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Section 9: Broader Needs of the Traveller Community
II - Education

The Background

9.1 The 1971 study highlighted the role of education in helping to overcome the barriers between the settled community and Travellers. Throughout its life the Committee has shown a continuing concern for Travellers' education. It is this field which, together with health, has generated the largest number of specific recommendations, though implementation of these by both central and local government has not always been evident in practice.

9.2 Traveller children have always been seen to have particular needs related to lifestyle, something highlighted even in the Committee's first report (Appendix C - Recommendation 87). However, in the second report the Committee also recognised the difficulties of what nowadays has become known as 'interrupted learning' and stressed the need for local authorities to make appropriate arrangements for children to get access to education (Appendix C - Recom-mendation 88). Here, early learning and adult literacy problems were also being emphasised as areas where special measures would be required (Appendix C - Recommendations 89-92 and 94).

9.3 At this time, the Committee was already advocating the establishment of a national centre for the development of good practice for Traveller education in Scotland and that the results should be disseminated to schools.

9.4 In the context of the first two reports, the Committee was taking practical steps to improve Travellers' access to effective education. It was with the third report that there was a major step forward. A sub-Committee was established, chaired by a senior member of HM Inspectors of Schools specifically charged to examine this issue. One chapter of the report was devoted to setting out a range of ideas and formal recom-mendations (Appendix C - Recommendations 95-102).

9.5 The third report advocated specific use of the new Learning Support Initiatives in Scotland and recommended the introduction of some form of easily transferable hand-held educational record for Traveller children, drawing on emerging thinking south of the border (Appendix C - Recommendation 93).

9.6 One positive thing to emerge by way of response to this report was the establishment of a Scottish Office funded national centre to act as a focus for Traveller education matters, as noted in the sixth report (Appendix C - Recommendation 103).

9.7 Our immediate predecessors revisited the issue of Travellers' education in some depth via a Working Group. Despite the gap of sixteen years since the third report it was seen to have stood the test of time and the eighth report still regarded it as a seminal work. A complete chapter of the eighth report was again devoted to the issue, together with a far-reaching group of recommendations (Appendix C - Recommendations 104-116). However, this continues to be an aspect of Traveller life in which there is scope not just for substantial improvement in terms of provision and take-up of services but also for marked changes in attitude on the part of providers, Travellers and the settled community alike.

The Eighth Term Report

9.8 This broad ranging report was intended to set the current situation of Travellers in Scottish education provision within the historic development of general educational initiatives, in order to point up the lack of equity for Travellers. Major features of the report included the following:

• a focus on their experiences of discrimination within schools, both personal and institutional, and the need for an adoption of an anti-racist and anti-bullying model within an inter cultural approach (Eighth Report, paras. 7.14-18, and Appendix C - Recommendations 80-81, 104-105 and 113-114);
• the not inconsiderable practical difficulties met by schools and local authorities in trying to make appropriate provision for mobile Travellers and other interrupted learners were also highlighted, with information given on European recommendations and resolutions to progress initiatives for Travellers including family based learning, in and out of school (Eighth Report, paras. 7.19-29 and Appendix C - Recommendations 106-108);
• proactive partnerships between families and service providers were promoted to help ensure that both enjoyed rights and took responsibilities to ensure participation in the full curriculum. In particular, the need for positive discrimination measures was signalled to support Travellers into educational facilities (Eighth Report, paras. 7.32-39 and Appendix C - Recommendations 110-112 and 115);
• the issue of mass withdrawal by Travellers from education facilities at the primary/secondary transfer stage was also given detailed attention. Scotland faces the same severe challenges as all parts of the UK and the EU in developing a secondary curriculum experience, which offers tangible enjoyment and success in learning, while also reducing the very real negative experiences and the consequent fears and threats which the present situation invokes in Traveller communities;
• the continuing need for a national centre (currently the STEP programme) was considered necessary to ensure that advice is made freely available and good practice is identified, collated and disseminated to all local authority service providers. Particularly important is the need to develop practices which will lead to better continuity in learning for mobile families as promoted throughout the
  UK and the EU (Appendix C - Recommendations 109, 112 and 116);

