EMTAS Moodle

By the Hampshire EMTAS Traveller Team

Due to current circumstances and the impact on schools of the lockdown, we have decided it would be a good idea to move our celebration of Gypsy, Roma, Traveller History Month (GRTHM) from its traditional month of June to October so no one will miss out on our planned events. 

To this end, we are putting on three roadshows across the county.  The roadshows will be in Basingstoke, Winchester and the New Forest and there will be something for everyone from talks to exhibitions to Stepping with FolkActive.  The roadshows promise to be lively, entertaining and informative and will give our audiences a chance to see how Hampshire EMTAS works with its schools and GRT communities.

The roadshows are drop-in events with talks taking place between 4pm and 5pm after which people will be invited to take part in a stepping activity.  Stepping is a traditional form of dance that was initially a type of sport for working class men in the north of England and for Travellers.  Each dance is created by the individual dancer and does not follow any set rules – it is energetic and is often described as tapping or drumming with your feet.  It requires no previous experience or expertise and when the live music is playing, it is impossible not to move your feet.  Come along and join in. 

There will also be an exhibition of the Life of Showmen displaying the rich history of Showmen in Hampshire through the decades and a display of all the entries to the a postcard competition (details below). 

These promise to be lively events with lots of interaction, music and dance so save the date! The EMTAS Gypsy Roma Traveller History Month Roadshows will take place on:

1st  October: The Discovery Centre, Winchester, 3.30 – 6.00pm

8th October: The Discovery Centre, Basingstoke, 3.30 – 6.00pm

22nd October: Applemore College, Hythe, 3.30 – 6.00pm

We hope lots of you will be able to attend a roadshow near you.  We will soon be sending out a Schools Comm with further details and we’ll be advertising the roadshows on our website as well as issuing personal invitations to all the schools, families and agencies we work with.  We look forward to welcoming you to one of these events and to getting to know you while you enjoy the exhibitions, talks and dancing. We hope to see you there!

The EMTAS GRTHM postcard competition

As part of our GRTHM celebrations, we are also holding a postcard competition.  It’s open to all GRT children and there are three categories: KS1, KS2 and KS3/4.  We are launching the competition in June and need lots of support from our schools to make this a big success.  The winning postcards are going to be printed and, in liaison with schools, sent to GRT children all over Hampshire in recognition for their improved attendance and/or attainment throughout the year.  The winners in each category will also receive a prize and both winners and runners-up will see their postcards included in a full-colour calendar, something they can share with their families and feel really proud of.  We will be in touch about the competition and how you can support your GRT children to take part in it very soon.

Meet the Hampshire EMTAS Traveller Team

The EMTAS Traveller Team consists of

Operational Lead:             

EMTAS GRT Officer:

Traveller Teaching Assistants:

Our work always has an education focus and comprises working in partnership with schools to support Traveller children and families.  At this time of year, we are heavily involved in transition work, supporting the move from infant to junior school for younger GRT children and from Year 6 to Year 7 for older ones.  New for 2019-20 is our GRT Excellence Award, a self-evaluation framework that can support schools to develop and embed best practice in relation to their work with GRT communities.  Also popular is our new GRT Reading Ambassador Scheme which is having a positive impact on children’s progress in reading in the pilot schools where it has been running.  We can also support with attendance, admissions and transport applications and we can provide cultural awareness training to school staff.

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