning Festival 2007 - On the move with Scotland’s Travelling communities: Supporting learning and teaching; connecting learners and teachers

24 and 25 of September 2007

STEP was delighted to receive an invitation to deliver a seminar at this year's Scottish Learning Festival (SLF). Formerly called SETT, the SLF event took place at the SECC and Clyde Auditorium in Glasgow. STEP’s seminar team included Dr. Pauline Padfield (Director of STEP), Gillian Cameron and Ingrid Todd (both seconded teachers to STEP from Fife Council). The seminar, entitled ‘On the move with Scotland’s Travelling communities: Supporting learning and teaching; connecting learners and teachers’ aimed to demonstrate how STEP, from its national perspective, and local authority designated learning support teachers promote and develop inclusive educational opportunities for Gypsy and Traveller children and their families.

The seminar highlighted the significance of positive communications, between parents and school staff and the range of professionals involved in delivering public services for Gypsy and Traveller families, as the key to delivering access to the curriculum. Examples of good practice were given to demonstrate effective ways of meeting the educational needs of mobile pupils, and particularly those pupils coming from families who are concerned about sending their children and young people to school. Gypsy/Traveller families are frequently fearful about their children’s safety and about the relevance and appropriateness of the curriculum that schools offer.

STEP’s PowerPoint presentation introduced current educational legislative and policy frameworks, and explained the distinctive histories, cultures and life-styles of Scotland’s Gypsy and Traveller communities, past and present. Experience has shown a need for school staff to be sensitive to these differences, particularly when welcoming families into the school. For example, literacy may be an issue for some parents and staff may need to assist with administrative form filling. Importantly, staff must remember to telephone parents about any subsequent written information brought home by their children.

The presentation also described common barriers to children’s learning, particularly noting the difference between ‘interrupted learning’ and ‘learning difficulties’. Many examples were given to suggest ways that teachers could help overcome the mismatch between schools’ and families’ learning priorities and children’s skills. Through teachers’ sensitive use of relevant assessment procedures and by placing pupils according to ability rather than attainment, children can quickly make up ‘gaps’ in their learning skills. The presentation finished by drawing attention to the benefits of ICT supported distance learning and teaching for mobile pupils.

The seminar was positively reported in the Times Educational Supplement Scotland, however, some inaccuracies emerged in terms of attributing ‘who said and what was said’! (See www.tes.co.uk/scotland - September 28, 2007). The continuity of discrimination towards Gypsy and Traveller families who attend Scottish schools was better reflected in the negative views received by STEP from readers of other newspapers, who also reported on STEP’s SLF presentation. Indeed, reportage of the presentation has produced a flurry of phone calls for further information from STEP. Education authorities are being asked by some settled parents “Have we got to educate these (Traveller) children?”

A tension continues to exist between having a positive approach to education authorities’ provision of educational services for Gypsy and Traveller families, while at the same time noting the limits of what actually exists on the ground.

Since the presentation and the publicity it generated, STEP has responded to requests from schools and other professionals for further information. We aim to support education authorities’ and schools’ provision of inclusive educational services that have the capacity to overcome interruptions to Gypsy and Traveller pupils’ basic and additional learning support needs.