Scottish Traveller Education Programme (STEP)

STEP is a resource designed to promote greater educational inclusion for Gypsy and Traveller children and young people and their families.

The Scottish Traveller Education Programme (STEP) emerged as a national institution funded by the Scottish Office from discussions and research among educationalists and Scottish local authorities during the late 1980s and early 1990s. STEP's aim to ensure greater access to and participation in formal learning for Gypsies and Travellers in Scotland was achieved through a mix of research in the field, arranging of conferences and small working parties. Its research contributed to teacher training programmes, while practitioners through their sharing of 'good practice' were able to discuss ways of overcoming the many 'barriers to learning' that Gypsies and Travellers frequently faced in trying to access formal education. Others, such as policy makers also participated in these ongoing discussions.

With funding from the Scottish Executive STEP continues to be based at Moray House School of Education, The University of Edinburgh, in the Department for Educational Studies. Its small, but committed team, have recently welcomed an experienced Glasgow City Council officer from a Traveller background.

Gypsy and Traveller families live in various locations; in houses, for all or part of the year, on sites and at roadside encampments. Sites vary, from those provided by local authorities, to those which are privately owned. During the course of a school session, Gypsy and Traveller learners may spend time living in all three locations. 

STEP recognises the links between education, housing, health and other key social services and encourage the inter-agency working that characterizes 'good practice' in working with Gypsies and Travellers. It supports informal interagency working by posting a range of materials, such as our research reports and our newsletter on our web site. We also disseminate hard copies to practitioners, as there are still those who do not have easy access to Internet facilities [website link to laptops research]. 

By supporting staff that work directly with families and schools to help Gypsy and Traveller children and young people access education STEP continues to promote increased educational inclusion for Gypsy and Traveller pupils. Many Gypsies and Travellers attend school, while others are supported in out-of school settings, for example, in an on-site portacabin or a local community centre.

Many Gypsies and Travellers travel for family, cultural and work reasons. A family's mobility frequently results in children experiencing significant interruptions to their learning. Children may attend several schools during the course of the travelling season, which is from early spring to late summer. Circus families, for example, usually stay for one week before moving on to the next location. While many families phone ahead to arrange a school place for their child, these circumstances make it difficult for teachers to include Gypsy and Traveller pupils in a school's usual arrangements for assessment, participation and monitoring of progress. Many pupils therefore experience delayed learning as schools rarely have access to a pupil's record; in cases where they exist the record is often poorly kept.

STEP aims to promote an increased understanding among those not directly involved with Gypsies and Travellers of the distinctiveness of their educational needs; to ensure that those involved in broader policy and decision making understand why more flexible arrangements for Gypsy and Traveller pupils are needed, and how innovative approaches can help to ensure their entitlement to a curriculum that meets their particular learning needs.

Inclusive Educational Approaches for Gypsies and Travellers within the context of interrupted learning

The diversity in pupils' and families' life chances and lifestyles today presents a challenge to education providers in their push to support inclusion for all.

PDF file: Inclusive Educational Approaches for Gypsies and Travellers (672 KB)

This guidance has been prepared for local authorities and schools, although it should also be of use to others with an interest in providing education for Gypsies and Travellers.

STEP aims to improve the number, flexibility and diversity of educational opportunities for Gypsies and Travellers in Scotland. Recent developments in the use of ICT to support learners not willing or able to regularly attend school hold promise for improving continuity of access to the curriculum for travelling Gypsies and Travellers. The SchoolsOutGlasgow.net project is Glasgow City Council's response to the specific learning needs of pupils who do not, or can not, attend schools regularly.

STEP has worked with practitioners to produce case studies of 'good practice' that show the different ways that staff from local authorities have worked with the idea of inclusive education to make changes in their services for Gypsies and Travellers [website link to Case Studies: Inclusive educational approaches: Gypsy/Traveller pupils and their families].

STEP listens to and represents the views of Gypsy and Traveller children, young people and parents about education, and encourages respect for their cultural traditions and current circumstances. However, Traveller pupils can be as ambivalent about formal learning as any other pupil, as the following quote shows;

STEP promotes the development of practices that support diversity and address racism, harrassment and bullying. Currently, these issues are particularly live, largely due to the negative politicisation of reporting in some newspapers. STEP has helped practitioners produce a pocket size leaflet for children and parents that sets out in easy to understand language who to speak to when they are being bullied or treated in a racist way. The leaflet explains the difference between 'normal falling out' and 'racist or bullying treatment' when at school or on the way to and from school. It provides useful telephone numbers to the Anti-bullying Network and Childline Scotland. 

To read more about STEP's work and the materials we can offer, visit the STEP website at www.scottishtravellered.net

STEP has recently been awarded new funding from the Scottish Executive, which will take effect from April 2005. The funding will support 2 phases of work, which will involve research into schools' use of the national Guidance, 'Inclusive Educational Approaches for Gypsies and Travellers within the context of interrupted learning' published in 2003 [website link to Resources] and the development of online learning resources with local educational authorities to enhance current paper based support for Gypsies' and Travellers' learning when travelling. Despite a lack of technical or literacy skills, research has shown that use of computers, supported by reliable connectivity, has a highly motivating impact upon learners with poor self-esteem and little interest in formal learning. STEP's future developments hold promise for achieving greater educational inclusion of Gypsies and Travellers.

Contact details:

Scottish Traveller Education Programme (STEP)
Educational Studies
The University of Edinburgh
2.5 Charteris Land
Holyrood Road
Edinburgh
EH8 8AQ 

Telephone: 0131 651 6444
Fax: 0131 651 6511
E-mail: step@education.ed.ac.uk

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