Promoting race equality and anti-racist education FOR Gypsy/Traveller and roma communities
“Racism exists within our education system, interpersonally and institutionally. We commit to eradicating racism through our anti-racist actions and policies.”
Building an Inclusive Future: Scotland’s New Anti-Racist Framework and A National Commitment to sustaining inclusion for Gypsy/Traveller communities
The Scottish Government’s new Anti-Racism Delivery Plan (2026-2030), paired with the Whole School Approach guidance, marks a pivotal shift in education. For senior leaders, this is about a proactive commitment to dismantling the systemic barriers faced by Gypsy/Traveller communities. These frameworks provide teachers with the professional clarity and the national backing needed to foster environments where every learner is visible, valued, and protected from racism.
Gypsy/Traveller experiences in education
Gypsy/Traveller and Roma communities have experienced generations of racism, discrimination and exclusion. From systemic barriers in housing and healthcare to daily microaggressions, families often navigate an educational landscape where their culture is misunderstood or entirely invisible. In schools, this discrimination frequently manifests as anti-Traveller bullying behaviour, lower teacher expectations, and a lack of culturally relevant curriculum. This has led to a deep-rooted suspicion of institutions, concerns about safety, disengagement and high dropout rates, particularly during the transition to secondary school.
How do I implement the policy and guidance and embed anti-racist practice in our school?
Resources to support implementation
Explore our curated Padlet resources below to help implement policy and guidance. You will find resources from organisations such as Friends, Families and Travellers, Anti-bullying Alliance, the Traveller Movement, COSLA and Education Scotland.
Gypsy/Traveller and Roma School Pledge (Scotland)
The STEP School Pledge to Gypsy/Traveller and Roma communities is a commitment by schools in Scotland to undertake certain steps to support access, retention, embed anti-racist practice and improve outcomes in education for pupils from Gypsy/Traveller and Roma communities. Find out more on our School Pledge pages.
STEP Practitioner Toolkit
Visit our Practitioner Toolkit for a comprehensive overview of the research, literature, policy and guidance on supporting Gypsy/Traveller and Roma communities in education. Watch videos of community members sharing their experiences of racism and discrimination in school. Access a wide range of resources to support inclusive and equitable access to education for community members within our six thematics sections: Culture, Curriculum, Inclusion, Transitions, Leadership and Parental Involvement.
Classroom facilitation tools
We have created resources that help practitioners facilitate dialogue with pupils to address and examine racism, bullying behaviour, and discrimination. Our graphic novel ‘Shifting’, and stop-motion animation ‘The bully and the loons’ show how young people from the Gypsy/Traveller and Roma community have experienced racism. Children and parents should know that Scottish education promotes zero tolerance for racism or discrimination in any form. Children and parents should know there is always help available to make sure that everyone feels safe in school.
shifting
Shifting is a graphic novel that depicts real bullying incidents experienced by young Gypsy/Travellers attending secondary schools in Scotland. This thought-provoking story is incomplete and STEP has asked young people in schools throughout Scotland to think about how the story should end. See the inspired and positive responses in our practice exemplar.
The bully and the loons: a personal story
This animation was created by a group of Gypsy/Traveller young people working with practitioners and animators in Inverness, Scotland. The young people created this media to share a personal story of bullying behaviour they experienced in school.
Show the animation to your pupils. Ask your pupils to think about how they would deal with this situation. Do they think the boys did the right thing? What would you do in this situation?
Practitioner resource hub
Explore our curated bank of information and resources to help combat discrimination, racism and bullying behaviour. STEP also offers schools a range of training options to raise awareness of racism and discrimination against nomadic communities and how to develop strategies for creating positive change.
