Category: Government Policy

ACERT is a UK wide organisation and on February 25th 2026 we heard presentations about how Ireland and Scotland are moving forward in promoting the educational inclusion and opportunities of the Romany and Traveller communities within their areas.

We had also hoped to include speakers from Northern Ireland and Wales, both regions which have their own Education policies for including our communities, but due to circumstances beyond our control they were not able to join us. We hope we’ll be able to find out about their work at a future meeting.

Marie Bowers, Co-chair of ACERT recoded an excellent presentation on developments in Irish education and Owen Ward from the University of Galway set the policies in context.

Owen Ward from the University of Galway explained his role in widening the participation of Traveller and Roma, together with other minorities and disadvantaged students through all phases of education. He explained that there are currently 34 Traveller students attending his University. He emphasised the importance of Traveller Organisations in engaging with potential students and making them aware of the support available to allow them to study. He mentioned Scholarships, Wrap-around support, the Equality Diversity and Inclusion agenda and the Higher Education Inclusion Charter.

The work of STEP

Pauline Duncan, the STEP Project Coordinator described the work of the Knowledge Exchange based at Moray House, University of Edinburgh and supported by the Scottish Government Equalities and Human Rights, and Learning Directorates.

STEP KE supports education leaders, practitioners, and families to ensure that education is accessible, culturally-sustaining and has the highest expectations for all children and young people from traditionally nomadic cultures in Scotland.

The pdf of her presentation below gives links and QR codes which illustrate the range of activities being supported in the Region.

Below are the sections of the guidance relating to how schools should record the absences of children of economically nomadic families. The left-hand column shows the guidance in force until the 19th August 2024, the right-hand one the guidance applying after that date.

The law has not changed and ACERT is unclear what the purpose of the change is. This change has not been discussed at the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Stakeholder group.

In 2011 the Coalition Government proposed the repeal of section 444 of the Education Act 1996 which :

protects travelling parents from being found guilty of school
attendance offence if their child is absent from school, in certain
circumstances.

Improving educational outcomes for children of travelling families

ACERT along with many other organisations responded to the consultation arguing that this change would increase the difficulties faced by nomadic families and would not improve attendance. The Government did not go ahead with the repeal so parents can still argue that they are not guilty of an offence provided that they are of no fixed abode when travelling and:

(a) parents are engaged in a trade or business of such a nature as to
require them to travel from place to place, and
(b) the child has attended at a school as a registered pupil as regularly as the nature of that trade or business permits, and
(c) if the child has attained the age of six, that he or she has made at
least 200 attendances during the period of 12 months ending with the date on which the proceedings were instituted.

Improving educational outcomes for children of travelling families

Friends and Families of Travellers received this clarification from the DoE.

“No fixed abode’ means that someone either does not have a settled place where they can live full-time, or they have a place where they can live full-time but they spend substantial periods of time not living there. So a mobile child could be a child whose family travels all year round as part of their trade or business and has no permanent address at all, but it also includes a child who does have a fixed place to live (like a house) but does not live there for a substantial part of the year, if their parent is engaged in a trade or business that requires them to travel from place to place. If the child is absent from school while travelling with that parent, then code T applies.”

FFT has drafted a template letter which parents can send to schools.

ACERT doesn’t know if this change in the guidance will make any significant difference to the experiences of families but we would like to hear from those who travel if they are facing new problems as a result.