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Aiming High: Partnerships between schools and TESS in raising the achievement of Gypsy Traveller pupils
Joint planning and partnership teaching
The general principles of effective partnership strategies are similar
to the process of joint planning carried out within schools between
class teachers, Ethnic Minority Achievement (EMA) coordinators and/or
SENCOs. This joint planning process may need to involve a range of
partners - for example, in the case of Roma children who will be
learning English as an additional language, the involvement of EMA
support staff will be important.
As well as providing individual or small-group support, it may be
appropriate for the Advisory Teacher to work with the whole class to
allow the class teacher to focus more closely on a group which
includes Gypsy Travellers. This will give the teacher the opportunity
to assess whether the child is achieving the learning objectives and
whether subsequent learning objectives need to be modified
accordingly.
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Assessment for learning is critical for all children's learning.
Advisory Teachers often work with schools to plan effectively in order
to secure the full inclusion of Gypsy Traveller pupils, who will
benefit from the following strategies:
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learning objectives which are shared with children in language they
understand (and reinforced by visual support);
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learning objectives which are layered and scaffolded to make them
achievable by each child;
-
questioning and discussion which is more about problem solving than
objective knowledge;
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encouraging children to evaluate their own responses as well as
those of others;
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feedback that relates to the learning objectives, recognises
achievement and identifies achievable areas for improvement.
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Curriculum relevance and diversity
Advisory Teachers are able to identify and, on occasion, to lend
appropriate resources in order that every classroom can recognise and
value the culture and way of life of Gypsy Traveller communities.
There are now a significant number of resources that have been
developed so that all schools can acknowledge and value Gypsy
Traveller culture through their own resources.
For example, the Devon Consortium has an annotated book list at
www.devon.gov.uk/learning/pupils_support/travellers_education/resources_list.htm. Leeds has
an up-to-date list giving a range of resources at
www.travellersinleeds.co.uk/_education/CulturalResources_EY.html.
'Gypsy Traveller' is a broad umbrella term which embraces
many different subgroups. It is important that all children have
access to a wide range of books and resources reflecting a broad range
of cultures and experiences and this should include materials
reflecting Gypsy Traveller perspectives. In practice, seeing books and
materials about 'people like us' is an important point of
contact between the worlds of home and school. The same connection can
be made through making books, with the added benefit of reflecting the
day-to-day experience of individual families rather than generalised
or possibly idealised versions. Exploration of cross-cultural themes,
such as 'celebrations', can enable children from diverse
cultural backgrounds to explore differences and similarities between
their experiences.
Opportunities to include Gypsy Traveller perspectives arise in a range
of curriculum areas, for example in work on the Tudors, the Holocaust,
slavery and migration. Gypsy Traveller themes can also be readily
included in work on the persuasion genre, newspaper reports and
letter-writing activities.
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Individual and small-group intervention programmes
Reading Recovery: Some Advisory Teachers have trained as Reading Recovery tutors.
This is a costly intervention but it has been shown
to have long-term impact on the ability of Gypsy Traveller children to
access the curriculum and achieve at or above expected levels. In one
authority, the Advisory Teacher works with any Year 1 Gypsy Travellers
who are unlikely to achieve level 2 at the end of key stage 1.
Virtually all the children in this group do achieve the expected
level. Where it has been possible to track the progress of these
children at key stage 2 and 3, evidence shows that once they have
caught up, they do not fall behind again. For those who do not achieve
the expected level at the end of key stage 1, Reading Recovery records
can be used as part of an assessment process for identifying special
educational needs.
Talking Partners is a small-group intervention developed by
Education Bradford and used by some TESS and schools. The programme is
designed to build on oracy - often an area of potential strength
for Gypsy Traveller children. The sessions provide structured support
for the development of speaking and listening through activities such
as news-telling and barrier games. Work with small groups of children
can help develop relationships and allow cross-cultural dialogue. In
one session a boy asked a Gypsy Traveller girl whether she lived in a
caravan. In the context of the Talking Partners group there followed a
constructive discussion with the boy showing genuine curiosity about
the girl's lifestyle and drawing parallels between hers and his
own. Class teachers often report that children become more confident
in answering and asking questions as a result of participation in such
sessions, and are subsequently able to concentrate for longer periods.
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Focused time-limited interventions with individual children or
groups are used by Advisory Teachers in a range of ways, for example:
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initial in-depth assessment of mid-phase arrivals to identify ways
in which they can be quickly included in whole-class teaching with
appropriate learning objectives and success criteria;
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support to enable the child to access intervention programmes
- for example, recognition of initial phonemes to access
Early Literacy Support; understanding of key mathematical concepts
in order to access Springboard sessions for mathematics;
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work on gaps in learning stemming from disrupted education; and
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as part of the process of assessing special educational needs.
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