The ITM’s Yellow Flag Programmes
Submission to Fingal County Council Local Economic and Community Plan (LECP)
22nd April 2015
The ITM’s Yellow Flag Programme welcomes the opportunity to make a submission to
Fingals Local Economic and Community Plan (LECP)
Context for our submission
As members of Fingals Local and Community Development Committee (LCDC) are aware we
now live in a very culturally diverse country where 12% of our residents are of a non-Irish
national background. And in many of the administrative county areas this is even higher
including Fingal where 18% on the residents are from a non-Irish national background.
Other ethnic minority groups also are represented throughout Ireland including the Roma
community and Ireland’s indigenous minority of 40,000 Irish Travellers.
We sought this opportunity to make a submission to Fingals Local Economic and Community
Plan (LECP) as we are concerned that while cultural and religious diversity is increasing in
Ireland, Irish society’s tolerance and acceptance of diversity unfortunately is not.
In January of this year the European Network against Ireland (ENAR) highlighted that over
400 racist incidents had been reported to their IREPORT system in just 12 months. Statistics
also released by the Irish Immigrant Council of Ireland highlighted how over the past 2years
there had been an increase in reported incidents to a shameful 114% with a quarter of the
victims of racist abuse being children. Our own most recent Yellow Flag statistics found that
of 1,772 students surveyed in schools across the country - 4 out of 10 - children had
experienced racism.
These worrying statistics raise questions in relation to how can NGO’s like the Irish Traveller
Movement and local government can adequately meet the challenges of creating a
culturally diverse and culturally tolerant society
We believe that a great starting point is with children and young people and the Yellow Flag
Schools Intercultural Programme is one such solution. It is a solution that can support the
1
development of good, inclusive and well-functioning communities in Fingal through the
school environment where young people become advocates in their local settings, shaping
better futures for everyone in the community.
We saw the development of a new 6 year LECP plan as a great opportunity to embed the
support Fingal County Council has shown for the programme since 2011. This would support
ensuring that over the next 6 years the council are working towards a vision of ensuring the
programme becomes assessable to all schools in the area. It would also feed into delivering
on we believe many of the Community Goals set out for the Local Economic and Community
Plan.
We have set out below an overview of the Irish Traveller Movement’s Yellow Flag
Programme including; the impacts of the programme and potential benefits of the
programme to towns and communities in Fingal. We have also set out how it can support
delivering on many of Fingals LECP Community Goals.
The Yellow Flag Programme – A transformational change programme
The Irish Traveller Movement (ITM) is a national network of organisations and individuals
working to seek full equality for Travellers in Irish society.
The Yellow Flag Programme was pioneered by the ITM as an intercultural innovative
solution. Its vision is to create a world where all children learn to celebrate & value
difference. It does this by supporting schools through an 8 step programme at the end of
which they receive a physical flag in recognition of their work in promoting diversity &
inclusion which they can fly outside their school with pride!
The Yellow Flag has a proven record of creating whole school change with regard to the
promotion of inclusion and diversity.
The Yellow Flag Programme operates through a cooperative approach of students, staff,
parents & wider community groups in schools, so that issues of diversity & equality are not
merely seen as ‘school subjects’ but can be understood and taken outside the school setting
into everyday life.
This is done by supporting schools to carryout 8 practical steps including:
1. Intercultural and anti-racism training workshop for staff & management
2
2. Going beyond the school walls: Engaging with the community - Making links with
local & national Traveller/minority/migrant organisations
3. A Diversity schools committee
4. An Intercultural Review
5. Development & Implementation of an Action Plan
6. Monitoring, Evaluation & Information Dissemination
7. Curriculum Work
8. Development of a Diversity Code & Anti-Racism Policy
While similar initiatives to Yellow Flag were regarded as placing unrealistic expectations on
schools and teachers to deliver interculturalism without the necessary supports, the Yellow
Flag which is now in its fifth year post pilot stage, remains committed to focusing on
practical intercultural achievements as well as providing the essential formal and informal
framework directly to schools to deliver real change.
The Yellow Flag Programme was initially piloted with four schools in 2008/2009. With the
support of philanthropic groups and small grants from local authorities (including a small
grant from Fingal County Council every year since 2011) we have been able to support the
moderate growth of the programme so that it is now impacting on the lives of children in 53
schools across Ireland.
