Downloadable publication

Good Practice Guide

The Gypsy Roma Traveller Achievement Service (GRTAS) are very proud to present to you their good practice guide for improving outcomes for Gypsy Roma Traveller (GRT) pupils. The good practice guide includes many case studies taken from schools and educational settings in Leeds. The case studies show some of the approaches and strategies used to support the GRT pupils and their families.

All schools and educational settings should be aware of the needs of this marginalised community. The GRT pupils are one of the lowest achieving groups of children in our schools, both in Leeds and Nationally. It is therefore important that every-one involved in the education of these children and young people are both aware of their history, culture and traditions and have strategies and teaching approaches in place to overcome barriers faced.

The aim for all schools is to raise the attainment of all their pupils including their GRT pupils whether they are ascribed or not and to promote their cultural identity throughout school.

Building good, effective relationships with the children, parents, carers, families and communities is paramount for schools to succeed in their aims of integrating GRT children into their schools and the education system. GRT pupils can be as successful as any other pupils and have the right to do so.

We hope that you enjoy reading our guide and find it a useful, valuable resource.

Download the Good Practice Guide Document

For further information contact Sally Hall

A national plan for music education

The Importance of Music

Gypsy, Roma and Traveller opportunities to take part.

Michael Gove shares his vision:

"This is the first time that a National Plan for Music Education has set out a central vision for schools, arts and education organisations to drive excellence in music education. This National Plan is clear about the importance of music: it will ensure not just that more children have access to the greatest of art forms, but that they do better as a result in every other subject."

Download a document from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to find out more.

From Segregation to Inclusion

Roma Pupils in the United Kingdom A Pilot Research Project

A new report by Equality and the Roma Education Fund

From the Executive Summary

Segregation to Inclusion cover To our knowledge, no research has been conducted which looked at the educational attainment of Roma pupils who migrated with their parents from the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the United Kingdom or another Western European country. This pilot research study is the first of its kind to explore the experience of Czech and Slovak Roma pupils of attending special or de facto segregated (Roma-only) schools in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, while comparing that to their experience of attending primary or secondary mainstream education in the UK.

Literature and research reports on the situation of Roma in the education systems in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, which have been conducted and published by various organisations including the Roma Education Fund, were reviewed. This desk research was combined with field research undertaken by Equality between June and August 2011 at eight locations in England: Leicester, Chatham, Rotherham, Wolverhampton, Southend-on-Sea, Peterborough, London, and Derby. During the pilot research, 61 Czech or Slovak Roma students, 28 Roma parents, and 25 school or other education staff were interviewed.

Download the UK report

First in a series of interviews with prominent Roma

Interviews by Livia Dragomir

In the first of a series Livia Dragomir talks to Ian Hancock.

Ian became the first Romani to receive a PhD from University of London. A reputed linguist, he is one of the most important Romani activists in the world at the moment. An inspiring figure for Roma everywhere he talks to Livia about education, Roma language and the situation in Dale Farm, Essex.

Read the interview with Ian Hancock here.

Achievements Awards ceremony 2011

Awards and Prize Giving

This year's annual achievements awards ceremony took place on 29th July and was held once again in the Banqueting Suite in Leeds Civic Hall.

Holy Family Catholic School Choir

A few hundred people witnessed the giving of prizes and certificates to achievers from the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities in recognition of their progress, contributions and success in schools in Leeds. Prizes and certificates were also presented to the winners, runner-up and highly commended entries to our calendar competition that we ran as part of 2011's Gypsy Roma Traveller History Month celebrations.

A large audience were treated to performances by the Holy Family Catholic School Choir (above) and the South Leeds Academy Musicians. Two members of Leeds Rhinos Rugby League team, Brett Delaney and Jamie Peacock were also in attendance giving support to the achievers and competition winners which was an exciting experience for many.

Nigel Richardson, director of Children's Services in Leeds, councillor Jane Dowson and Sameena Choudrey the head of Equalities and Entitlement were also present demonstrating their support for the work of the Gypsy Roma Traveller Achievement Service and to the Gypsy Roma and Traveller communities that live in the Leeds area.

View a gallery of photographs of the awards ceremony

GRTHM 2011 Workshops

To mark Gypsy Roma Traveller History Month, the Gypsy Roma Traveller Achievement Service offered 12 schools the opportunity to attend a special one day event at the West Park Centre. The aim of the day was to introduce pupils to the distinctiveness and uniqueness of these communities and to highlight the cultural, social and economic contributions that these communities have made in Britain.

