Youth

In April 2020, The Traveller Movement and King’s College London launched ‘Tutors for GRT’, a project to help Gypsy, Roma and Traveller students when schools closed for COVID. You can read more about the project in our blog post here.

The project expanded rapidly leading to The Traveller Movement launching our sister organisation in November 2020 Open Doors Education and Training C.I.C (ODET) to deliver our tutoring projects. This project finished in July 2021 in line with the school term and will begin taking applications in September. Read about some of our initial findings from the tutoring project here

This is a partnership project between Traveller Movement, King’s College London, and Open Doors Education and Training.

To find out more or to register interest  for the next round of the programme please contact our programme manager Hannah Culkin at info@odet.org.uk

Check out our Twitter page for further updates @open_odet

Quick facts:

Age range:

15-25 years

What it is:

Participants are matched with a professional online tutor. All of our tutors are trained, and DBS checked. Participants study maths and English and work towards Functional Skills exams (all coordinated by ODET). No group classes. Students log on to our easy to use online platform. 10 hours of Career guidance and employability skills is offered to each student as part of the programme.

Criteria:

• Must not be in employment, education, and training.
• Must have a good level of spoken English.

Time commitment:
5 hours per week for 24 weeks at times that suit the young person (approximately 6 months but flexible).

Equipment:
Resource pack provided including books and stationery. Table and Wi-Fi dongle offered if needed. All free of charge.

Support offered:
Yes, our Education Officer will provide support from start to finish

Why:
Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller young people are more likely to be not in education, employment, or training at 16 years of age. This puts them at higher risk of entering the criminal justice system. We have developed a programme to equip young people with the skills they need for further training or to enter the job market. Level 2 qualifications are needed for most employment, educational and apprenticeship prospects.

In 2018, 19% of pupils from Irish Traveller backgrounds and 13% from Gypsy and Roma backgrounds attained GCSEs in English and Maths at grade 4/C or above, compared to 64% of pupils nationally. Gypsy and Traveller pupils also have a high rate of school exclusions and report high levels of bullying and racial abuse. (Cromarty, 2019).

70% of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities have experienced discrimination in some aspect of education (Traveller Movement, 2017)

One in five Traveller pupils felt they had to leave school due to bullying and two thirds of those surveyed felt bullied by their teachers (Traveller Movement, 2020)

41% of Traveller pupils wanted to stay in school for longer but were taken out because of bullying, family reasons, or because of a lack of support from their school (SEN) (Traveller Movement ,2020)

Gypsies and Travellers are 10 times less likely to go to university than their peers (Kings College, 2017)

Gypsy and Traveller pupils also have a high rate of school exclusions and report high levels of bullying and racial abuse (Cromarty, 2019).

Lack of cultural representation in education can make GRT children feel alienated and disengaged. Our programmes actively encourage celebration of student’s heritage, and we incorporate aspects of student’s culture in learning and through marking of events such as Gypsy, Roma, Traveller history month.

Student testimonial:  

“I didn’t enjoy school before – but I really enjoy the NEET Program and wish I could have lessons every day. When I started, I was looking to get a job, but now I’m thinking about going to University and applying for an Access Course.”    

A – 19 years old – Roma – left school in 2018.