Three images - books, tiles, small child reading

ROMLIT - Project Outputs and Resources

Events and publications

ROMLIT Presentations

July 2024

Title: Empowering Literacies: Working with Early Years of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Children

Where: UKLA conference

What: Presentation

The project team were delighted to share news of how the research is progressing at the International UKLA conference in Brighton.

September 2024

Where: BERA annual conference

ROMLIT's presentation Empowering Literacies: working with Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children’s Early Years literacies was shortlisted for the Literacy and Language SIG 'best presentation' award.

November 2024

Title: Gypsy, Roma & Traveller Communities in the UK: Strengthening Rights and Tackling the Hostile Environment

ROMLIT were delighted to be invited to present our work at the expert webinar Gypsy, Roma & Traveller Communities in the UK: Strengthening Rights and Tackling the Hostile Environment organised by the Public Policy Exchange. Our presentation was titled Early Years education for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children: from deficit approaches to empowering literacies and it was delivered by ROMLIT's Principal Investigator, Dr Spyros Themelis. Other experts who participated in the event included Pauline Melvin-Anderson OBE, Chair of the Traveller Movement, Jake Bowers, Trustee of Gypsies and Travellers Essex (GATE) and Co-Founder of Drive to Survive , Dr Annabel Tremlett, Senior Lecturer in Social Work at the University of Portsmouth, Alison Blackwood, Manager of Southwark , Rev. John Chadwick, Co-founder & Head of Pastoral Care and Outreach at Margaret Clitherow Trust and Rachel Stout, Advocacy & Advice Manager for the Irish Community Care Manchester.

On  2nd April 2025, we hosted guest speaker Richard O’Neill, MBE, who explored the literacy practices of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities and inclusion in mainstream education. For those unable to attend, here is a video of the event. You can watch other public lectures of the Joyce Morris Early Years Literacy Forum on this page.

Image from Richard O'Neill's lecture - Caravan to Classroom

Upcoming presentations

ROMLIT is going to present part of their findings at 2025 UKLA Conference

ROMLIT Resources

ROMLIT - Project Outputs and Resources