Children s Services Overview Committee

Transcription

1 Children s Services Overview Committee Date of Meeting 15 March 2016 Officer Director for Children s Services Subject of Report Executive Summary This report seeks to explore what provision is currently available for Gypsy and Traveller children within the county council. Gypsy and Traveller communities are protected under the Equality Act 2010 by their Ethnic origin. As such the county council has a legal obligation to ensure all Gypsies and Travellers have appropriate access to our services. It is widely known that in terms of health and education Gypsies and Travellers are one of the most deprived groups in the UK. Therefore the need to ensure the Gypsy and Traveller communities can access our services is crucial, particularly for children and young people. This report seeks to explore what data we have and whether we are reaching our communities. It also looks at other barriers there might be to Gypsy and Traveller communities accessing county council services. Impact Assessment: Equalities Impact Assessment: None, for the report itself takes an overview of current provision of service for Gypsy and Traveller communities. Budget: The proposals will be made from within existing budgets. Risk Assessment: Having considered the risks associated with this report using the County Council s approved risk management methodology, the level of risk has been identified as:

2 Failure to comply with Equality Act 2010 Current Risk: HIGH Residual Risk: MEDIUM The HIGH risk relates to both financial and reputation risk. Noncompliance with the Act runs the risk of legal challenge, and in some cases in other areas this has served to delay or derail major programmes of work, with significant financial and reputational consequences. Other Implications: Not applicable. Recommendation Reason for Recommendation Members of the Children s Services Overview Committee endorse the development of an action plan to understand and engage the Gypsy and Traveller community, to be monitored by the directorate Equality and Diversity Action Group. Children s Services Senior Leadership team recognises that this is an area for development and the recommendation will enable the directorate to address the issues identified. Appendices None Background Papers None Report Originator and Contact Name: Kelly Haggett Tel: k.haggett@dorsetcc.gov.uk

3 1. Introduction and Background 1.1 The welfare of Gypsy and Traveller children is an important area of work for the Children s Services Directorate, for the Local Authority as a whole, and for wider partnerships and organisations that work together as members of the Health and Well-Being Board. We know from the work Public Health have done, the Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy highlighted that Gypsies and Travellers are a particular population group that is not fully understood by available data but that as a group they tend to suffer from poor health outcomes, a higher mortality rate, including maternal and infant mortality. It is recognised that poor health and education outcomes is disproportionately high for these communities. 1.2 Gypsy and Traveller communities are widely acknowledged to be classed as a hard to reach community, due to the transient nature of their lifestyle and historical misconceptions that Gypsies and Travellers were unwilling to engage with Local Authorities, although in more recent times this has shown to be inaccurate. However this does make service provision challenging, and therefore crucial that we understand their needs and ensure our services are reaching the right people at the right time, particularly for vulnerable children and young people. 1.3 It is also important to remember that Romany Gypsies and Irish Travellers are legally recognised as ethnic groups and together with all ethnic groups who have a particular culture, language or values are protected from discrimination by the Equality Act The Act states that as a public authority the county council must, in the exercise of all its functions, have due regard to the need to: Eliminate all forms of discrimination, harassment and victimisation that are prohibited by the Equality Act 2010; Advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not; and: Foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not. 1.4 For the above reasons it is important that routinely the county council considers the services it provides to a particular group of children to ensure that we know our communities, understand their needs and are targeting our resources accordingly. 1.5 This report draws on information across the county council who work with Gypsy and Traveller children and adult communities. It is recognised that Gypsies and Travellers may come into contact with the county council in a variety of ways and we need to understand the provision for all ages and to consider the family as a whole. 2. Knowing our Gypsy and Traveller communities 2.1 For part of this report, the Research and Information Team were asked to provide data and statistics the county council has available for Gypsy and Travellers in Dorset and what we know about Gypsy and Travellers in the Dorset area. The information considers and relates only to numbers and distribution across the County. The data is detailed below and provides a useful insight into our Gypsy and Traveller communities. 2.2 A recent report (2011) produced for Dorset Councils by Consultants Baker Associates quoted an estimated Gypsy and Traveller population in the County of

