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The Tinker Experiment

The Tinker Experiment lasted from 1940 until 1980 and was a programme designed to integrate Scottish Travellers into mainstream Scottish society through forced settlement in substandard buildings. It was supported by the UK government, the Church of Scotland and Scottish local authorities. Nomadic families risked having their children taken into care if they didn’t attend school regularly. 

The Tinker Experiment

The BBC Radio 4 programme History on the Edge interviews residents of Bobbin Mill near Pitlochry where, in 1946, the McPhee family and other Gypsy Travellers were moved into an old wartime hut converted for four families. The accommodation was small and overcrowded for the nine McPhee children and their parents, and was without amenities such as electricity. There was also asbestos in the walls which wasn’t removed until the 1980s. 

At Bobbin Mill, Anita meets Shamus McPhee and three of his sisters who still live on the site. Old holiday chalets have in recent years replaced the hutted accommodation and they now have electricity and running water. Yet the family still suffer hardship and discrimination despite having been to university and contributed to society. Prejudice against Gypsy Travellers runs so deep among the settled community that they’ve found it difficult to get work if they reveal their background. And – having fallen between the settled and the nomadic ways of life – none of them has found a life partner or had children.

The McPhees are now seeking an apology from the Scottish Government as they feel their lives have been blighted by the Tinker Experiment. 

Early literacies research

ROMLIT-logo
Spyros Themelis introduces ROMLIT

What’s the focus?

  • Understanding the original, multiple and diverse literacies of Gypsies, Roma and Travellers
  • Recognising the role that children, parents, siblings, community members and early years practitioners play in early years literacies
  • Identifying and co-creating empowering practices working with Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities

What are we doing?

  • Learning about literacy approaches that Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children and communities use
  • Exploring the way Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children navigate different levels of literacy
  • Identifying strategies to promote positive relationships across communities and settings

How are we doing it?

  • Working across different regions of England with Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities
  • Looking at practice that take place at home, in education and within the community
  • Working in partnership with communities, settings and experts from across the UK
  • Producing materials that celebrate and support Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children’s needs.

Intergenerational lives and learning

A hybrid conference celebrating the benefits, opportunities and challenges of multi-generational family lives

Copyright : Ezster Halazi, Stow Fair 2023.

Friday 9th February 2024

9-30 to 4-00pm

The Glass Tank, Abercrombie, Oxford Brookes University, Gipsy Lane, Headington, Oxford OX3 0BP

Please note: You will find it difficult to park vehicles near the campus, but Oxford has three excellent Park and Ride Car Parks on the outskirts. Bus 400 runs between Thornhill Park and Ride every 10 minutes with buses stopping directly at Headington Brookes.

Buses stop at B4 and B5 by the Main Entrance to the Gipsy Lane Site. The Glass Tank is in the Abercrombie Building, left at the top of the Piazza, after the Colonnade Store building.

Further details and booking.

Gypsy, Roma and Traveller families often comprise three or four generations living together or close by. Traditions and culture, skills and trades, music and story, financial and emotional support transfer between them. Schools that succeed in including Gypsy, Roma and Traveller pupils in one generation continue to work well with succeeding generations of the extended family.

Our conference will give participants an opportunity to share and discuss how intergenerational life works for them, how it is experienced by different generations and the challenges posed by contemporary society.

Oxford Brookes is the home of the RIBA studio which is a practice-based route to qualification as an Architect. Its programme director is ACERT member Maria Faraone, and we plan to incorporate content from course participants into the day.

We hope the day will be advertised around all the Oxford colleges, so students with Gypsy, Roma and Traveller heritages, and those who want to support our campaign for equal rights can meet us and learn more about what ACERT does.

Exhibitions and Stalls

  • Angel Donaldson: The Nawken Knowledge Project 
  • Prof. Thomas Acton:  Romanistan Publication Bookstall
  • Claire Barker: Hampshire EMTAS Traveller Team
Information about Headington Campus, its opening hours, facilities and how to get there.