Whole school approach to GRT in schools

Attendance

Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) children and young people need to attend school as regularly and as frequently as possible. A school's approach to regular attendance should, however, be balanced with a sensitivity which recognises the lifestyle and cultural traditions of GRT communities.

It is important to monitor the attendance of GRT children and young people closely to ensure attendance does not impact on their progress and attainment. Schools may authorise absence of GRT children and young people using the T code. Schools should only use the T code in line with the Education Act 1995 to mark GRT children and young people absent when they are travelling with their families for work purposes. Schools should have high expectations with regards to attendance but maintain a flexible approach for children and young people who are travelling for long periods during the school year, providing distance learning while they are away and support to help them reintegrate on their return.

What the law says about using the T code

• The law recognises that GRT families may have a valid reason to keep their children from school.
• This reason is where parent(s) are engaged in a trade or business that requires them to travel from place to place and therefore prevents their children from attending school. Nevertheless, each child must attend school as regularly as that trade or business permits and children and young people over six years old must attend at least 200 sessions in each rolling 12-month period.
• The law does not automatically reduce the number of days that children and young people from GRT families are expected to attend school; schools and local authorities should seek to secure GRT children and young people's attendance at 380 sessions each school year.
• The law makes no reference to a physical dwelling so a GRT family that lives in a house but travels during their trade or business can be classed as no fixed abode and have absences authorised through use of the T code.

When should the T code be used?

• On days when a child from a GRT family is known to be out of the area for work purposes and is not in educational provision, schools can use the T code to record the absence.
• Parents should make sure they let the school know in advance when they are going to be travelling and when they expect to return. This enables the child's attendance and absence to be recorded accurately, their safety and well-being to be monitored and appropriate distance learning work to be set by the school.
• The term 'travelling' means travelling as part of the parents' trade or business that requires them to travel from place to place. It does not mean travelling as part of a holiday.
• The T code can only be used if the child is travelling for work purposes with their parents, not with any other relatives.
• The use of the T code to authorise a child's absence is at the discretion of the headteacher.

D code

The law allows for dual registration of a child or young person at more than one school. To help ensure continuity of education for GRT children or young people it is expected that the children or young people should attend school elsewhere when their family is travelling. Where a GRT child or young person is travelling and attending another school the child or young person should be dual registered using D code. The child or young person remains on the D code until the subsidiary school informs the base school they have left and are off roll, or until they return to the school full time.

C code

Only exceptional circumstances warrant an authorised leave of absence. Schools should consider each application individually taking into account the specific facts and circumstances and relevant background context behind the request.

Apart from travelling for work purposes, GRT participate in events and occasions that are of particular significance to them, e.g. Appleby / horse fairs. Extended family and religious events such as weddings and christenings or economic gatherings such as horse fairs will draw together extended family groups and reinforce communal identity. GRT put high value on extended family responsibilities so families may move to care for sick relative or a bereaved family member.

If a school approves leave of absence, the school needs to make it clear the days that are authorised and from what time that approval takes place.

Working together to improve school attendance provides more information on registers and attendance codes.

What actions should school undertake when a GRT child or young person does not return to school after travelling?

If a child or young person does not return to their base school after travelling the school should:

• Make regular attempts, beginning on the first day of any unexplained absence to contact the child or young person's parents either by telephone or text messaging. Every effort to locate and contact the family must be taken.
• Contact the GRT Community Liaison officers who will make every effort to visit the family and ascertain when the child or young person will be returning to school (contact details below).
• Contact any other school where the child or young person or their siblings are known to attend while they were away.
• For child or young person known to be at risk or where safeguarding is a concern the school should contact social care.
• If despite these efforts the child or young person's absence continues and their whereabouts remains unknown, where a child or young person has not returned to school for ten days after an authorised absence or is absent from school without authorisation for twenty consecutive school days school must contact the Child Missing Education (CME) team in line with the CME Policy.

