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As a result of the impetus provided by an Achieve Traveller Education event held in March 2007, Gloucester LA supported schools to develop Traveller community and school partnerships and a ‘missing children’ protocol. The project was led by Karen Steger of Gloucester’s Traveller Education Team (TET).
Gloucestershire has a Traveller liaison group that provides a link between schools, the LA and Travellers. It includes professionals from Kate’s team and members of the local Traveller community.
The LA also works to promote communication between Travellers and the local community, through:
Karen has been working with Gloucester’s education welfare service, Gloucester social services and local schools to draw up a protocol for children who go missing from school.
The protocol identifies the following actions and requirements.
In Year 5, children who are at risk of not transferring between Key Stages 2 and 3 are targeted for referral to Education Welfare Service, secondary schools and Connexions.
This loop includes:
The loop is triggered as soon as a child considered at risk of going missing from education is removed from the school roll, or has a drop in attendance.
The family is then contacted by the school and visited by a TET member to check on progress.
Where a Traveller child is deemed to be missing from education, the following stakeholders are contacted as soon as possible:
Agencies will enquire about a child’s removal from school across county boundaries.
Those children who go missing from school should be recorded by ethnicity.
All community stakeholders need to know who to contact regarding a Traveller child who is missing from school.
All agencies in the loop need to know which children are on the ‘elected to be educated at home’ (EHE) register. TET should target siblings who are in formal education to ensure that the child gets the appropriate support whilst in home education.
Professionals working with Traveller families need to understand the reasons for Traveller children being at greater risk of going missing from schooling. These include:
TET supports parents’ access to pre-school provision. It also shares information with other agencies regarding pre-school aged children, so that children are not able to avoid entering the school system altogether.
TET must be involved in any cases referred to the Common Assessment Framework (CAF).
The LA will consider prosecuting those parents who fail to ensure that their children attend the statutory 200 half-day sessions. Parents need to be told about legal attendance requirements.
All schools should receive professional development regarding requirements for schools on following up absences and the requirements upon parents.
For further information about this protocol that structures and supports practice in Gloucester contact Karen Steger at: karen.steger@gloucestershire.gov.uk.
