Front-line voluntary organisations have pulled together a wide range of great resources and links to support Gypsy, Roma and Traveller families during the COVID-19 lockdown.
CREATE A SAFETY POSTER FOR – to help Gypsies, Roma and Travellers keep themselves safe from coronavirus
UK CHILDREN’S COMPETITION SUMMER 2020
The Romani Cultural and Arts Company is looking for interesting designs which are colourful and have a Gypsy, Roma & Traveller theme and / or element to them.
Take a high resolution photograph of the poster and get an adult to email this photo with your name, age and contact phone number (in case you win) to: competition@romaniarts.co.uk
ACERT hosted two online meetings to share our ideas for a parents’ network and dedicated website offering advice and support on issues related to education. These are associated with the Networks Conference to be held at the Friends Meeting House in Manchester on 26th June.
The material on the website will also be downloadable as a booklet for families. It will be written in direct, jargon-free language, emphasising parents’ rights and linking to other organisations supporting parents.
We also aim to include a chatroom where parents can discuss the issues which concern them, and those with more experience and confidence can empower each other.
The online meetings were positive and we learned about important work being done across the country. There is a need for an updated listing of support services across the UK and details of the kinds of assistance they can provide.
Feedback from participants was that it is a needed initiative, but would benefit from video clips, ideally of parents sharing their experiences and suggesting how issues might be tackled.
The list of issues now includes:
Education rights
Attendance rules
Curriculum content
Finding a school place
Travelling absence
Supporting education
Enrolment dates
Dual registration
Bullying and racism
Mid-year admissions
Distance learning
Making complaints
Dual registration
Exclusions
Special Needs
Transport to school
Transfer to secondary school.
Child protection
Home Education
School homework expectation
Post 14 options
Vocational education
Further and Higher Education
Adult education
…but could be extended further in future.
Please let us know if there are other topics which we should address and if you would like to be more closely involved with the development of the network.
The online meetings were conducted using Zoom, which is similar to Skype but with better quality and stability. It allows anyone with an internet connection (it works fine on Smartphones) to participate in the development of the network.
Let us know if you would like to become more involved.
Dr Siobhan Spencer, Trustee of the National Federation of Gypsy Liaison Groups, co-ordinated a call for the Home Office Consultation on the strengthening of police powers of eviction of Gypsies and Travellers to be withdrawn.
A broad range of Gypsy and Traveller organisations supported the move after a meeting coordinated by Friends Families and Travellers.
Friends Families and Travellers
Traveller Movement
London Gypsies and Travellers
Leeds Gate
Travelling Ahead
Derbyshire Gypsy Liaison Group
GATEHerts
York Travellers Trust
Irish Community Care
ACERT
The reasons are spelled out in the letter but are essentially these:
The Consultation doesn’t conform to Cabinet Office Consultation Principles and the relevant law.
Following the judgment in the Court of Appeal in the case of The Mayor and Burgesses of the London Borough of Bromley v Persons Unknown and Others [2020] , it is clear that the criminalisation of trespass would be unlawful.
