When I was at school in Burnley in the 1980s, there weren’t many female role models for me to look up to in the national curriculum. In some ways, the curriculum has now progressed, but there are still plenty of young people today who will feel there’s a lack of representation, just like I did.
Roma pupils make up 9 per cent of our school roll and they are one group who feel this lack of representation keenly. Many of them are young people who have come to the UK from Eastern European countries, where they may not have had the opportunity to go to school. Their families seek a better life; I’m determined to do all I can to try and give it to them.
I like to think that we have made good strides in increasing engagement - and indeed, Roma students at our school have told me this is the case.
For all pupils, the key is in meeting them halfway. If we show Roma pupils that we respect and recognise their heritage, they will be more willing to engage with school culture and school rules: coming in on time, in the correct uniform and taking part in learning.
So, what does our approach look like in practice?
Provide specialist EAL support
One of the biggest barriers to Roma students accessing learning is language; many of them speak only Roma at home. We provide English coaching through our own in-house English as a second language tuition. This involves everything from one-to-one lessons, small-group interventions and drop-in sessions where students can bring work they are struggling with and ask for help.
It’s not just about learning English either; through working closely with the New Communities Achievement Team funded by the local council in Derby City, we provide sessions on “life in England”, too, which cover topics such as money, the importance of school and education, and relationship building.
Offer tailored extracurricular activities
Every Tuesday we have an after-school dancing session, led by a member of our staff, that allows Roma students to move to the music of their heritage. I am told by the students who take part that this means a lot to them. We also run boxing sessions as a reward for great attendance over the week, which are taken up by many of our Roma students. They seem to go down very well and also help students to become more self-disciplined.
Go out into the community
In order to engage with Roma students, we need to get their families on board. That’s why we held a parents’ evening out in the community where many of our Roma students live. It’s about breaking down barriers; often just coming into a school is a problem for parents. Where there is mistrust, we need to take steps to try to overcome that.
Raise aspirations
Figures show that Roma students are under-represented in post-16 education and beyond. To try and address this, we won funding from Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Collaborative Outreach Partnership to support a project designed to get more Gypsy, Roma and Traveller students into college. This enabled our Roma students to attend a careers day at a local college. The idea was to try and open their eyes to the many opportunities out there for them. We want them to have the same chances as everyone else.
Educate staff and students about Roma heritage
To talk to your neighbour in the classroom, it’s helpful to understand their back story - and this starts with breaking down stereotypes. For this reason, we are currently seeking out a suitable theatre performance about Roma culture and heritage that we hope to take all of our Year 7 students to.
We are also taking steps to make sure that staff are educated and that we challenge any preconceptions they may have. Our senior leadership team, myself included, have undergone training on what life is like for Roma families in their countries of origin, and how they are often discriminated against. Understanding the backstory of Roma heritage students is crucial to all of the work we do.
All these initiatives are about making the Roma community feel heard, but that’s something that every pupil in school needs, too. Ultimately, we all need to belong. Seeing ourselves in our learning is the first step towards fully engaging with it.
Michelle Strong is the principal of Alvaston Moor Academy in Derby
