Volunteers required to work with Gypsy Travellers - Yorkshire

From the South West Assembly

You may or may not know that Sheffields first Gypsy Traveller site was established on Redmires Rd over 20 years ago.

This site is managed by Sheffield Homes and each plot has a day room with kitchen, loo and sitting room, and also space for a trailer or two.

The people who live on the site vary from young families with children to older single people. .

As well as the dwellings themselves, the site has an office and a Housing Officer who manages the site and provides a point of contact for the residents. Alongside the office is the classroom.

For one brief glorious year we had some money to employ a tutor who came to help the children with their learning, she set up a really lovely classroom split into two, one side has formal layout and the other a space for storytelling and more informal work with the younger children. This was really very popular with the residents at Redmires but unfortunately the money ran out. We are hoping to be able to raise money to bring in paid teachers again but we also want to recruit a team of volunteers from the local community in the south west of the city.

We are looking for teachers, tutors and trainers who have an hour or two free every week to come and help this lovely but disadvanteged community.

Like everyone, Gypsy Tavellers just want the best for their children. They want them to be able to read and write, but sometimes things get in the way.

Many Gyspy traveller families are afraid that their children will be bullied in school, or will lose their culture, and so chose to keep them at home. Others do send their children to school, however they are not in a good position to help their children learn due to their own lack of literacy skills.

Therefore we are hoping to recruit a group of volunteers to work with us to help the Gypsy Traveller community on Redmires learn to read and write. There is some training available and CRB checks can be paid for and arranged.

If you think you may be interested and would like to have an informal chat about what this could entail then please email me at Lindsay.smith@sheffield.gov.uk and we can arrange to have a discussion.

Lindsay Smith

Family Liaison Officer – Gypsy Traveller Families