Curiosity before competence: Cultural humility with Gypsy/Traveller families

We’re often told the goal is to become ‘culturally competent’, to learn a community and arrive at the assessment already knowing. But what if that very confidence is part of the problem?

This session makes the case for cultural humility instead, introducing a way of working that stays curious, questions where our knowledge comes from, and keeps the family in front of us at the centre rather than the family we assumed we’d meet. We’ll look at why good practitioners can still cause harm when the system around them is stacked against a family, and what it takes to practice relationally from within a ‘structure’.

Drawing on lived experience and current practice, you’ll leave this session with a deeper understanding of Gypsy/Traveller cultures, but also a firm challenge to take back to your own recording, assessments and relationships with Gypsy/Traveller families.