About the TESS Team

The TESS works with schools and families across the county. The team comprises a Team Leader, four Advice/Liaison Teachers, two part-time Teaching Assistants and a part-time Resource Officer. Each of the four Advice/Liaison Teachers has a designated locality within the county. The localities reflect the demography of the Traveller population within Suffolk.

The Advice/Liaison Teachers work cooperatively and may cross locality boundaries to respond to the movement of Traveller families and/or to ensure an even distribution of the workload.

If schools are admitting Traveller children for the first time, please contact Tim Everson (Team Leader) who is based at the Minority Ethnic and Traveller Achievement Team office, SSPDC. Tel 01473 583530.

West Suffolk
Val Sawyer: 07711 769655

Central Suffolk/Ipswich
Jo Gardner/Paula Lawley: 07930 570966

South Suffolk
Alison Blake: 07793 658846

North Suffolk
Sue Cox: 07941 156379

Funding

Funding for the TESS is through the Vulnerable Children Grant, supplemented by funding from the LEA. This grant is retained centrally and the deployment of the funding is determined by the LEA.

The demands made upon the service may change from week to week. Given the mobility of the communities, the TESS, therefore, prioritises support, and thus support may have to be withdrawn from a school at short notice to be redeployed to children/schools with a greater need.

For more detailed information on Traveller Children and meeting their needs within school, please refer
to the TESS document entitled: Traveller Children in Suffolk – Information for Teachers.