• in order to ensure positive action, the eighth report was disseminated widely to those with responsibility for education services at all levels, i.e. Chief Executives, Directors of Education, the Association of Directors of Education in Scotland (ADES), CoSLA education sub-committee, support agencies and support teams of staff with a remit for Travellers, including the Association of Advisers in Learning Support and Special Educational Needs (AALSSEN), Teacher Training institutes and all participants at two major national conferences funded by the Scottish Office Education and Industry Department (SOEID) and STEP. Thus the findings should have had an effect on the development of educational plans and policies on combating social exclusion and raising achievement for this particular minority group.

The Work of the Ninth Committee

9.9 Given the major emphasis on education in the Eighth Term Report, the short time scale for any change implementation, together with the uncertainties created within Scotland due to the inception of the new parliament, this working group has concentrated on reviewing the key factors within the overall situation which have been identified as critical for the future inclusion of Travellers in Scottish education. We draw from this review the aspects with a discrete focus for future attention and action by a range of players within government departments and service providers.

9.10 Combating social exclusion, reducing absenteeism and raising achievement, access and participation in life long learning facilities, are at the heart of the Scottish education agenda. These are particularly important in ensuring that Travellers access and enjoy the uptake of their rights to education and training. Current documents and funding initiatives should be drawn on in planning and developing actions to meet Travellers particular educational needs and to ensure inclusion in schools .

9.11 Local authorities should seek to collaborate, possibly through CoSLA and/or ADES, in securing appropriate education facilities for pupils who move across authority boundaries due to family circumstances.

Reducing Absenteeism and Raising Achievement

9.12 There is at present a range of current high profile initiatives with associated funding which can be applied for by local authorities to provide innovative measures to support underachieving and disadvantaged groups of pupils such as Travellers:

• Excellence Fund to target raising achievement through specific projects, additional staffing and curriculum developments;
• new community schools initiative to provide a broadly-based one-service approach to meet the complex needs of communities and families;
• supported study initiatives focusing on out of school tutoring and support to individual pupils who opt in;
• new opportunities fund which allows inter-agency approaches to support minority needs and interests; and
• New Deal funds to support training for employment initiatives for post school ages.

Already some local authorities and schools have begun such pro-active measures addressing Travellers' needs. While it is too early to comment on these, this is an area which should be monitored with results evaluated to identify practice which can be replicated and promoted on a wider scale.

9.13 Attendance patterns of Travellers at schools has long been a source of concern to service providers. The Scottish Office Education Department Circular 1/1995 made clear the conditions for the application of 'authorised absence' for Travellers. Schools have been encouraged to use this as appropriate while not condoning truancy. However, many families continue to move on without advising the school of their intention. Schools then have to keep them on the register marked as absent until such time as their permanent move has been confirmed. This can take several weeks, all of which will be recorded as 'absence' thus diminishing the school's figures to the Scottish Executive. Similarly, Travellers have a tradition of taking time off to engage in family and cultural events which cannot be counted as 'authorised absence'. Schools and their boards then have a concern at the image their figures project. Evidence from England indicates that many find ways of denying Travellers a place on their roll to reduce their effect on such statistics.

9.14 The introduction of the 'Targeting Excellence' documents, while making no overt reference to Travellers, should ensure their inclusion in schools' targets. Yet this in itself may have a very negative effect if schools are unwilling to consider the individual needs of mobile Travellers and, as a result, are less keen to include them on their roll. Scottish Executive Education Department officials report awareness and sensitivity to this situation from schools but it remains to be seen how the implementation of this new initiative will work in practice. It will be 2001 before any results are officially reported, although some local authorities are already making comments on positive progress for other disadvantaged groups through the Times Educational Supplement (Scotland).

