Gypsy, Roma and Traveller girls being 'disproportionately' excluded by schools

They are also being disproportionately suspended by schools, according to analysis carried out by the charity Agenda Alliance and based on figures for the 2021/22 academic year.

Girls from Irish traveller communities are being suspended at double the rate of white British girls, while Gypsy and Roma girls are more than three times as likely to be suspended.

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Children from these communities retaliating to incidents of racism and bullying at school is a factor in high rates of suspensions and exclusions they are experiencing, according to Traveller Movement chair Pauline Anderson.

“We see again and again through our casework the link between racist bullying and school exclusions,” she said.

“Too often, Romani (Gypsy), Roma, and Irish Traveller children who are experiencing bullying in schools resort to retaliation as schools do not stand up for them, resulting in exclusion.

“Schools are legally required to have behaviour policies in place that address race-based bullying, yet these educational institutions are continuing to fail to protect our children.

“We need to see a zero-tolerance policy for racist bullying in schools from both pupils and staff.”

She added that girls from Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities also encounter sexism which has a “detrimental impact on them”.

She is also concerned that too many pupils from these communities are not being provided with education, health and care plans by their local authority “meaning they go through their school careers bullied, misunderstood, and frustrated”.

Agenda Alliance’s analysis also found that Black Caribbean, and mixed white and Black Caribbean, girls are being excluded and suspended at around double the rate of white British girls.

❗ Our new analysis shows worrying rise in school exclusions for Black Caribbean girls

❗ Our FoI requests reveal Black Caribbean and Irish Traveller heritage girls were excluded at significantly higher rates than their white peers in 2021/22

Read more: https://t.co/rI4LGWtCzb pic.twitter.com/ADLHbBtx0t

— Agenda Alliance (@Agenda_alliance) February 8, 2024

“These are extremely worrying findings,” said the charity’s chief executive Indy Cross.

“We know schools do a tough job and that teachers are hard pressed. But by the government’s own measure, girls at the sharpest end of disadvantage are being set up to fail. 

“Racial and gender stereotypes have no place in today’s education for young women. Enough is enough.”

Earlier this month, The mayor of London’s violence reduction unit (VRU) launched the first city-wide inclusion charter in a bid to reduce increasing levels of violence linked to school exclusions and absenteeism across the capital.