Contacting Traveller Education Support Services

Thanks to Tech's prompting, I have found this Directory of Traveller Education Services and am about to rattle off a few mails to those around my area to see whether I can get some more feedback on the Ivatts Report.

The sort of letter I will be sending:

Dear ........

I wonder if you can help me.

I am a home educating parent working with a home education charity which has been set up to look at government initiatives, work practices and legislation as it relates to home education.

You are probably well aware of the recent Ivatts report about Elective Home Education, particularly as it relates to Traveller and Gypsy/Roma families.

>http://www.dfes.gov.uk/research/data/uploadfiles/RW77.pdf

I would be interested to hear your feelings on any number of the issues described within this report, but particularly:

Is it the case that many Traveller/Gypsy/Roma families are indeed claiming to Home Educate when they are not in fact doing so?

Is it the case that a policy of including many Traveller families in the school system has been a success? How are Traveller children doing in schools?

What happens to children who have been excluded for school or have SENs?

What do travellers think would be the most useful strategy for them in terms of improving the education of their children?

Is it the case that Traveller Support Workers or other such support services have been prevented from working with school age children, perhaps on the basis that they may seduce children away from school or for some other reason?

Would the recommendations in the Ivatts Report, ie that:

"a) a standardised national system of registration be implemented by each local education authority in terms of assessment criteria; monitoring/inspection visits; and the time sequence related to these events,

b) the wishes of children are established and taken into account in the assessment process

d) (sic) a clear curriculum entitlement is defined which is broad and balanced.

e) all children be registered (irrespective of whether they have ever been registered with a school), and that all children registered under EHE are seen initally and in the teaching and learning situation on a regular basis defined in law and a standard format for post visit reports and their distribution

f) all children registered under EHE are assessed on a regular basis in relation to expectations of educational progress.

g)that a timetable be established and defined in relation to the procedures incumbent on local authorities pursuant to assessment judgements of the provision being unsuitable.

h) parents and secondary aged children have the right of appeal at any decision by the appropriate authorities in regard to an application and continuance of elected home education."

be well received by the travelling community?

Thank you in advance for any help you can give me with answers to these questions.


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If anyone else has a mo, it would be great if you could ask the TES in your area for their feedback on the Ivatts Report. Do use/adapt letter above though telephone often seems to work better.