Most excluded minorities

The Think Tank Higher Education Policy Institute, has published a new report on access to education among Gypsies, Roma and Travellers (Gypsy, Roma and Traveller) authored by Policy Manager Dr.Laura Bressington.

Laura will join our next Education Support Network meeting on Wednesday, 30th November at 2pm online.

Gypsies, Roma and Travellers: The ethnic minorities most excluded from UK education is an informative report that looks carefully at definitions and draws attention to the dangers of homogenisation – focussing sharply on the need for careful data collection and handling. In her own use of data she demonstrates that these communities are hugely underrepresented in Higher Education.

Evidence
  • Gypsy, Roma and Travellers of Irish heritage have the widest attainment gap in measures of pupils achieving a good level of development in early years education;
  • Gypsy, Roma and Traveller pupils have some of the lowest rates of attendance and the highest rates of permanent exclusion from schools;
  • in 2020/21, 9.1% of Gypsy / Roma pupils and 21.1% of Irish Traveller pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in GCSE English and Mathematics, compared to a national average in England of 51.9%;
  • young people from Gypsy / Roma and Irish Traveller communities are the least likely ethnic groupings to enter higher education by the age of 19 – just 6.3% of Gypsy / Roma and 3.8% of Irish Travellers access higher education by the age of 19 compared to around 40% of all young people;
  • Gypsy and Irish Travellers are the UK’s ‘least liked’ group, with 44.6% of people holding negative views against them – 18.7 percentage points higher than Muslims; and
  • Irish Travellers face a ‘mental health crisis’, with one-in-10 deaths caused by suicide.
Recommendations
For Government
  1. Improved Data Collection.  The current lack of information means that the full scale of the problem remains invisible.
  2. Funding.  The small scale project local project  funding available at the time of writing is inadequate to the scale of the problem which is a national one.
For Higher Education
  1. Access and Participation Plans such as the Higher Education Pledge which create a welcoming environment are to be welcomed
  2. There is a need to include the history and culture of the various Travelling groups in the curriculum. Including works by members of the communities and including relevant data can improve understanding of the different Gypsy Roma and Traveller communities

King’s College London are prioritising Gypsy, Roma and Traveller students on their flagship K+ scheme

Once again, King’s College London are prioritising Gypsy, Roma and Traveller students on their flagship K+ scheme for year 12 students in London and South Essex. This has been so successful in the last few years, and each year we see more Gypsies, Roma and Travellers head to university from K+.

As well as all of the amazing experiences and application support students get through K+, Gypsy, Roma and Traveller students will also receive extra support, provided by the global leading law firm Linklaters. This includes:

  • Free online tutoring to support with A-levels 
  • Careers advice, experience and tips from top professionals
  • Access to funds to go to events and take part in activities you are interested in

Applications are open from now until 29 October – to apply visit https://kplus.london

Pledge raises awareness in HE

Bronte Sheldon and Wendy Price

Wendy Price, Head of Widening Access and Participation at the University of Sunderland shared this video interview with Bronte Sheldon, a second year Media, Culture and Communications student.

Bronte got in touch after learning that we had recently signed the GTRSB into HE Pledge and wanted to share her perspectives on Romani inclusion and identity. Bronte has also agreed to work with Wendy’s Department to develop their priorities and key actions relating to the Pledge.

150 attend Higher Education Pledge launch

Universities, regulators, politicians, policy specialists, NGOs and members of the Gypsy, Traveller, Roma, Showpeople and Boater (GTRSB) communities came together on 20 January 2021, to launch the Good Practice in supporting GTRSB students into and within Higher Education Pledge in an online event attended by more than 150 people.

The Vice-Chancellor of Buckinghamshire New University, Professor Nick Braisby, chaired and opened the event calling on senior leaders in Higher Education to take time to understand the experience of the GTRSB communities, to sign the Pledge, and implement the changes necessary to enable more students to flourish.

Education policy approaches to widening participation

Speakers included:

  • Baroness Whitaker, Co-Chair for All Parliamentary Party Group (APPG)
  • Kate Green – Shadow Education Secretary
  • Chris Millward, Director for Fair Access and Participation at the Higher Education regulator, The Office for Students
  • Professor Julia Buckingham, President of universities membership body, Universities UK
  • Professor David Richardson, Vice-Chancellor of the University of East Anglia

Baroness Whitaker, said the Pledge needs to act as a catalyst to create a welcoming environment in universities for the release of talent. Kate Green thought It is really important we tackle discrimination and structural barriers that exist throughout the education system by increasing staff training and raising awareness of the history and culture of their students in curriculum content.

Chris Millward and Prof Buckingham reflected on the opportunities and momentum that the Pledge provides for universities to demonstrate leadership in society and transform the lives of students. Prof Richardson spoke of how institutions may perpetuate systemic racism, acting as a key barrier to inclusion.

Experiences in Higher Education
  • Lisa Smith (ACERT)
  • Professor Colin Clark of the University of West Scotland
  • Martin Gallagher, Ph.D student, Northumbria University
  • Chelsea McDonagh, the Education Officer for the Traveller Movement
  • Sherrie Smith of Buckinghamshire New University
  • Dr Aleksandar Marinov, University of St Andrews
  • Shelby Holmes, an Oxford University graduate
  • Allison Hulmes, British Association for Social Work Cymru, National Director, and co-founder of the Gypsy Roma Traveller Social Work Association
  • Dr Rosa Cisneros of Coventry University.

Lisa stressed that better support in education, and access to higher education is a matter of social justice and that institutions committed to the Pledge can signal a real step-change and improvement for members of the GTRSB communities. Colin Clark spoke of his own academic journey and emphasised that it was the responsibility of everyone in Higher Education to level the playing field and enhance equalities and inclusion. Martin Gallagher discussed the challenges and barriers he faced at secondary school which ultimately inspired him to return to study in his late 20s while Chelsea McDonagh praised the support she was given by individual teachers which opened up educational opportunities for her. Sherrie Smith told how her journey through Higher Education created a ‘ripple effect’ through her networks and extended family

Dr Aleksandar Marinov said he never came across fellow Gypsy, Roma and Traveller students at university; he hoped the Pledge will encourage institutions to include their history and culture in curricula to increase the visibility of the diverse communities. Shelby Holmes described her “iron will” to gain an education which meant she had to sneak away from fairground duties to complete her schoolwork. She had had conversations with older Showmen who told her that they would have loved to had the chance to experience Higher Education.

Allison Hulmes spoke of her great hope that the Pledge will make a difference to communities and the social work profession which needs to be more aware of diversity and discrimination faced by members of the GRTSB communities. Dr Cisneros discussed the Pledge’s importance in enabling universities and key policy agencies such at the OfS and HESA to gain more data.

Videos from universities who had taken the Pledge prior to the launch event: Hull; Sunderland; Strathclyde; Winchester; and Buckinghamshire New University.