Traveller pupils known as ‘cell kids’ beneath new steering

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’.

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’.

Previous T Code guidance issued in May 2022 made specific reference to several traveller groups including Roma, English and Welsh gypsies, Irish and Scottish travellers, showmen (fairground workers), bargees and new travellers.

Gypsy and Roma traveller pupils are to be referred to as ‘mobile children’, according to new government guidance (file photo)

But the new guidance simply refers to the T code being used for absences when ‘a parent is travelling for occupational purposes’, the Telegraph reported.

It also says that schools should not ‘unnecessarily ask’ for evidence that the parent is travelling for occupational purposes and only when there is ‘reasonable doubt’ that the request is not genuine.

Over 79,000 T code absences were granted in the 2023/24 autumn term, DfE figures show.

Roma pupils accounted for around 55% of the total, with 43% of absence requests from those of white heritage.

Baroness Smith of Malvern, the Minister of State for Skills, said the change was made to highlight that mobility rather than ethnicity qualifies for authorised absence

Irish traveller pupils were absent the most often, missing 22.9 per cent of lessons last year, with 72 per cent missing 10 per cent of classes or more, followed by Gypsy or Roma pupils with an absence rate of 18.2 per cent.

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.