Elton Primary School leads the way with Travellers

Pictured above: the wagon mural at Elton Primary School, near Chester

THIS autumn, in a small village in Cheshire, there were big celebrations taking place at Elton Primary School.

To celebrate their Ethnic Diversity Day this October, both pupils and teachers got involved in learning more about the Traveller culture. In the morning, Key Stage 1 pupils were given the chance to ask questions about Gypsies and Travellers, dispelling any negative stereotypes and gaining an insightful understanding from the Traveller pupils in their classes. Key Stage 2 pupils worked through Michael’s Story DVD learning resource using process drama and supporting visuals to learn about and discuss Travellers and their lifestyle. (Click HERE to find out more about Michael's Story learning resource)

Kevin Manning, Assistant Headteacher at Elton Primary, said: “The children in the upper juniors really enjoyed the day. It was great to see how well the children participated in the drama work we did in the morning around Michael's story - it created some superb discussions around prejudices and was a perfect vehicle for promoting the school's ethos on inclusion. Our GRT children were really enthusiastic about discussing details from the story such as the crown Derby and Waterford crystal and the children were excited to hear they would meet the stars of the DVD later in the day.”   

Travellers’ Times arrived just in time for the whole school assembly in the afternoon where we were also joined by Barbara Pickford (Cheshire West and Chester Gypsy, Roma, Traveller Education Adviser) and the Darling family, who feature on Michael’s Story. We were welcomed by Mr Manning, who introduced the assembly and set the tone for a fun-filled afternoon.

Pictured above: the Darling family - Mic, Susie, Levi and Jack (left to right)

Mic and Susie Darling got everybody moving and clapping, telling Traveller tales through their own songs, creating a lovely atmosphere in the school hall. Barbara then engaged the children in an interactive quiz, testing the children’s knowledge of Romany words, Traveller homes, Traveller heritage and famous Travellers throughout history. With hands stretching to the ceiling and feet tapping, the pupils were excited and enthusiastic to answer questions and demonstrate their knowledge of Traveller culture which had developed throughout the course of the day.

After quiz winners had collected their traditional handmade Gypsy pegs, as seen that morning from Michael’s Story DVD, Mic and Susie shared a couple more of their songs and invited the children to ask any remaining questions. The pupils’ questions were very insightful and well considered – ‘Is it easy living the life of a Traveller?’ one pupil asked Levi Darling, who plays Michael in Michael’s Story. Levi responded explaining that the Traveller life is easy because it was the way he was brought up so it’s all he knows.

“Mic and Suzie Darling’s performance was brilliant, the music was lively and it was really good to see all of the children joining in and enjoying the session.  There was a great opportunity for the children to ask Mic, Suzie and Levi questions and find out about their culture and lifestyle. Well done Fiona for organizing the event,” said Barbara Pickford (Gypsy, Roma, Traveller Education Adviser).

The celebratory day was a huge success, described as ‘spectacular’ and ‘fantastic’ by Year 4 pupils. The activities gave non-Traveller children across KS1 & KS2 the chance to establish a well-informed understanding of Traveller lifestyle and also provided Traveller pupils with the opportunity to speak openly about their culture, enabling them to diminish any prejudices and myths.

Pictured above: Pupils at Elton Primary School and the Darling family

After the assembly, TT got the chance to find out more about Elton Primary School, speaking to Fiona Christiansen and Barbara Pickford who worked collaboratively to organise the day.

With 32 Traveller and Gypsy pupils on roll this academic year, the school has an overall GRT intake of 15% and is popular choice of school for local Traveller families due to its excellent track record. The Traveller pupils and their families live locally and engage well with the school allowing for trusting relationships to be established with parents. As Administration Officer, Fiona Christiansen has a lot of contact with the Traveller families and maintains these vital relationships through regular communication and feedback sessions, striving to make a high level of support accessible to all parents. Victoria Carr (Head teacher) is hoping to get more members of staff involved with Traveller family support and is looking to provide additional training to admin staff who deal with such enquiries on a day to day basis. 

“Our school reflects the diversity of our local community and we celebrate that, said Head Teacher Victoria Carr. "We treat all children and their families equally, ensuring that we support as appropriate to give children in our school the best possible opportunities to learn, grow and develop alongside their peers in a caring environment where we raise aspirations.”   

On a pupil’s first day at Elton Primary School, the staff take the time to sit down with the child and his/her parents to explain the principles and expectations of the school such as punctuality, attendance and good communication.

The school ask Traveller families to inform them of when they are planning to move on and support the families in transferring the pupils to a new school. Elton Primary encourages a dual school approach in these situations enabling the children to enrol at more than one school in order to fit in around the family’s work plans. Admin staff always try to remain in contact with the family and the new school to ensure that pupils settle in okay and stress that they should return to Elton Primary, their base school, whenever they are living and working locally to provide as much continuity in their education as possible.

The school regularly invite parents to come in and carry out face-to-face surveys to provide the opportunity to raise any concerns or offer support if needed. This survey includes the parents satisfaction rating of sending their child to Elton Primary School, highlighting areas for improvement, and this time can also be used to help with the pupil’s transition to high school, career advice, and future plans.

The staff pride themselves in tracking the progress of their Traveller pupils throughout their years at the school and have already seen remarkable improvement in attendance and achievement. Using this information, the school has previously been in contact with local Cheshire West and Chester MPs in an appeal to change The Department for Education’s attendance coding. At the moment, if a Traveller child leaves school in order to travel with their parents for work purposes this affects their annual attendance figures despite the fact that they have been authorised to be absent from the school. Elton Primary School would like to see this changed so that travelling of these pupils does not affect the school’s overall attendance figures each year, making Ofsted attendance targets hard to achieve.

A termly forum is organised by Barbara Pickford to share best practice with other Cheshire schools and invites staff from schools with traveller pupils to raise any issues they have experienced and to make suggestions for improvement.

Regular events are held throughout the year to celebrate diversity and cultural awareness across the school - this Ethnic Diversity Day and assembly being just one of many ideas. Recently, the school commissioned a mural which can be found at the school entrance which was designed to celebrate the ethnic diversity in the local community. This was a huge team effort and included contribution from every single pupil at the school to create a piece of art which reflects the school values and conduct.

Inclusion, understanding and accessible support lies at the heart of the Elton Primary School’s ethos, which strives to provide the best education and opportunity for all pupils, raising aspirations and encouraging the continuation of their education.