Strengthening Children's Early Language Development

Every Child a Talker image Ideas and fantastic resources to enhance Early Years work with children and families from the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities, focusing on Communication Language and Literacy (CLL) and developing home/school links.

This project has been developed in partnership with Leeds Speech and Language Therapy Service and Leeds City Council Early Years Service and ourselves.

The project is based on the National Strategies Every Child a Talker (ECAT) programme. See examples of activities that have taken place in Leeds which typically occur every day in Early Years settings and describe ways in which they can be used to promote children's language development. They describe planning an activity and then evaluate the outcome.

Gypsy Roma Traveller History Month 2011 Competition

Gypsy, Roma and Travellers Throughout the Year Competition

Competition for children of all ages

Our competition for Gypsy Roma Traveller History Month 2011 reached a successful conclusion at an awards ceremony at Leeds Civic Hall. All the winners and highly commended entrants received their prizes and certificates - and a specially made copy of a calendar made with the winning images. The calendar is free to download using the link below.

Download your own copy of the calendar

Children and young people in Leeds were challenged to create an image featuring Gypsy, Roma and Traveller culture and history that could be used as a page in a calendar. They were to choose a month or season and make a picture showing Gypsy Roma and Traveller history and culture in that month.

Portrait Competition winners

International Competition image See the images created by the winners and runners-up in the recent Portrait competition we ran as part of Gypsy Roma Traveller History Month 2010.

Competition portraits

Images of the award ceremony for this competition and also the national poetry competition for Gypsy Roma Traveller History Month 2010 can be seen on the GRTHM website.

Award Ceremony pictures

Images of the 2009 awards - GRTAS organised and held in Leeds

Resources for classrooms

Catalogue cover The Education Leeds Early Years’ Lending Service, is an initiative from the Gypsy Roma Traveller Achievement Service (GRTAS) funded by Leeds City Council Early Years’ Department and Education Leeds. The aim of the service is to provide items for loan that are culturally relevant to Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) children to help promote a sense of belonging.

Find out more

Listen to Romipen live in Leeds

Romipen In 2008 The Gypsy Ensemble Romipen formed specially for GRTHM in Leeds. You can enjoy one of their performances during their stay in Leeds online now.

Find out more and listen to Romipen

Achievement Awards Ceremony 2010

Our annual ceremony this year combined the recognition of the achievements of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children in our local schools with prize-giving for our portrait competition run in conjunction with this year’s Gypsy Roma Traveller History Month (GRTHM). We were grateful once more, for access to the splendid and historic setting of Leeds Civic Hall for this annual ceremony.

See and download photographs from the evening

Awards image

This year has seen the third GRTHM. It’s an event that is growing each year and this year included the reappearance of Baildon Fair which took place this year for the first time since 1937. The aim of the month is to raise awareness of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller history and culture and celebrate the music, art and contribution they have made to the UK. The ceremony followed this lead, with art and music dispersed throughout the prize-giving.

Award image

Once more we were honoured to welcome very special guests to share in the occasion alongside the families of the children and young people.

We hope it was a memorable evening for all involved.

See and download photographs from the evening

Resources for schools

Materials for Raising Awareness

The Gypsy Roma Traveller Achievement Service in Leeds (GRTAS) has a range of resources that are great for raising awareness of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) cultures in the learning environment.

They are specially useful for teachers, schools, youth groups and other learning establishments, who will be celebrating Gypsy Roma Traveller History Month in June and include these materials in the curriculum for all children.

Any queries: Phone David Martin on 0113 274 8050 or
e-mail david.1.martin@leeds.gov.uk

Find out about what resources are on offer and how to obtain them

Learning about GRT culture in schools

Workshops for Schools

The Gypsy Roma Traveller Achievement Service (GRTAS) are very pleased to offer excellent workshops for schools. They provide an exciting opportunity for schools to promote their equality, diversity and community cohesion agendas through the arts. These artists and performers offer skills and talents which have inspired many children and will have a major impact on your school. This work can be an exciting introduction to the GRT communities and help the school plan how best to celebrate Gypsy Roma Traveller History Month in June each year.

Notice

As of April 1 2011, Leeds City Council ended its contract with Education Leeds to provide educational support services on their behalf. These services have now merged back into Leeds City Council. References to Education Leeds may remain in the content and documents on this site.

Latest

Around the site

grthm website

For the latest news on GRTHM 2010 and to find out what happened around the country visit the GRTHM website.

www.grthm.co.uk

Art Gallery

Art gallery image Ferdinand Koci, the international Roma artist, exhibited his work again in as part of GRTHM 2010. To see some of his work click the link below.