1. School exclusions of Roma young people
NATT+ conference 2018
Andy Shallice
Roma Support Group

2. What I’m going to cover Why we wrote the report What the report said
What recommendations did we make
What's happened since
And what we’re planning to do.....

3. Why? (btw - is any of this ‘new’?)
Chris Searle’s long article in Race& Class
Our (Laura G’s) experience of youth advocacy at RSG
What did it say?
(Still) Growing problem
Massive variations between towns and cities
Racism and bullying; persistent disruptive behaviour; appeals; loss of any trust; PRU
The ‘othering’ of Roma children and families

4. Migrants, mobile, no fixed abode – challenge to schools and police
Resources must also go into the schools where kids are coming in who cannot speak English not just at five, but often at seven and eight. Some of them have not been to school at all, and not only their inability to speak English but sometimes their behaviour poses a great challenge to the school. I asked one head, “How many of these kids have you got?” and I was told, “Thirty. But not the same 30 as last month because they move around.” Having newly come to the country, they tend to be mobile; they have no fixed abode, and they may be somewhere else in a month’s time. That is a challenge to schools, to the police and to our housing services. (Clive Betts, 5 June 2014, House of Commons)

5. Recommendations
A national inquiry to understand the scale of exclusion of Roma pupils and to include a particular focus on what happens to young people in the years that follow a permanent exclusion.
A review of the current mechanisms of the appeal system for exclusion focusing on the experience of parents and the transparency of the governor panel.
Reinstating a dedicated mechanism within the Department for Education to monitor issues relevant to Roma, Gypsy and Traveller pupils.
Ensure that there is a dedicated and knowledgeable senior leader who can drive the local authority’s strategies for improving outcomes for Roma pupils, especially in areas which show a disproportionate level of Roma pupil exclusions.
Investment in Roma young adults to receive training and qualifications for roles within schools working to support both Roma and non-Roma pupils. This programme should be coordinated between schools, local authorities and university education departments.
Better safeguards to ensure the new system of academies are accountable for their approach towards the education of Roma, Gypsy and Traveller pupils.

6. And since Race Disparity Audit - Timpson review
This review will explore how head teachers use exclusion in practice,
and why some groups of pupils are more likely to be excluded. It will
not seek to examine the powers head teachers have to exclude.
GRT stakeholder group in Department for Education
(Local authority leadership....)
(Roma mediators....)
(Academies....)

7. Some schools Schools - 50+% exclusion rate
Schools – 35+ ‘Gypsy/Roma’ pupils
Oasis academy, Sheffield
Clifton community school, Rotherham
Leeds City academy
Colton Hills community school, Wolves
Djanogly City academy, Nottingham
Cedar Mount academy, Manchester
Merrill academy, Derby

8. Merrill Academy - Ofsted report (April 2018)
The headteacher has embraced the cultural diversity of the
school. He has learned some Romani phrases, much to the
delight and amusement of those pupils who speak this as their
first language.
The school has permanently excluded more pupils in the past
year than has been the case previously. Higher expectations of
pupils from staff are largely responsible for this.

9. Next steps Emphasis on the views of Roma students; Sheffield PRU
Clifton
Merrill
Sheffield PRU
Questions for Ofsted
Protection Approaches

10. and finally.....
Exclusion from maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units in England Statutory guidance for those with legal responsibilities in relation to exclusion September 2017

11. p11
Statutory guidance to the head teacher on the exclusion of pupils from groups with disproportionately high rates of exclusion 21. The exclusion rates for certain groups of pupils are consistently higher than average. This includes: pupils with SEN; pupils eligible for free school meals; looked after children; and pupils from certain ethnic groups. The ethnic groups with the highest rates of exclusion are: Gypsy/Roma; Travellers of Irish Heritage; and Caribbean pupils. 22. In addition to the approaches on early intervention set out above, the head teacher should consider what extra support might be needed to identify and address the needs of pupils from these groups in order to reduce their risk of exclusion. For example, schools might draw on the support of Traveller Education Services, or other professionals, to help build trust when engaging with families from Traveller communities.