4 between 2,400 and 3,000 people 1 although it is thought that this figure probably underestimates the numbers of the travelling community living in housing. There are marked seasonal differences with increased number of Travellers during the summer months, however, it is clear that increasingly, communities are becoming more settled. The report produced by Bakers Associates looked at estimates of needs between 2006 to 2011 (Table 1) and gives an insight into the requirements for Residential and Transit need for Gypsies and Travellers. Table 1 Dorset Traveller Needs Assessment Authority Residential and Transit Bournemouth Christchurch East Dorset North Dorset Poole Purbeck West Weymouth & Portland DORSET (*) Plus 100 pitches for the annual Great Dorset Steam Fair. The Steam Fair, currently held in North Dorset, is recognised as different from general transit requirements and its location could change over time. Therefore it is identified separately from North Dorset transit requirements. 2.3 Two other data sources have been considered when looking at the data available for this report and both indicate much smaller numbers than that provided above. However the data represented in this report is based wholly on how people categorise themselves in the both the National Census and the School Pupil Census. The Gypsy and Traveller Community have been recognised by the Office of National Statistics as one of the harder to reach groups when it comes to recording data for the Census The 2011 National Census reports on the ethnicity of those living in the United Kingdom, this data is available down to a relatively small geography. For the purposes of this report the data has been aggregated to Lower Super Output and Parish and Ward level for mapping purposes and Local Authority level for the data table and mapping. Within the Census in 2011 for the first time there was a category for ethnicity classified as White: Gypsy or Irish Traveller, the data has been mapped and recorded based on this category. 1 Dorset Traveller Needs Assessment (Anglia Ruskin University, 2006) Para

5 2.5 The second data source is from Dorset s Pupil Census which records amongst other attributes the ethnicity of pupils attending Dorset s Local Authority and Academy run schools. Within the pupil census there is an ethnicity category White: Gypsy/Roma and another White: Traveller of Irish Heritage these are the two categories used for identifying numbers from the pupil census. The pupil census used for this report looks at data from January ONS National Census 2011 Table 2 indicates numbers of people who recorded themselves as White: Gypsy and Irish Traveller in the National Census 2011 for the Local Authority Areas across Dorset. Table 2 Census Code Local Authority Area Percentage of numbers across the County Percentage of total population within District Numbers E Christchurch 48 9% 0.1 E East Dorset % 0.2 E North Dorset 95 17% 0.1 E Purbeck 89 16% 0.2 E West Dorset % 0.1 E Census ONS 2011 Weymouth and Portland 48 9% 0.1 Dorset The table shows that 555 people recorded their ethnicity as White: Gypsy and Irish Traveller across the County. The largest majority can be found in East Dorset District where 31% (171) people recorded themselves within this ethnic category. The urban boroughs of Weymouth and Christchurch had the lowest proportions of Gypsy and Irish Traveller. The Districts of North Dorset, West Dorset and Purbeck all had similar proportions. Figures 1 and 2 illustrate the distribution across the County at a local authority and a parish/ward level.

6 Figure 1 Figure Table 3 illustrates the number of 0 to 19 year olds registered from the National Census in 2011 as Gypsy and Irish Traveller across Dorset. The highest numbers were found in East Dorset District and the lowest in the urban boroughs of Christchurch and Weymouth & Portland.

7 Table 3 CENSUS CODE Number of 0 to 19s Percentage of numbers across the County NAME E Christchurch District (B) 9 5% E East Dorset District 72 38% E North Dorset District 36 19% E Purbeck District 32 17% E West Dorset District 31 16% Weymouth and Portland District E (B) 11 6% Dorset 191 ONS Census Figure 3 illustrates the distribution of Gypsy and Irish Travellers from the Census aged between 0 and 19. The highest numbers can be found in Verwood and Ferndown. Figure 3

8 2.10 Pupil Census Data. Another useful data set for looking at numbers of school age children registered as Gypsy/Roma or Traveller of Irish Heritage is the Pupil Census which is recorded more frequently and is much more up to date than the national census. Table 4 illustrates the number of pupils registered as White: Gypsy/Roma and White: Traveller of Irish Heritage across Dorset Schools. The data shows that there are 130 pupils registered across the County s schools and that East Dorset has the highest proportions of pupils in this category with Christchurch and Weymouth and Portland the lowest. Table 4 Census Code Pupil Numbers Percentage of numbers across the County Local Authority Area E Christchurch District (B) 7 5% E East Dorset District 57 44% E North Dorset District 27 21% E Purbeck District 18 14% E West Dorset District 14 11% Weymouth and Portland District E (B) 7 5% Dorset LA Schools 130 Pupil Census January Figure 4 highlights the higher numbers of Gypsy/Roma and Irish Travellers in the parishes of Verwood and Ferndown closely reflecting the data from the Census in 2011 and illustrating the geographical stability of the population of Gypsy and Travellers in the County. Figure 4