Currently there are 9 schools in Fingal involved in the Yellow Flag (6 with Yellow Flag’s and 3
working towards theirs).
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Castaheany ETNS pilot school achieved YF 2009
St. Georges NS Balbriggan achieved YF 2012
Ladyswell NS, Mulhuddard achieved YF 2012
St Oliver Plunkets Balrothery achieved YF 2013
Bracken ETNS Balbriggan achieved YF 2014
Colaiste Pobail Setanta achieved YF 2014
Sacred Heart NS, Huntstown, Mulhuddard working towards YF
St. Josephs Secondary School Rush- working towards YF
Riversdale CC – working towards YF
We would like to work together with Fingal County Council to ensure that we can extent the
programme to all schools in Fingal. We believe that in turn this will support Fingal County
Councils vision for Fingal’s future by feeding into its development plan 2016-2021 and LECP
6year plan.
We have set out below an overview of how with Fingal County Councils support we hope to
achieve this; as well as the benefits it will potentially create for Fingals Future.
3
Long-term vision
Our long-term vision for the Yellow Flag Programme is a Yellow Flag flying outside every
school in Ireland. We would like to work with Fingal County Council towards this vision.
So how you can support and partner us to work towards this vision.
We believe that the Yellow Flag programme offers a solution to deliver on many of the
commitments that are set out in Fingal County Development Plan 2011-2017. We also
believe that the Yellow Flag Programme offers a solution to deliver on many of Fingals 6
year LECP Community Goals. We have set out below how it links in particular to Goal 1, 2, 3
and 6 (and have also feed this into Fingal’s online submission)
Goal 1 Stimulate Active Citizenship and improvement of quality of life
Embedding a commitment to roll out the Yellow Flag in Fingal's 6 LECP plan as well as a
budget allocated in relation to this can support Fingal to deliver on community Goal 1 in the
following ways.
One of the unique things about the Yellow Flag programme is that it encourages &
promotes active partnership, engagement and effective communication between Teachers,
Students, Parent’s and wider Community. This as, set out in Goal 1 supports Stimulating
Active Citizenship and improvement of quality of life
It does this in a number of ways. For example one of the Steps of the programme supports a
school to put a structure in place in the form of a Yellow Flag Diversity Committee in
schools. This is made up of parents and students from both minority and majority
backgrounds as well as teacher and community representatives. The committee meets once
a month and act as a driver for the school in implementing the steps of the programme. This
structure as set out under G1 supports active community participation
A further STEP of the programme involves the school carrying out an Intercultural
review. This supports schools to listen to the voices of students and their parents (both
minority and majority) and to respond to issues and suggestions raised in the review
through their action plan. This supports as set out under G1 all communities having a say
on what’s happening in school and wider community life in Fingal.
At part of the schools action plan there are a range of actions that a school carries out. They
have included project work on different cultures and countries represented in the school,
curriculum work exploring racism, and stereotyping as well as a range of intercultural
activities and events that involve parents and the wider community. Schools have also
carried out actions which have seen them change school practices and environment so that
whether you are a white settled child or parent or a child or parent from an ethnic minority
4
background when you come into the school you feel that the school reflects and welcomes
your identity and culture.
These actions support ensuring that a quality of life (as set out in G1) for all communities in
Fingal includes living in a community where diversity is valued and difference is catered for
Goal 2 Empower Local Leadership and build social capital
Embedding a commitment to roll out the Yellow Flag in Fingal's 6 LECP plan as well as a
budget allocated in relation to this can support Fingal to deliver on community Goal 2 in the
following ways.
The Yellow Flag Programme is a whole-school initiative; however it inevitably has an effect
on certain minority ethnic, religious and cultural identities, which as a result of the
intercultural focus of the project, are encouraged and supported to take a leadership role in
the project. This supports promoting leadership in the community as set out in G2
The programme is having a profound impact first and foremost on children. We have seen
children through the programme learn about different cultures, break down any
stereotypes and prejudices they might have had as well as develop a sense of pride in their
own culture. In particular it is so uplifting when we see how children especially Traveller
children who had been hiding their identity in school at the start of the programme by the
end of the programme are talking proudly about their culture and identity. This really
supports the children as set out in G2 to have a sense of belonging in their school and wider
community.
