Every Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Child a Talker (E-GRT-CAT)

Strengthening Children's Early Language Development

Ideas and fantastic resources to enhance Early Years work with children and families from the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities, focusing on Communication Language and Literacy (CLL) and developing home/school links.

"Every Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Child A Talker" is a project developed in partnership with Education Leeds Gypsy Roma and Traveller Achievement Service, Leeds Speech and Language Therapy Service and Leeds City Council Early Years Service.
The project is based on the National Strategies Every Child a Talker (ECAT) programme.

Read more about ECAT

"We need to create an inclusive learning environment for all children. All cultural backgrounds should be understood and respected. Children from Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Communities should feel safe and cherished in school and therefore parents and pupils will be proud to identify themselves."
Lord Adonis 2008

See examples of activities that have taken place in Leeds which typically occur every day in Early Years settings and describe ways in which they can be used to promote children’s language development. They describe planning an activity and then evaluate the outcome.

Go to examples

A long history of racial prejudice and discrimination has meant that many Gypsy, Roma and Traveller families are reluctant to declare their true ethnicity voluntarily. The Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 makes it the duty of all schools and Early Years settings to create circumstances conducive to Gypsy, Roma and Travellers of Irish Heritage feeling sufficiently confident to ascribe their children voluntarily within their accurate category determination.
"We must not allow another generation of Traveller children to pass through education feeling undervalued. All little children entering school for their first day have to feel welcomed. All cultures have to be respected, all types of homes have to be represented, everyone’s history and way of life has to be included in the day to day life of the school"
Joe Malcolm Wilson (Traveller)
National data reflects a significant gap between the achievement of those children who are ascribed to the ethnic categories of Gypsy, Roma and Travellers of Irish heritage and children from all other groups for whom data is collected. Research studies have consistently identified Gypsy, Roma and Traveller pupils as the most at risk in the education system. However, research evidence also confirms that, when Gypsy, Roma and Traveller pupils are given the right learning environment and experiences, they can be equally as successful as any other group.
Implementing “Every Gypsy Roma Traveller Child A Talker” well can ensure that:

Early Years practitioners provide a learning environment in which Gypsy Roma and Traveller children and their families feel welcomed, respected and valued.
Early Years practitioners enter into genuine partnerships with Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children and their parents by creating a space for dialogue and listening to their voices.
Early Years providers are supported in the development of a rich learning environment with relevant, culturally reflective resources, and creative and challenging learning opportunities for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children and their families.

National Programme

Our local authority joined 96 others nationally in April 2009 and the Early Language Consultant for Leeds, Tricia Bell, is now helping to support lead practitioners in 22 targeted settings across Leeds to:

share understanding about how language develops from 0-5
interact with and talk to children effectively
regularly monitor how children's language is developing
support identification of children who might be falling behind
consider how to get parents more involved
design, plan and lead on language

The programme has been funded for two years and the ideas and principles will gradually be rolled out to other settings and providers, including to 22 linked settings from April 2010.