Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 8 September 2022
1040. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Education if work has commenced on the Traveller Education Strategy which was committed to in the 2020 Programme for Government; the progress that has been made to date; and when the strategy will be completed and rolled out across the education system. [44232/22]
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 on advancing a National Traveller Education Strategy, which will be informed by a range of work currently underway, including that under the National Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy (NTRIS). Examples of initiatives already underway include:
- A pilot project Supporting Traveller and Roma (STAR), which is underway in four areas with the aim of improving attendance, participation and school completion. An independent assessment of the project is due to commence this year and will feed into policy in this area;
- The refined DEIS identification model I announced in March of this year, which includes components to reflect the educational disadvantage experienced by students who have self-identified as Traveller or Roma;
- 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 fulltime Education officer has been employed in the NCCA to advance this work;
- Creation of a new post in the Professional Development Service for Teachers with a dual role in overseeing, developing and supporting CPD in diversity/social inclusion and in DEIS.
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 with Traveller representative organisations as part of the National Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy (NTRIS) education subcommittee. This engagement will continue in the context of the development of the Traveller education strategy.
