To think amount of Roma and Traveller children withdrawn from school underage needs to be cracked down on?

[Jane379]

Two things have made me think about this.

One was the recent thread on Venezuela Fury, Tyson's daughter. Her situation appears slightly different as apparently she did receive tuition online but it made me look into the wider situation.

I know there has been improvement, and that many Roma & travellers families don't do this. But it shouldn't be allowed in the first place. Yes, some who do may homeschool their kids properly, but how many?

There needs to be more regulation of homeschooling.

Why do Roma & traveller kids often slip through the net? Is it sometimes linked to families moving around so children move from one LA to another?

There' nothing wrong with kids preferring to pursue technical options than academic, or living the travelling lifestyle. But school would give them a chance to choose.

No I never said they were , and they often have to remove the thing they built as well. However hundreds of caravan pitches without permission is just taking the piss

To be honest that documentary was many years ago and I might not be remembering everything correctly.
The story about a school closing might be a different one. I am not sure.
If the local non traveller families choose not to send their children to the school near Dale Farm then they are a bunch of nimbys aren't they?

If you say so. Would you want your child to be the only non traveller kid in the school?

Why would my child even know the difference?
If the traveller children are from a settled site then they're just the local kids.

It doesn't quite work like that. Do you really think the non traveller kid would be allowed to go on the camp for a playdate? It just wouldn't happen. Even the police, postman and delivery drivers didn't enter the site

And why would the traveller kids go to a non travellers house if they are so against their " values" as has been said on here.

Add to that it was the worst school in the area.

So are you still honestly telling me you'd send your kid there if you weren't a traveller

I had a friend at school and my mum later told me she was a traveller, she was actually really lovely and I wish she'd been at our school for longer. I didn't go to her house but she came to mine and parties

Why would you not want your daughters to understand how their bodies work?

Wouldn't that be the case for some traveller kids though? Yet some people want to force their parents to send them to school.

There's a small traveller site near where I live.
The children all go to the nearest primary school. I sometimes see them on the walk to their school.
The adults seem to have the typical Irish accents but the children all have South London accents.
All the children (travellers/non travellers) probably have no clue they are from different "backgrounds".

one person then. Not 75 out of 76 kids bring travellers.

I'm not saying some of the kids aren't lovely ( same as any) but for the odd one out child it would be difficult

Maybe there but wasn't the case for Dale farm and crays hill school.

Like I said - the documentary was several years ago.
Presumably they are onto a entirely new generation of children now.
Edit : the eviction was in 2011 so 15 years ago.
Children who would have then been attending the school will all now be in their 20s.
The children who currently attend presumably have been born and raised in the area the same as children from the nearby village.
They are all just children.

Yeah. The school is still all traveller kids now though

Well....if the local non traveller families are happy to have to commute to get to a different school that's on them.
Personally I am a big believer in children simply going to their nearest school.

Get the time off?? They're children. They shouldn't need to "get the time off" as if they were down the mines. My kids go to the things I judge to be important to them. School is one of those things, but where school clashes with something that I judge to be more important, they miss school. They're my kids. No one is saying your kids have to go to Appleby, or to their own grandfather's funeral or whatever - that's your call, as what my kids do is mine. But over my dead body would my kids miss an important family or community event because "school".

Disapproving of them is probably a bit racist, but likely no one cares what you think. Legislation to erase them is racist, if not fascist, and minority ethnicities have good reason to care about that.

All cultures are worthy of the same respect. Which isn't to say we have to support or endorse every cultural practice. But we do have to respect that if we want certain practices to stop, that change has to be led by the community itself.

Right, but I think @basingstokebluesfortwos was pointing out that bad parenting can't be predicted on the basis of ethnicity or school attendance. And a lesson or two on periods at school can't mitigate for parenting that instills shame about periods. I speak from experience here unfortunately.

My husband isn't a traveller and he wouldn't chat about periods over a cup of tea either. I'd find it odd and a bit yuck if he did.

You can oppose BOTH those things.

If that's so, that's too lax and needs to change.

I agree that culture is oversexualised as far as porn goes.

However: I know Roma kids are chaperoned but what if the worst happened and there was sexual abuse from another child or an adult? I assume kids are at least told that if an adult touches a private area they need to tell their parents?

Re this : And why would the traveller kids go to a non travellers house if they are so against their " values" as has been said on here.

Pp did say same sex non Roma friends were fine. Travellers reportedly at least seem a different kettle of fish often...

The LA can be lax themselves though about making sure SEND children have appropriate education or children who are too ill to be in school which forces some parents to home educate. If the law changes, they also need to be sure they are educating all children appropriately.

Plenty of minorities have sadly had situations where they are the only kid who is from a particular ethnicity/nationality. You can't let that hold you back. The author Kazuo Ishiguro was the only Japanese kid growing up in a 1950s Surrey village. He still went to school.
If there's bullying, that's different and must be dealt with.

A big issue is that any bullying isn't always dealt with and then it's no wonder traveller kids don't want to be there.

We're too spread out and dispersed to have schools that many could go to.