Levelling the Playing Field is set to link up with the COMPAS Charity to offer training in successful social inclusion of Roma children within local communities.
COMPAS runs successful projects in Peterborough, Kent and South Wales which engage many community stakeholders (schools, police, councils, healthcare, youth justice etc) to ensure that young Roma people are given the best possible start in life.
The charity already works with one Levelling the Playing Field partner – Positive Futures in Newport – whose highly fruitful partnership with Maindee School, Newport Youth Justice and others has benefited the school’s highly ethnically diverse population, which includes many Romani pupils.
COMPAS seeks to spread this good practice as far and wide as possible. Their Chief Executive, Petr Torak MBE, is giving presentations in schools and is organising a large conference in Cardiff in June.
Petr, a former police officer who specialised in modern slavery offences, promotes a holistic approach with children as well as use of Roma mentors.
COMPAS’s training courses start with an historic overview to give some context to the Roma community’s traditions and behaviours. Starting with their origins on the Indian subcontinent, then their exodus to Europe, their enslavement, forced labour, ethnic cleansing, forced assimilation, the Porajmos (Romani genocide under the Nazis) and into modern-day misperceptions and discrimination.
The course attempts to correct preconceived views and presents best-practice examples of successful social integration and engagement, such as the ROGA mentoring project in schools.
The ROGA project, founded in 2011, uses local Roma role models as mentors to raise young people’s aspirations, improve behaviour, increase parental engagement and public awareness and promote social cohesion. Ultimately the aim is to support Roma young people into further education (Level 4 and above) and develop skills for frontline jobs such as teaching, law enforcement and health care.
The project, which won a Pearson National Teaching gold award last year (pictured below), has become deeply embedded over the last five years at Queen Katherine Academy in Peterborough, where dedicated mentors support Roma pupils and their parents from Czech Republic, Slovakia and Romania.
COMPAS have spearheaded numerous community initiatives to give Roma children and adults safe places to meet and play, mobilise local partnerships and break down barriers.
“We take a holistic approach with each child,” said Petr. “We work with pupils, teachers, police, local councils, health services and more to give each child a whole package of support, with mentoring at its centre.
“Having trained Roma mentors is hugely important. Having a white police officer in front of a child just doesn’t have the same impact. A Roma person understands the culture, which makes a big difference.
“We want Roma people to have an equal starting line so they can be treated equally in society and access education and employment in the future.“