BA (Hons) Early Childhood Studies (Graduate Practitioner) students at the University Centre West Anglia (UcWA) recently took part in an insightful session delivered by guest speakers from the Norfolk County Council’s Gypsy Roma Traveller (GRT) Service. The session explored how practitioners can ensure meaningful inclusion for children and families from the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller community.
The session was led by Hilary Heath, GRT Team Manager, alongside Rachel Yates, Specialist GRT Practitioner, who brought extensive professional experience of supporting GRT children and families across education settings. Their session helped students develop a deeper understanding of the barriers, cultural complexities, and lived experiences that GRT families may encounter.
Hilary explained that the session was directly aligned to the students’ current module, Embracing Diversity, where second-year learners must choose and research a marginalised group of children. This year many students selected the GRT community as their focus, making the insight and expertise shared particularly impactful.
Speaking about the purpose of the session, Hilary Heath said ‘Our session gives students an insight into some of the barriers and cultural complexities faced by GRT children and young people and their families and helps them explore how they can best support children in feeling included and able to fulfil their potential. We also aim to show students new cultural reference points and useful resources that link directly with learning outcomes on inclusion and supporting marginalised groups.’
Students engage with a wide range of real-life examples from communication approaches and cultural awareness to building trust with families and navigating multi-agency situations. Hilary and Rachel emphasised the importance of sensitive, informed and culturally responsive practice, and demonstrated the difference it can make to children’s educational experiences and outcomes.
The session had an immediate positive impact: one second-year student has already arranged a work experience placement with Norfolk County Council as a result of the visit, further strengthening links between UcWA and Norfolk County Council while supporting the student’s professional development.
Kathryn Le Serve, Course director for BA Honours Early Childhood Studies and Foundation Degree in Early Years and Education said ‘It’s fantastic for the students to have the opportunity to hear from experienced practitioners. As they offer inspiration for careers development and provide information on opportunities that exist for working with children. In this session, students gained a thorough knowledge of the support that is available to GRT children and families in their schools and settings through this team. But additionally, this opportunity led to a student in year 2 arranging a period of work experience with Norfolk County Council. ‘
The visit forms part of UcWA’s wider commitment to preparing students for the realities of working with diverse communities. By learning directly from experienced practitioners, students gain the confidence, empathy and applied understanding necessary to deliver inclusive practice in early years, schools and wider community settings.