9 2.12 The data represented in this report is based wholly on how people categorise themselves in the both the National Census and the Pupil Census. The Gypsy and Traveller Community have been categorised by the Office of National Statistics as one of the harder to reach groups when it comes to recording data for the Census Yet the report clearly identifies that our biggest population of Gypsy and Travellers is in the East Dorset area and therefore any targeted work with young Gypsy and Travellers should be around this area. 3. Other areas of work 3.1 The County Council Equality Officer attends a number of community meetings that either directly involves Gypsies and Travellers or in which Gypsies and Travellers attend as part of wider community equality meetings. 3.2 In June 2015 a number of Dorset Gypsies and Travellers initiated the Dorset Inter Agency Concern for Travellers group. This group was set up to look specifically at tackling the negative way in which Gypsies and Travellers are portrayed in the local media, although a national issue, Dorset wanted to try and address this with local newspapers. The group are very active between meetings and will often directly oppose or challenge newspaper articles and work with local editors to ensure better, more informed news reporting in the future. This meeting allows the county council to monitor tensions with the community and work with them to achieve a greater degree of understanding with the settled community. 3.3 Dorset s Forum for Equality and Diversity is a community meeting which includes representatives from groups and organisations for disability, race, gender, sexual orientation, religion/faith/belief and age. The purpose of this forum is for the community to advise the county council on how best to involve and consult with the wider community, identify problems that affect people's quality of life and work together to find solutions. Members from the Gypsy and Traveller communities attend this meeting and have been able to input in important debates for the county council, such Ask Dorset and changes in service provision. 3.4 The Equality Officer also works closely with Dorset Race Equality Council and Kushti Bok, two local partner organisations who work within Dorset challenging Gypsy and Traveller discrimination and celebrating the unique contributions their cultures have brought to Dorset. These organisations work directly with Gypsy and Traveller communities and are able to provide advocacy services, ensuring their voices are heard and they receive appropriate help and support from public organisations. 4. Children s Services work with the Gypsy and Traveller Community 4.1 EMTAS. Until 2013, the Ethnic Minority and Traveller Achievement Service (EMTAS), based in Children s Services, provided professional support service to schools and academies to ensure that children and young people from black and minority ethnic backgrounds (BME) including Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) children and those who have English as an additional language (EAL) can achieve high educational outcomes and reach their potential. 3

10 4.2 In 2013, the responsibility for supporting Traveller children in education transferred from Local Authorities to schools themselves, as did all associated funding for this work. This was a decision made by central Government. The Schools Forum took the decision to end the direct funding for EMTAS and the service was closed. 4.3 This shift of responsibility from the Local Authority to schools has meant that an important small service with direct contact with Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children and their families is no longer available. Schools now need to ensure support and interventions either as a single school, or group of schools, dependent on needs. 4.4 Children s Social Care. The number of children from Gypsy or Traveller background known to Children s Social Care is relatively small and when a Gypsy or Traveller family comes to the attention of social care services, they are supported in the same way as other families would be. However, there is no specific strategy for working with this community, as the numbers, shown below, below would not justify such a strategy. 4.5 During the financial year 2014/15, (i.e. at any time throughout the year), there were 23 Gypsy/Roma and 8 Traveller of Irish Heritage children assessed as being Children in Need. As at 31st March 2015 there were 10 and During the current financial year, (i.e. at any time since 1st April 2015), there have been 26 Gypsy/Roma and 7 Traveller of Irish Heritage children assessed as being Children in Need. Currently, there are three Gypsy/Roma children allocated to childcare teams. There are 14 other Gypsy/Roma children and two Travellers of Irish Heritage known in an early intervention context. 4.7 Educational Attainment. The educational performance of Gypsy and Traveller children in Dorset is monitored through RAISE online and the figures quoted are for Although Dorset s performance is in line with national statistics for these vulnerable groups, the requirement is to overcome the disadvantage and close the gap with non-traveller of Irish Heritage and Gypsy/Roma groups. 4.8 The attainment rates at different stages of the education system is highlighted below: Year 1 Phonics Cohort Dorset National Traveller of Irish Heritage 3 0% 40% Gypsy/Roma 14 36% 32% 4.9 Key Stage 1. APS are per child and more statistically reliable where there are small cohorts. Results are generally in line with or above national expectations except in maths. (Maths is a countywide focus for Dorset.) KS1 Core Cohort Dorset APS National APS Traveller of Irish Heritage Gypsy/Roma KS1 Reading Cohort Dorset APS National APS Traveller of Irish Heritage Gypsy/Roma KS1 Writing Cohort Dorset APS National APS Traveller of Irish Heritage Gypsy/Roma