Further advice regarding supporting GRT access to education is available on the GOV.UK Gypsy, Roma and Traveller pupils: supporting access to education web page and within the Working together to improve school attendance guidance.

For further advice and support with access and attendance of GRT children or young people please contact one the GRT Service's Community Liaison Officers by emailing inclusionandsend@norfok.gov.uk.

Ofsted

Regarding absences, Ofsted would be looking for a school or setting to demonstrate that it:

• Has used the registration codes correctly
• Is strategic and proactive in communicating with GRT parents about their travelling patterns on a regular basis
• Is strategic and proactive in ensuring excellent attendance when the child or young person is not travelling
• Provides distance learning materials in accordance with good practice
• Includes specific guidance for GRT parents and carers in the school's attendance policy and ensures the policy is accessible to parents
• Evaluates its provision for narrowing achievement gaps for GRT children or young people

Home education

Some GRT families may decide they want to remove their child from school and home educate. In this case parents are asked to write to the school clearly stating that they will be taking full responsibility for their child's education at home. The child or young person can then be de-registered from the school roll. The school must inform the Services to Home Education team if a child or young person is removed from a school roll to be home educated.

Ascription

In UK schools and settings, information about a child or young person's ethnic background is collected by law and used to monitor progress and achievement. It is a statutory requirement that all schools and settings collect ethnicity (ascription) data for every child or young person.

Parents have the right to decide whether to give this information; the school or setting cannot make an ascription decision for a family without the family's consent. It is advised that schools and settings offer support to parents to help them understand why they are being asked to provide the information.

The GRT service works with schools and settings to encourage GRT families to ascribe correctly to their ethnicity.

Why is this important?

• It is important to collect ascription data is because it is used to monitor the progress and achievement of different groups of children and young people to make sure none are disadvantaged.
• Children and young people's ethnicity is recorded at their parent's discretion, but vague or inaccurate ascription can mean that children and young people may not receive their full entitlement to support.
• Correct ascription in schools can provide GRT families with access to dual registration and the use of the T code, which is used to authorise absences under specific circumstances. These benefits may be particularly relevant to many GRT families (see below).
• If a GRT child or young person lives in a house, they still retain their cultural identity and ethnicity though it is quite easy for these children and young people to remain invisible.
• Data held on cohort sizes for children and young people from Gypsy and Roma backgrounds (WROM, WROG, WROR, WROO) or Travellers of Irish heritage (WIRT) generally present much lower numbers than local knowledge suggests is the true picture. Some GRT families may choose to ascribe as White British (WBRI), Irish (WIRI) or possibly White Other (WOTH) if they are of Eastern European Roma heritage. This can mean it is difficult for schools to accurately identify all their GRT children and young people.

How can ascription support children and young people, families, school and the local authority (LA)?

• Parents can dual register their children at two schools. This can be helpful if the family spends the summer season living and working elsewhere and want their child to carry on attending while they're away. Dual registration means the child and young person will have a place at the same school each year.
• Schools can use the T code to authorise the child and young person's absences from school due to travelling for work purposes.
• For those schools with Showman children and young people, they can be encouraged to use WBRI or WOTH and add Showman in brackets. Although Showman do not have ethnic status they are then registered as occupational travellers and are able to use the T code.
• With accurate ascription, GRT culture and history can be shared and celebrated as part of the diverse mix of the school cohort.
• Schools are in a position to foster close relationships with GRT families and children and young people through having a better understanding of the culture and lifestyle of their GRT communities.
• Schools can support GRT children and young people to experience happy and successful learning through having confidence in their personal and family identity while feeling part of the school community.
• Through a better understanding of GRT culture, schools are able to tackle sensitively incidents of racism and bullying that may arise towards GRT children and young people.
• Schools and local authorities will comply with their duties under the Equality Act (2010).

More information on ethnicity codes

Further information on Ethnicity Codes for GRT children and young people from the DfE.