Traveller Education Support (TES)

Our TES (Traveller Education Support) offer

EMTAS (Ethnic Minority and Traveller Achievement Service) has a small team of:

• TES Advisory Teachers
• TES Liaison Officers

Our main aim is to work with school staff, children and families to monitor and raise school attainment and attendance of Gypsy, Traveller, Roma, Showman and Boater (GTRSB) pupils.

For team contact details, please visit our team contact details page

We also work with schools to support bilingual and other children and young people from minority ethnic backgrounds.  For information on our Ethnic Minority Achievement (EMA) please visit our team offer page

TES support for schools includes:

• Advice and guidance for school staff and Traveller families.
• Disseminate key messages, share best practice and promote inclusive practice for GTRSB pupils with through termly newsletters, TES network meetings and attending locality meetings.
• Cultural awareness training for school staff.
• Regular meetings to focus on needs and progress of GTRSB pupils in target schools.
• Some targeted direct work in schools with pupils. 
• Support successful secondary transition for GTRSB pupils, including drop-in support for Yr7 pupils in some target schools.
• Support for parental and community engagement, including direct support with school applications.
• Support multi-agency links and collaborative working.

EMTAS sends out a termly newsletter to all West Sussex schools.  This includes links to current research and resources, as well as team updates and news on forthcoming events.  There are also a number of specific newsletters created to promote schools’ engagement with Gypsy Roma Traveller History Month in June each year.

TES support for families includes:

• Facilitate liaison between home and school, increasing the capacity of schools and families to develop links.
• Support in raising school attendance.
• Promote positive attitudes to education among the GTRSB communities, by facilitating family contact with schools to ensure that concerns regarding education, attendance and social issues are dealt with efficiently and effectively, in liaison with relevant agencies.
• Ensure parental access to education meetings. Support and advise parents on issues affecting the education of their children, including understanding technical jargon.
• Support school applications and transition, including the appeals process.
• Advise and assist parents with regard to entitlement to education including; nursery placements, Key Stage 4 options, careers options and transfer to Further Education.

Last updated 20 February 2023