Gypsy and Roma traveller pupils are to be referred to as 'mobile children' under new government guidance. New pupil absence advice issued by the Department for Education uses the term to refer to students 'of no fixed abode' who miss school while their parents are 'travelling during the course of their trade or business'.
Wouldn't this now put them on the same level as children of force's families who get moved around with their squadrons?
The law allows children to be away from the classroom while their parents are travelling for occupational reasons. Such as absence is commonly marked with a 'T' by teachers in what is called the 'T code'.
So will it now be an 'M' code? Is that the only change? Seems pretty pointless...and not just to me.
Minister of State for Skills Baroness Smith of Malvern said that the change had been made to clarify that a child's 'mobility' rather than ethnicity qualifies them for authorised absence. But the purpose of the move has been questioned by advocacy groups.
The Advisory Council for the Education of Romany and other Travellers (ACERT) said it was unclear what purpose the altered wording served given that the corresponding legislation remains the same.
Sounds like change for change's sake. Just more makework for the public sector.
