£1 million education programme for Traveller children

Communities Minister Lord Greenhalgh has announced new education programmes to help support Gypsy, Roma and Traveller pupils, backed by £1 million government funding.

The new programmes will focus on boosting educational attainment, tackling exclusion and drop-out rates and improving pathways to employment for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children.

The pilot programmes, in Bradford, Central Bedfordshire, Essex, Hillingdon and Surrey, will reach 150 schools and involve a range of targeted work, including: reducing drop-out rates by engaging families with pre-school children and those transitioning from primary to secondary school; targeting young people not in education, employment or training; fostering better cooperation between councils, schools and families; and tutoring for catch-up lessons to support pupils whose education has been disrupted by the pandemic.

Lord Greenhalgh said: “Access to education is absolutely key to improving the life chances of all children. Our £1 million education programme will reach over 600 children and young people in areas across the country. This work will help ensure no community is left behind in the government’s drive to level up the nation.”