9.15 The introduction of 'How Good is Our School?' and ' A Route to Equality and Fairness': self-evaluation using performance indicators) are recommended as a stimulus to those schools with regular visits of Travellers wishing to improve their performance.

9.16 The consultation document, 'Improving Our Schools' (SEED, 1999) allowed all with an interest in Travellers to express their concerns. The revised document, the 'Standards in Scottish Schools Education Bill' (SEED, 2000) proposes two significant changes which should ameliorate the situation Travellers face in state education. Section 1 states the right of each child to a school place and section 2 spells out the duty of the local authority to provide for all children. Although Travellers are not specifically mentioned it is clear they will be included in the new arrangements to support children in extraordinary circumstances (section 37 [1.a]) 'LAs may make special arrangements for the pupil to receive education elsewhere than at an educational establishment'. Taken together these sections offer hope of a positive change in the current levels of provision to meet Travellers' needs, particularly as one of the groups of interrupted learners. However, there appears to be insufficient evidence of awareness of the nature of the diversity of the needs within the pupil population. In particular, the demand that local authorities 'take account of local circumstances and the views of parents, pupils and others' will be difficult to implement unless significant direct consultation is undertaken with Travellers. Identification of Travellers and drawing on their self-identified needs will be a challenging exercise.

Out of School Provision

9.17 The Scottish Executive demands pro-active responses to vulnerable, disadvantaged and marginalised learners, their families and communities. In particular the responsibilities and the need for accountability in local authorities, CoSLA and other national bodies are clarified in a range of documents. It is important that Travellers, whose educational needs are high but whose participation is low, are included in all initiatives to realise potential and combat social exclusion.

9.18 The use of inter-disciplinary groups, community education approaches and the New Community Schools to inform, empower and support Traveller communities, and are the key strategies in building community capacity, by ensuring that Travellers are enabled to participate fully as active citizens in the community, individual learning, the development plans and assessment of needs. It is important to be aware that the development of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in schools and other aspects of learning may lead to further exclusion of Travellers who have no ready access to power and telephone networks. Service providers must seek to address their particular needs when developing strategies to ensure wider access and inclusion in life long learning initiatives.

Trawl of Education Authorities

9.19 The present Committee contacted every local authority Department of Education, with a request to review the attendance levels of primary age Travellers in their area. Results are patchy with only seventeen out of the thirty two authorities responding and only four of those indicating any concern or acknowledging room for improvement. Such complacency is worrying and perhaps helps to explain why the transfer to secondary education is still not improving.

9.20 Local authorities were also asked by STEP to give details of any specific action they had undertaken, using Scottish Office funding, for raising achievement and combating social exclusion. Only five authorities reported any specific action but even here there are inaccuracies. One reported a project set up by an independent consortium from which the local authority subsequently threatened to withdraw co-operation. Another reported no specific action but had for many years developed an authority wide response to support Travellers into schools and other educational opportunities. In particular, the issue of provision of taxis as positive discrimination to support Travellers into schools plays a key role. For some families it is also important that girls are provided with female taxi drivers, since within some sections of their community they are carefully chaperoned until marriage. The tension between making specific provision which may further marginalise a group and providing the necessary positive support to ensure inclusion is a difficult one to resolve, particularly where there are differences of opinion within the target group. It is therefore important that while a range of support services are made available, they should, wherever possible, be seen to be available as a matter of routine for others in a similar situation, and at all times parents should be consulted and their opinions taken into consideration.

Institutional Discrimination and Racism

9.21 The issues addressed in The Stephen Lawrence Action Plan for Scotland have highlighted the general insensitivity towards cultural minorities and the endemic institutional racism which leaves many on the margins and vulnerable to threat and intimidation. Travellers should be considered as one such group. There are still regular reports from Traveller families of difficulties in approaching local authorities for support in combating bullying and racist behaviour towards their children in schools. Research undertaken in England (OFSTED, 1999) confirms findings of Scottish Research (Lloyd, Stead & Jordan, 1999).

