§ Lord Aveburyasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many Gypsy and Irish Traveller children there are in primary and secondary education using the Pupil Level Annual Schools Census; and whether they will seek to improve the quality of the statistics through complementary information from the Traveller Education Service. [HL2]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Education and Skills (Lord Filkin)The number of Gypsy/Roma and Travellers of Irish heritage children in primary and secondary education recorded on the Pupil Level Annual Schools Census in January 2004 is shown below:
Education Phase Gypsy/Roma Travellers of Irish Heritage Maintained Primary Schools 4,660 2,900 Maintained Secondary Schools 1,750 1,020 In order to improve the quality of the data, the department is working closely with traveller education services, Gypsy and Traveller families and their representatives. The department plans to issue guidance to local education authorities next year on how to improve the level and accuracy of reporting by Gypsies and Travellers of their ethnicity.