METAT – Cultural Diversity in Education





		TESS Support Strategies The following strategies have been adopted by the TESS to support our objectives. The TESS will: • Liaise with families, the LEA and schools to support children into school. •Work in partnership with other agencies, including local authorities, to promote the educational needs of Traveller children. •Work with teachers to assess children, set targets, provide learning materials and additional support when appropriate. • Work with families, schools and the EWS to monitor and promote attendance. • Provide INSET to school staff on strategies to raise the achievement of Traveller pupils. • Provide INSET to school staff to promote a respect and understanding of the culture and lifestyle of Traveller communities and ways Traveller heritage and lifestyle can be reflected in the curriculum. • Provide INSET to all staff to promote race equality and to develop school policy and practice for dealing with racist incidents. • Develop teaching resources to accelerate the learning of Traveller pupils (see METAT Traveller Resource 6). • Develop and collect resources reflecting Traveller cultures to enhance the curriculum (see METAT Traveller Resource 1). • Assist with the transfer of records and information from other schools/LEAs. • Provide support for homework when appropriate. • Promote and provide pre-school learning for Traveller children. • Promote flexible opportunities for Traveller students at KS3/4 and beyond. • To support the development of Open Distance Learning (ODL) packs and to support ODL on sites to ensure educational continuity for seasonal Traveller children. The Team Leader and TESS Teacher will meet with Head-Teachers/Senior Staff biannually to monitor the progress of Traveller children in those schools where there are a significant number of Traveller children on roll. The TESS collects data on Traveller children’s attendance and attainment. The data is shared with a regional benchmarking group and the DfES with a view to identifying strategies that will lead to raising attendance levels and attainment. Support priorities Priority will be given to children who: – Are highly mobile – Are from unauthorised campsites – Have significant gaps in their schooling – Are transferring to upper/high school – Are attending upper/high school and are at risk of dropping out.