Jennifer Carroll MacNeill
Question:35. Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill asked the Minister for Education the steps being taken to ensure the delivery of the Traveller education strategy. [35132/20]
View answerTuesday, 1 December 2020
Questions (35)
Written answers
The Programme for Government contains a commitment to “continue with, and expand, the National Plan for Equity of Access to Higher Education and develop a National Traveller Education Strategy, including a plan to improve access to Higher Education for members of the Traveller Community”. I recently met with my colleague Minister Harris and we have a joint objective to improve educational outcomes for travellers.
The National Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy (NTRIS) which is under the remit of Minister O’Gorman’s Department provides the framework and strategic direction for interventions across Government Departments to support the additional needs of the Traveller and Roma communities in Ireland. The Programme for Government sets out a commitment to review the National Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy 2017-2021 and ensure that the successor strategy has a stronger outcomes focused approach. Officials from my Department participate in the NTRIS Steering Group and the Education sub-group which oversees the implementation of education actions of NTRIS.
I am committed to ensuring that actions to improve education outcomes will be advanced in line with the Programme for Government commitments and within the overall context of NTRIS. Initiatives already underway include work by the NCCA following on from their audit of traveller culture and history in the curriculum.
The NCCA work has commenced with the appointment of a full-time NCCA Education Officer in September, 2020. This appointment will allow the NCCA to focus on:
- identifying existing initiatives and supports across the three education sectors (early childhood, primary and post-primary) and exploring how they can be further enhanced, supported and possibly replicated;
- identifying existing resources and materials and exploring the kinds of new support material and resources that need developing;
- working directly with early childhood settings and schools to identify good practice underpinned by principles of inclusion, intercultural education, and learning about Traveller history and culture.
The Department is also focusing on research on the effectiveness of the Department’s anti-bullying strategy for Traveller pupils, and a NTRIS pilot project involving additional educational welfare officers, HSCL and Traveller and Roma education workers. It is intended that the outcomes of this pilot project will help to inform future policy.
Questions Nos. 36 to 38, inclusive, answered orally.