POVERTY AND ETHNICITY: THE CASE OF ROMA MIGRANTS IN SCOTLAND

“The teachers treat you with respect, even if you are Roma” Roma families’ engagement with education and other services in Glasgow Project report by Dr Daniela Sime & Dr Giovanna Fassetta, University of Strathclyde and Dr Michele McClung, GCC Acknowledgements to: Parents, children and practitioners taking part British Academy- For funding the project Maria Walker, Head of EAL Services, and Keith Moore-Milne, Head of Roma team, for local insight, contacts, and support

Outline Situation of Roma in Europe Existing research on Roma children’s education Methodology Data on Roma children in Glasgow’s schools Children’s and parents’ experiences Key issues from the research 3

The Roma in Europe Biggest ethnic minority Estimates of million in Europe- largest groups in Central and Eastern Europe Mostly treated as one group, in reality, several groups with distinct histories, languages, lifestyles 4

Issues in the education of Roma in Europe Early years education Only about 20% to 50% enrolled, depending on country Bulgaria, Romania- ¾ of all population attend, but only 20% of Roma Around 80% enter school with no early years preparation Enrolment is expensive and selective, children may not have proof of vaccination or birth certificates Primary school Limited access, depending on country policies -Austria, France, Hungary, Spain- about 50% attend -Romania, Slovakia- about 30% High dropout rates before secondary Perceived discrimination through the curriculum, teachers’ attitudes 5

Other issues Segregation in nurseries/schools – Often separate classes or sat at back of class – Intra-class segregation- different curricular standards in same class Higher rates of children in Special Needs schools -About 60% of all children in SEN schools in Slovakia -1 in 5 of all Roma children in Poland are in SEN schools Very low achievement -Only about 10%-20% completing secondary -Low achievement overall in exams or not sitting -Very high illiteracy in the adult population- as high as 90% 6

Research questions What data do we have on Roma children in Glasgow’s schools? What are Roma migrant families’ perceived needs and experiences in relation to education in Scotland? What are Roma migrant children and parents’ expectations and cultural attitudes to formal education? What are the perceived barriers in Roma migrant children’s education and how can these be tackled? 7

Methodology Data analysis on 389 Roma pupils ( ) Interviews with 8 service providers – Education, Health, Social Work, Third sector Interviews with 22 parents (20 women) – 18 Slovak Roma – 4 Romanian Roma – 2 Czech Roma Interviews with 10 children – 7 Slovak Roma – 3 Romanian Roma 8

Govanhill South-east of Glasgow Very deprived- 5 of its 12 zones are in the bottom 15% of national datazones 52 ethnicities among 15,000 residents 40% children- in workless households High rates of violent crime, domestic and drug abuse Estimates of about 3,000 Roma migrants 9

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Achievement of Roma in context Key predictors of achievement: -Poverty -Ethnicity -Parental education -Attitudes towards learning -Aspirations 11

Link between poverty-ethnicity-achievement 12

Roma children in Govanhill Roma Roll Primary Total Secondary Total School Roll (Census 12) Roma as % of Total Roll NationalityPrimary %Secondary % Czech Czech Roma0.40 Romanian Slovakian

Roma children’s competence in English Primary %Secondary % EAL Competent Developing Competence Early Acquisition New to English Total EAL OTHER English as a ‘first language’ Limited communication1.4 Not assessed/Unknown Total Other Total Scotland – 4 % EAL pupils; Glasgow- 15% EAL pupils 14

Attendance Lower attendance than general population Days lost to exclusion Roma % Whole school % Primary Secondary Roma Exclusion (per 1000) Whole School Exclusion (per 1000 Pop) Primary Secondary

S4 SQA Attainment Year/ StageS4 Roma %S4 Whole School % English 3896 Maths 4296 English & Maths SCQF Level 3 or Better SCQF Level 4 or Better SCQF Level 5 or Better

Better opportunities for children as motivation to migrate Access to better education Treated fairly and inclusively Racism as a ‘push’ factor “You know, for us it’s good enough that children are accepted as they are, not put into special schools like it happens back home, just because you are Gypsy. I was concerned they will do this to my child and I was at the school everyday, checking, not trusting them, but now I’m more relaxed.” (Greta, Slovak Roma mother) 17

Children’s education Experiences and views of the education system -Very positive overall -Perceive teachers and other staff supportive -Often start of with worries of segregation Parents’ aspirations for their children - many felt they raised their aspirations here, but overall still relatively low expectations Some ‘hiding’ children from schools and services, especially children (esp. girls) of secondary school age 18

“We like it here” “We like it here. They show an interest in my child, although we’ve not been here long, they accepted her straight away, they show an interest in getting her ready for school.” (Irina, Romanian mother) Researcher: What do you think of school here? Helena: I like it very much, much better than in Slovakia. The teachers teach differently, you have more choice. Researcher: Is there anything that was better in Slovakia? Helena: No. Researcher: What about maths [her favourite subject], is it easier here or was it easier in Slovakia? Helena: It’s easier here. And everyone is just nicer. (Helena, Secondary school) 19

Early years in Govanhill Major barriers for Roma families -limited, insufficient provision locally -cultural barriers and negative experiences of parents in country of origin -difficulties in registering (forms too long, in English, parents not knowing the system) -limited alternative provision 20

Views on early years provision “The provision for early years is just not enough. They don’t have enough places and most children can’t get a place until they are 4, which means that they are missing out on learning, and also they don’t have any exposure to language.” (John, Charity manager) “When you register, I had to ask someone to help me, because the form was 10 pages long, and most of the stuff, I didn’t know, like phone numbers, address, where is your doctor, how much money you have and I just couldn’t do it.” (Bella, Romanian Roma mother) “Who else can look better after my boy than me? Send him there to nursery, when he needs to sleep in the afternoon, and he needs his mother if he falls over or something. What would I do if he goes (to nursery)?” (Raluca, Roma Romanian mother) 21

Issues that emerge for education Early years: provision of sufficient places locally, tackle cultural barriers, make enrolment easier; engage parents early Achievement and attainment: targeted interventions needed to increase attendance and tackle underachievement Parental engagement: challenge attitudes of disengagement, create opportunities for adult literacy – ‘schools as hubs for family learning’ Ethnic segregation: Address segregation of Roma in specific schools, to avoid perpetuating their marginalisation some schools have 50%-80% EEU Roma intake, with almost no native English speaking children Identify Roma children absent from education 22

Further issues for policy Funding: Clear need for a ‘pupil deprivation premium’ to incentivise services and help them develop tailored interventions (catch up programmes, mentoring, extra tutoring etc.) Policies to minimise impact of poverty for Roma: better access to social housing, access to welfare and employment Increase access to and information on statutory services Roma women: Facilitate their inclusion, education and empowerment Better representation(s) of Roma communities in initiatives 23

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