Best Practice

Case study: Supporting Roma students

Firth Park Academy has seen a notable increase in the number of Roma pupils during the past five years, sparking concerted efforts to engage with and motivate this cohort of children. Ian Comfort explains

Roma pupils from Eastern Europe have had the poorest education outcomes of any ethnic group in England in terms of attainment, attendance and exclusions, according to Ofsted (Overcoming Barriers, 2014).

As a consequence, many local authorities and schools are struggling to identify sufficient ways to meet these pupils’ wide-ranging needs.

Former MP for Sheffield Brightside and former education secretary David Blunkett warned of the tensions between local people and the Roma community in Sheffield, and how these could escalate unless action was taken to improve integration. Concerns such as these have been echoed in communities across the UK, such as in Glasgow, Derby, London and Newport, and education institutions need to be at the forefront of finding a solution.

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