Schools occupy a distinct place at the heart of every community and it is specifically the
second step of the Yellow Flag Programme; ‘Going Beyond the School Walls and
Engaging with the Local Community’, that demonstrates how the project can distinctly
contribute to the social cohesion of local communities. This step encourages schools to
reach out to local Traveller, migrant or minority organisations in their area and foster links
with them. The goodwill and activism that exists in local community groups is then
channelled into the schools in order to receive supports for their work on the project and
reciprocally, the community receives support for their own initiatives by building a
relationship with the school.
The 53 schools involved in the programme to date have demonstrated how effective they
can be with their work on this step by forging partnerships with local groups, allowing local
community representatives to join the Diversity Committee, organising social events for the
community such as intercultural coffee mornings and inviting many guest speakers from
local groups to talk to the students during lesson time. Relationships were built with local
elected representatives, parents who had not previously been active in the school and other
local schools in their area not officially involved in the Yellow Flag. This encourages better
community networking as set out in G2
5
Goal 3 Strengthen capacity to reduce social exclusion
Embedding a commitment to roll out the Yellow Flag in Fingal's 6 LECP plan as well as a
budget allocated in relation to this can support Fingal to deliver on community Goal 3 in the
following ways.
One of the unique things about this programme in that it encourages & promotes active
partnership & engagement & effective communication between Teachers, Students,
Parent’s & Community.
What this means is that the benefits of the programme is very much taken beyond the
school walls.
Students bring this learning back home with them and start in some case to challenge and
change thinking within their own family, in those they engage with through afterschool
activities, and very importantly they bring this with them as they go onto secondary school,
and then onto further education and working life.
Parents in turn also bring the engagement and learning they get through the programme
into their own everyday lives. Similar to the children it benefits both white, settled parents
and parents from culturally diverse backgrounds who often haven’t had the opportunity
prior to the programme to get the opportunity to learn about each other’s cultures, to ask
questions in safe spaces, to engage in intercultural events and activities.
Relationships are also built as part of the programme with community groups in the area. So
as you can imagine as more and more schools in a given area start getting an opportunity to
participate in the programme, this has the potential of creating really inclusive, vibrant
neighbourhoods, cities and counties and as set out in G3 Reducing social exclusion and
promoting social inclusion
In addition while the Yellow Flag Programme is a whole-school initiative; it inevitably has an
effect on certain minority ethnic, religious and cultural identities, which as a result of the
intercultural focus of the project, are encouraged and supported to take a leadership role in
the project. This strengthens the capacity of communities of interest (in this case students
and parents from different ethnic, cultural and religious backgrounds) to take on leadership
roles in reducing social exclusion.
Goal 6 Strengthen growth and development of our young people
Embedding a commitment to roll out the Yellow Flag in Fingal's 6 LECP plan as well as a
budget allocated in relation to this can support Fingal to deliver on community Goal 6
Strengthening growth and development of Fingal's young people in the following ways.
Young people are supported to act as key drivers in implenting the Yellow Flag programme.
One of the unique things about the Yellow Flag programme is that it encourages and
promotes active partnership, engagement and effective communication between Teachers,
6
Students, Parent’s and wider Community, central to this is the voice of young people. Young
people from different backgrounds sit on the schools diversity committee, often these are
students that haven't been active in other committees/student councils etc in the school
but through their participation on the Yellow Flag committee they are supported to take on
a leadership role and inevitably through this they grow in confidence. As part of the schools
intercultural review all students are asked for their views on their experience of inclusion in
the school and idea's for what they'd like to see happening in the school to support all
students feeling a sense of belonging. Focus groups are often in addition held with students
from particular backgrounds. Often this is the first time students have been asked their
views and ideas for promoting inclusion and diversity in the school.
As the programme is a wholeschool initiative all of the students are involved also in the
actions carried out by the school. This has meant that the programme is having a profound
impact first and foremost on children
We have seen children through the programme learn about different cultures, break down
any stereotypes and prejudices they might have had as well as develop a sense of pride in
their own culture. In particular it is so uplifting when we see how children especially
Traveller children who had been hiding their identity in school at the start of the programme
by the end of the programme are talking proudly about their culture and identity.