9.22 Travellers still regularly experience racism and social exclusion in both access and uptake of education facilities. They are disadvantaged as a result, in terms of attendance, freedom to learn, literacy and other competencies, as well as in formal recognition of achievements and certification. Schools and councils are required to adopt strong anti-bullying policies and to ensure the development of a socially inclusive learning environment. Awareness of the extreme situation of Travellers in this respect is essential for all providers of education.

Future Needs Assessment

9.23 As with health issues, discussed in the previous section of the report, effective assessment of the particular needs of Travellers will be an essential task for local education authorities and other agencies. This will require action in a number of ways.

9.24 Every child has a right to free local education in a school (SEED, 2000: Clause 1). Traveller pupils have not always been able to realise this right.

9.25 Parents have responsibility for their children's education. To help them in this process parental choice is available in the selection of schools; school booklets and council information leaflets; School Boards and Parent-Teacher Associations which represent parents' views and needs also require information on Travellers in order to play a more effective role in the wider school community and at a national level (Hill, 2000).

9.26 For some children, including Travellers, regular daily attendance at one school is recognised as problematic (SEED, 2000 : Clause 37). Local authorities are required to support their need for additional forms of teaching support outwith school.

9.27 Records of achievement and other information should go with pupils when they move schools to help ensure continuity and coherence in their learning. For pupils who move frequently the usual transfer system can be too slow in responding thus leaving them exposed to piece-meal learning experiences.

9.28 Pupils with interrupted learning are at risk of falling behind their peers and also may suffer in the quality of peer social interactions that can be sustained. More than any other resource, teacher expectations and school ethos are paramount in supporting success for such pupils.

9.29 Performance Indicators issued to schools and local authorities ('How Good Is Our School ?'; 'A Route to Equality and Fairness') indicate a broad range of areas for review and development. As yet none include specific mention of interrupted or mobile learners. Councils should include Travellers in their monitoring and evaluation exercises, particularly with other minority ethnic groups.

9.30 Access and uptake of post-school educational opportunities should also be monitored. Pro-active developments may be required to encourage full participation in life-long learning. Community Education Departments should review their input and effectiveness in responding to Travellers' self-identified needs.

9.31 Aspects of good practice include:

• published advice is available on Travellers, their particular needs and good practice in the field: in particular reference should be made to the Eighth Term Report of the Secretary of State's Advisory Committee, and to the various publications available from STEP. Save the Children has also produced reports on the Scottish situation;
• many Travellers require proactive support to access and remain in education facilities, particularly at pre-schools, secondary and post-school stages. Local authorities and other bodies should adopt rigorous policies of positive discrimination to enhance their opportunities to benefit from the range of services on offer;
• equal opportunities, anti-racist, anti-bullying, health initiatives and policies should be sufficiently broad to include reference to Travellers' particular needs and situations. Overcoming Travellers' genuine fears and distrust takes time, patience and a concerted effort. Logging of all racist and discriminatory incidents should be monitored. Schools cannot be tolerated as 'no-go' areas for any pupil;
• inter-agency and community focused initiatives have helped secure some positive change. Short-term projects, while focused and successful, need to be embedded in regular practice to effect real change;
• the rights of the child to an education in line with new national legislation have to be protected and acted on. Traveller parents' views, while important, should not be allowed to deny children such an opportunity. Sensitivity and positive support have proved more successful than recourse to litigation in ensuring school attendance;
• positive discrimination measures for Travellers on sites should include bully-free transport, staff identified to develop and sustain home-school liaison, setting targets to increase Traveller participation and success in the learning environment;
• supported study and out-of-school initiatives offer positive opportunities for Travellers 'to catch up' and experience a more relaxed learning environment, particularly where such a facility can be provided on site for Travellers who have had little or no schooling.

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