The Role of the Service

The Service co-ordinates, monitors, advises, supervises and assists the provision for children from the Travelling communities throughout Worcestershire; they do this by:

• Work to promote anti – discriminatory practice in all spheres of education and through liaison with other agencies.
• Encourage Traveller families to make a commitment to education, whether they are officially or unofficially sited.
• Deliver support to schools to assist them in integrating Traveller children successfully.
• Work in partnership with schools and other agencies to meet the needs of Traveller children, families and schools within an educational context.
• Work in partnership with schools and other agencies to meet the needs of Traveller children, families and schools within home context.
• Provide assistance to families regarding welfare advice and improve Travellers' knowledge of and access to service.
• Provide INSET (in-service education training) and resources to support the education of Traveller children.
• Promote knowledge and understanding about Travelling communities, regardless of the uptake of places in school by Traveller children.
• Produce, circulate and provide teaching and learning materials to support National Curriculum development in schools regardless of the current uptake of places by Traveller children.
• Ensure that Traveller Education Service provision is reviewed and monitored on a regular basis.

The Service Operates

• A public record transfer system to ensure that the educational records of the children keep pace with the children's, movements from school to school and LA to LA.
• A system for monitoring records ensuring that individual children make progress and that the schools receive advisory support.
• An advisory education service through Advisory/Support Teachers under of the direction of the Subject Advisor to assist schools in meeting the need of Travelling children.
• A resource Centre containing appropriate and tested materials for use with Travelling children.
• A library/archive for use by teachers, students and colleagues in other agencies.
• An in-service training programme for school staff, welfare staff, students and others involved with Travelling families to promote awareness of Traveller culture and lifestyles, positive attitudes towards the children and an understanding of their educational needs.