Why does this matter –There are no other wholeschool initiative challenging racism and
promoting cultural diversity in schools – so if programmes like the Yellow Flag aren’t
supported we know that the impact of racism on children is Low self-esteem, bullying,
exclusion, depression and shame. These are some of the words we have become all too
familiar with when speaking to child victims of racism. Behaviour is learnt, and what we are
trying to do is change behaviour, attitudes, and practice through creating a programme
which supports children, parents, teachers, the school and Irish society to tackle racism. The
positive news is that we can do this.
In addition it also matters because - knowledge and understanding of difference is the first
step in mitigating against intolerance. Creating that awareness in the school environment
as an early intervention step creates the opportunity for children to become advocates for
equality in their homes and communities.
While the programme has huge impacts on children from different ethnic minorities it
equally benefits the white settled children and their parents in the school that learn about
different cultures and break down stereotypes. Students both minority and majority bring
this learning back home with them and start in some case to challenge and change thinking
within their own family, in those they engage with through afterschool activities, and very
importantly they bring this with them as they go onto secondary school, and then onto
further education and working life.
7
Working together to roll out the Yellow Flag in Fingal - NEXT STEPS
We are asking the LCDC committee to look to include a commitment to support the roll out
of the Yellow Flag programme within Fingal’s 6 year Local Economic and Community Plan
(LECP).
One of the ways we have increased the number of schools participating was we have sought
grants from some Local Authorities for example both Fingal and Dublin City Council have
supported the programme since 2010/2011.
We now wish to see if we can embed this funding within Fingal County Councils budgets.
We are also looking to increase the amount of funding committed from supporting 2
schools a year to now 10 schools per year. This will allow for increased growth and impact
on students and communities throughout Fingal.
We are asking you to support us grow the programme in Fingal by making a provision within
the LECP budget allocations for the programme to be carried out (funding permitted) in 10
schools per year in the Fingal area.
Additional benefits for Fingal County Council in supporting the Yellow Flag
As set out in The National Action Plan for Social Inclusion 2007- 2016 the involvement of
Local Authorities and County Development Boards are key elements in ensuring the delivery
of social inclusion. County Development Boards and Social Inclusion Units and RAPID
programmes as set out in the plan have a key local role in co-ordinating public service
delivery and social inclusion activities.
The new Local Government Reform Act 2014 supports and strengthens this by setting out
that the ‘local government is now the main vehicle of governance and public service at local
level and is leading economic, social and community development, delivering efficient and
good value services, and representing citizens and local communities effectively and
accountably’
We believe underpinned by this principle that one of the most effective ways of supporting
the growth and mainstreaming of the Yellow Flag programme will be for local authorities to
become a lead partner. We are looking to Fingal County Council to be one of the visionary
councils that will take a lead on growing the programme and create a framework for other
councils to use to promote an inclusive city and county.
8
Partnering ITM to make the Yellow Flag Programme accessible to all primary schools in
Fingal over the next 6 years, could potentially support transformative change in the county
as it will



Support all children in the county to, have pride in their own culture and identity and
learn about other children’s culture
Support schools develop an environment in which all children thrive and where
unfair discrimination and racism is challenged
Encourage and promote active partnership, engagement and effective
communication between teachers, students, parents & community.
In addition as outlined above one of the unique things about this programme in that it
encourages & promotes active partnership & engagement & effective communication
between Teachers, Students, Parent’s & Community the benefits of the programme are
very much taken beyond the school walls. Relationships are also built as part of the
programme with community groups in the area. This means that the programme will very
much link in with and add value to the local community initiatives already happening on the
ground in Fingal.
A further key benefit will be that by creating a vast network/cluster of schools actively
working on promoting inclusion and celebrating diversity, it will promote Fingal as a vibrant
inclusive county to both live, learn and work in. This will not only support the quality of life
and promotion of the health and wellbeing of all citizens in the county but could also impact
on the prosperity of the county by attracting International and National companies and
businesses to the county.
Next Steps We would welcome an opportunity to discuss what we have outlined in this
document in further detail and hope you can support our efforts to make Yellow Flag more
accessible to students, parents and schools in Ireland.
We look forward to hearing from you
Yours sincerely
Paula Madden: Yellow Flag Co-ordinator
Email: yellowflagprogramme@gmail.com Tel: 01 6796577
Further information including Yellow Flag Research report and Handbook available to
download from the Yellow Flag website: www.yellowflag.ie
9