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Innovative pilot

Leeds Futures Programme

Futures logoAn innovative pilot for the Department for Children, Schools and families, the 16-19 ‘Futures’ programme.

Futures Training Course

The ‘Futures’ project was designed to provide 10 Gypsy Roma and Traveller young people aged 16 + and under 25 with a paid course which would give them the opportunity to re-engage with education and develop their confidence and self-esteem.

This project reached completion on the 18th December, 2007 after 8 weeks.

From the core group of ten students, a mixture of local Gypsy Roma and Traveller young people aged 16+, attendance and commitment to the Course was very good – the two students with young children found it rather harder to attend all the sessions but when present, were valuable and enthusiastic members of the group.

Read the full final report

Futures Group

The Futures group with guests Michael Collins and James Reilly during their workshop following the performance of 'Mobile' with TES team Ann and Saskia.

The course was be a self-development course and was be held at the Leeds Metropolitan University in the centre of Leeds.

This project developed the theory and practice of the Dublin Traveller Education group (DTEDG) in the modern context in the UK. You can find out more on the origins of the Futures programme by following this link

Origins of the Futures Programme

See the Futures students on a photo shoot

final Report of the "Futures" pilot project

 

Interim Report on ‘Futures’
Support for young Gypsies, Roma and Travellers

We have a group of ten students, a mixture of local Gypsy Roma and Traveller young people aged 16 -19. Attendance on the course has been excellent. The students are paid £50 per week, only if they attend the sessions.

Each Monday morning the students take part in the ‘Go For It’ programme which involves an ‘Investors in Excellence’ trainer delivering a self-development interactive package aimed at increasing self-awareness, confidence and self-esteem. It is a cumulative programme, which the students are enjoying and benefiting from as shown in their session evaluation sheets.

Tuesday mornings are delivered by tutors at the Leeds Central Library in the ICT suite; this is a joint initiative with the Leeds Library Service. Students are receiving basic ICT training eg. E-mail and internet usage, and keeping a learning log of their progress each week. This part of the project is continually being monitored and evaluated by the Library Service and a video report about the students will be collected at completion of the course. The students are very enthusiastic about their time at the library and have had a comprehensive tour around the Central Library and all now have library cards, which they can use city-wide.

Two Lead speakers from the Gypsy Roma Traveller community have delivered interactive presentations proving to be inspirational role models for our students and were very well received. The group also attended the UK premier of the play ‘Mobile’, written and performed by Michael Collins, famous Irish playwright and actor.

A trainer, skilled in team-building and personal awareness issues, delivered two afternoon sessions in the early part of the course – the students found this quite challenging. However, we feel maybe this input would be more useful delivered in the second week of further ‘Future’ courses. It did provide a unique opportunity to enable group cohesion and focus on intended outcomes.

We now look forward to the next five weeks delivery of the ‘Futures’ course which will include input from Leeds Youth Service, Connexions/IGEN/Leeds Careers Service, four sessions at the Leeds College of Art, and another key speaker from the Gypsy Roma and Traveller community. The excellent input from the Leeds Library Service and the ‘Go for It’ self-development programme are ongoing throughout the course. Lydia Quelch, a student from the Leeds Metropolitan University Occupational Therapy course, has supported our project and the department have provided us with one of their lecture rooms at the University main campus.

The students are continually completing evaluation of the separate modules which will inform the planning of any ongoing similar projects.

Ann Leach, Saskia Keon, Eugen Balaz - Leeds GRTAS staff 16th November 2007.

Peter Saunders received this letter from Richard O’Neill regarding his involvement with the Futures project.

16th November, 2007

Dear Peter,

I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed meeting and working with the young people at the ‘Futures’ project last Tuesday afternoon.

As you know I do a lot of work around the country with young people from all communities but especially Gypsy Roma Traveller. It was very apt that the following day was a national day devoted to entrepreneurship, especially social enterprise. As a fellow of social enterprise having started up and helped a number of other organisations and groups to set up their own enterprises listening to the young people talk about some of their ideas was fantastic.

What really struck me about this project was how much the young people seemed to have learned so far, the excellent and continued attendance levels and their desire to put into practice what they learn.

Of course it will come as no surprise to you, but the findings of the ‘Children’s Society’ report on racism towards Gypsy Roma Traveller children and young people (nine out of 10 have experienced it), released this week shows that courses like the one you are running are absolutely vital if we are to not only facilitate the re-engagement of GRT young people as learners but also through them send a very positive message to younger and older ones that you CAN do something to change the absolutely appalling levels of educational disengagement.

As a Romani person who left school at 13 years old it was absolutely amazing to be walking into a university to talk to younger community members and to see how at home they felt in an academic environment.

I wanted to commend you and you team on such a ground breaking project but also encourage you to build upon it maybe run a further project with an element of enterprise. Also I do hope that the young people will be able to attend the National conference ‘Travelling Towards Inclusion’ which I will be once again chairing in London on the 31st of January 2008.

Richard O’Neill

Further information

Educational Links

Local and National Educational Organisations

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Organisations

Organisations and bodies working for and with Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people.

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General Links

Art, entertainment and more.

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Also read about

Mobile Play

Find out about the play that Richard O'Neill mentions in his letter. There's a review by Richard as well.

Read more

 

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