The integration of Roma Slovak pupils into a secondary school in Sheffield: A case of school super-diversity?

The immigration of large numbers of Roma Slovak people to Sheffield over a relatively short period has raised questions around the settling of the new arrivals into the complex social, linguistic and cultural spaces of the diverse city of Sheffield and the ability of settled communities to retain their identities and relative stability. Schools face challenges in welcoming the migrant children, inducting and integrating them and facilitating access to the school curriculum. This paper reports on ethnographic research in a secondary school and community in Sheffield that has experienced the migration phenomenon outlined above. Findings show that whilst the school is facing huge challenges it is engaging in innovative practices to facilitate social, linguistic and educational integration. These include employing bilingual staff, MFL teachers being retrained to teach EAL and maths being taught in Czech, Slovakian and Romani. Applying themes from globalisation discourses, the argument is put forward that the school should be considered a super-diverse school. The research raises wider questions about the impact of the macro forces of globalisation and super- diversity on the community, school, parents and pupils and the functioning and relevance of schooling systems in a super-diverse age.