11 KS1 Maths Cohort Dorset APS National APS Traveller of Irish Heritage Gypsy/Roma Key Stage 2. Results are all above national APS. KS2 Core Cohort Dorset APS National APS Traveller of Irish Heritage Gypsy/Roma KS2 Mathematics Cohort Dorset APS National APS Traveller of Irish Heritage Gypsy/Roma KS2 Reading Cohort Dorset APS National APS Traveller of Irish Heritage Gypsy/Roma KS2 Writing Cohort Dorset APS National APS Traveller of Irish Heritage Gypsy/Roma KS2 Grammar, punctuation & Cohort Dorset APS National APS spelling Traveller of Irish Heritage Gypsy/Roma Key Stage 4. Dorset generally performs in line with national results (discrepancies representing a tolerance of less than 1 child). N.B. The three areas where Dorset scores 0% are where the national average would equate to Dorset equivalent of less than 1 child therefore 0% is in line with the national average. KS4 5+ GCSE A*-C Cohort Dorset National Including English and Maths Traveller of Irish Heritage 2 0%* 17% (1 child being 50%) Gypsy/Roma 5 0%* (1 child being 20%) 8% KS4 5+ GCSE A*-C Cohort Dorset National Traveller of Irish Heritage 2 50% 22% (1 child being 50%) Gypsy/Roma 5 0%* (1 child being 20%) 11% KS4 5+ GCSE A*- G Cohort Dorset National

12 Traveller of Irish Heritage 2 100% (1 child being 50%) Gypsy/Roma 5 40% (1 child being 20%) 56% 53% 4.12 Children s Centres. All children's centres are required to consider how they serve the needs of gypsy and traveller children and families in their reach area within a range of groups with potential additional needs Two specific projects should be noted, as part of this targeted approach. Purbeck centres have an outreach worker with a specific liaison role to the Ash Oaks Travellers site. The worker has developed a regular presence the site, where early support is offered on a range of practical, health related or school readiness issues In the Three legged Cross area of East Dorset the centre (which is managed by Action for Children) has identified engagement with traveller families in this area as a priority project at the annual conversation held January This will include improving data on identified families - the nature of the traveller communities is quite diverse in the area, and working with partners, notably preschools and the local first school, to reduce the school readiness and achievement gap that is significant in the area. The project will be monitored by the local authority in the contract review and quarterly review processes 5. Areas of concern locally and nationally 5.1 In August 2015 the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) published a new planning policy document Planning policy for Traveller sites (PPTS) which continues to be controversial. Most controversially, for planning purposes, if a Gypsy or Traveller stops travelling permanently for education or health reasons or reasons of old age, they will no longer be within the legal definition of Gypsy and Traveller. 5.2 Previously, those who had given up travelling permanently for reasons of health, education or old age were required to be treated like those who continue to travel. The new policy seeks to redefine Traveller in planning policy to exclude those who no longer travel permanently, it is believed this might limit those who have a nomadic way of life. The consequence being that when someone has given up travelling permanently they will be treated no different from the settled population, essentially Gypsies and Travellers feel their ethnic origin is being taken away from them. 5.3 The new document, also restricts circumstances in which temporary permission for Gypsy and Traveller sites may be given in the green belt. The policy also says that councils should "very strictly limit" new traveller sites in open countryside. 5.4 Many Gypsy and Traveller communities and advocacy organisations firmly believe these changes discriminate against Romani Gypsies and Irish Travellers and may also breach the human rights of all Gypsies and Travellers. Furthermore they argue that this is another example of Government oppressing and attempting to wipe out a way of live that has existed for centuries. 5.5 The above are two examples of recent developments that highlight the feeling and sense that Gypsies and Travellers feel they are being discriminated against and

13 marginalised by local authorities. Although the debate around planning laws is currently being debated within DCLG, it is important that we seek to work with our communities to address their concerns and to mitigate against any adverse impacts these issues will have, we recognise we have a moral and legal duty to. 6. Conclusion 6.1 The report highlights how important it is to engage and work with our Gypsy and Traveller communities, in particular young people. The data we have shows us where the majority of the population are; therefore we can target our resources to these areas. 6.2 Whilst there is clearly positive work going on in within areas of the county council and specifically Children s Services, it is acknowledged that this the Directorate need to better understand the Gypsy and Traveller Community and develop specific work to engage the community, in order to improve outcomes. There should be potential to develop this further as part of the Forward Together work around understanding needs and the creation of zones. 6.3 At the same time there are opportunities to build on some existing work, notably through Children s Centres, as well as link with key individuals within other directorates, as the directorate Equality and Diversity Group is redeveloped. 7. Recommendations 7.1 Members of the Children s Services Overview Committee endorse the development of an action plan to understand and engage the Gypsy and Traveller community, which will be monitored by the directorate Equality and Diversity Action Group. The action plan will include: Linking in with existing project and work across DCC Establishing links with the 0-19 Forum and the Voluntary and Community Sector to understand any work currently being delivered and ensure better join up Ensure equality and diversity awareness forms part of the Children s Services workforce development, including specific training on engaging with the Gypsy and Traveller Community The Virtual School identify and track the educational progress of Gypsy and Traveller children as part of their monitoring of vulnerable groups. Sara Tough Director for Children s Services March 2016