Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 1 March 2023
114. Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin asked the Minister for Education when she will launch the consultation on the Traveller Education Strategy; and in view of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, how she will ensure such measures are adequately resourced. [10572/23]
View answerI am committed to ensuring that actions to improve educational outcomes for Travellers are advanced in line with relevant Programme for Government commitments, including the commitment to develop a National Traveller Education Strategy. Work is progressing to advance this, and there is a range of work currently underway that will inform its development, including:
- Work by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) to support teaching and learning of Traveller history and culture, which follows the 2019 audit of the curriculum in respect of Traveller culture and history. A research report, developed in collaboration with an expert group comprising members of the Traveller community and Traveller representatives, was published by the NCCA on 27 February. The report aims to capture what the Traveller community identifies as being key aspects of their culture and history, and important from a curriculum perspective.
- Alongside this work, the NCCA has commenced a review of the Intercultural Guidelines for primary and post-primary schools, in order to support the further integration of intercultural education in the curriculum;
- The refined DEIS identification model I announced in March last year, which includes components to reflect the educational disadvantage experienced by students who have self-identified as Traveller or Roma;
- A pilot project Supporting Traveller and Roma (STAR) which is underway in four areas (Galway, Wexford, Dublin and Cork), with the aim of addressing the barriers impacting on Traveller and Roma attendance, participation and retention in education; - An independent assessment STAR is due to commence this year in line with Programme for Government commitments. A Research Advisory Board with Traveller representation is also being established to support the evaluation;
- Creation of a new post in the Professional Development Service for Teachers (PDST) with a dual role in overseeing, developing and supporting CPD in social inclusion and in DEIS;
- Establishment of 10 new Home School Community Liaison (HSCL) coordinator posts in 14 non-DEIS post-primary schools with high numbers of Traveller and Roma students under the Dormant Accounts Fund. HSCL coordinators have access to funding for initiatives to encourage improvements in school attendance, retention and progression for Traveller and Roma students, and funding is provided for supports to ensure the effectiveness of the HSCL role in working with Traveller and Roma families.
Officials from my Department, together with officials from the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth and the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, engage on an ongoing basis with Traveller representative organisations, and this engagement will continue in the context of development of the Traveller Education Strategy.
