Inclusive Practice
Making a Difference in schools for Gypsy and Traveller Children and Young People By Billie Dolling
Image: Billie Dolling, Training and Development Officer, Friends, Families anf Travellers (FFT)
Billie Dolling is a Training and Development Officer at Friends, Families and Travellers (FFT) which is a national charity that works on behalf of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities. Billie has worked at FFT for over two years and co-authored a number of the organisation’s key research reports in that time, including Last on the list: An overview of unmet need for pitches on Traveller sites in England, A research paper: Suicide Prevention in Gypsy and Traveller communities in England and more.
Young people from Gypsy and Traveller communities can often face disadvantage and barriers in the education system. Information collected by the Department for Education shows that Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities are the ethnic groups of pupils most likely to be excluded from school and least likely to attain a grade 5 or above in GCSE maths. During the COVID-19 pandemic, like the majority of Young people across the UK, most Gypsy and Traveller Young people switched to remote education. It became quickly obvious through our organisation’s casework that the switch to digital was likely to worsen existing educational inequalities for Gypsy and Traveller children and Young people and further disadvantages Disabled Gypsy and Traveller children and Young people. However, as Young people have been asked to return to school, this has also created new inequalities. Within Gypsy and Traveller communities, many people live in multigenerational homes and there is a large amount of respect and care given to older people and people who require support.
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