After School Support
Needs Analysis and Proposals
A Report on behalf of the
Traveller Education Working Group
Southside Partnership
Aodh O Connor
December 2000
1
1
Introduction and Methodology
1.1
Background
This report was commissioned by the Traveller Education Working Group (TEWG)
of the Southside Partnership. The TEWG formed following the launch of the ‘Moving
On’ report and assumed the responsibility of implementing some of the key
recommendations of the report. The report recommended the development of new
services to advance the participation of Travellers in the education system. The types
of services were outlined in the report as

Innovative models of education provision at post primary level.

After- Schools clubs including Homework clubs.

Mentoring schemes for young Travellers.

Tracking systems.

Partnership between the formal and informal education systems.
The purpose of this research is to investigate the second service listed, that is, the
needs for and the benefits of, after school provision for Traveller children attending
the following schools:
Good Shepherd NS. Churchtown, Queen of Angels NS. Wedgewood, St Olaf’s NS.
Balally, Scoil Mhuire Ballyboden, Ballinteer Community School and St Tiernan’s
Community school, Balally. However initial findings of this research revealed that
neither Ballinteer Community School or Scoil Mhuire had any Traveller children on
roll. It was also discovered that another school in the area, Holy Cross NS. in
Dundrum, had a number of Traveller children on roll. Following on from these
findings the revised list of schools which were included in the research was as
follows:
Good Shepherd N.S. Whitehall Road Churchtown, Dublin 14.
Holy Cross N.S. Dundrum, Dublin14
St Olaf’s N.S. Balally, Dublin 16.
Queen of Angels N.S.Wedgewood, Dublin 16.
St Tiernan’s Community School, Balally, Dublin 16.
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All of the schools have Traveller children on roll. All, with the exception of St Olaf’s,
have Home School Community Liaison co-ordinators and constitute a working
cluster1 in the Dublin 14 and 16 areas.
The purpose of this research is to investigate the needs for after school support
structures for traveller children attending these schools. It also sets out to propose the
most appropriate supports that should be made available to these children. Such
supports should be informed by the needs of the children and their families and by
examples of good practice elsewhere.
1.2
Research Methods
This report includes research that should lead primarily to action. It employs a number
of ways of gathering information including:

A review of the relevant literature relating to young Travellers and education

Interviews with young Travellers.

Interviews with Traveller parents.

Interviews with staff from participating schools.

Interviews with staff from existing after school support structures in the area.

Interviews with staff from other after school projects in Dublin.

Interviews with Professionals who have a working relationship with Traveller
families.
Where possible interviews with Traveller Parents and children took place within their
own homes, usually in the presence of a person with whom the family was familiar
with and trusted. Particular attention was paid to attempting to allow respondents
bring their own issues to the fore rather than responding to a predetermined set of
questions. The fundamental principle of the research is to provide a framework within
which respondents could express their own understanding in their own terms. Most
interviews with Parents took place on an individual basis. The advantage of this
method was that it allowed people the opportunity to voice concerns that they may not
have felt able to voice in public. One focus interview took place with three Parents
taking part. Interviews with school staff, who were primarily Home School
1
A cluster is a local group of schools, all of which have a Home School Community Liaison Coordinator, who meet on a weekly basis and have common goals.
3
Community Liaison Co-ordinators, took place on a one to one basis. One focus group
interview of these staff was also conducted. Interviews with after school project staff
took place on site. Other people were interviewed face to face or by phone.
1.3
The Context
Issues facing young travellers in education cannot be seen in isolation from the many
factors that affect and impinge on their quality of life. In particular poor
accommodation and living environments can impact severely on ability of traveller
children to access good quality education. Notwithstanding the fact that education is
widely recognised as one of the key factors in tackling disadvantage, it needs to be
supported by improvements in other areas of the quality of life of Travellers.
The White Paper on Education ‘Charting Our Education future’ clearly sets out as one
of its objectives that within ten years, all Traveller children of second level, school
going age will complete the junior education cycle and 50% will complete the senior
cycle. The Department of Education has set up an advisory committee on Traveller
education who play a key role in advising the department on issues relating to
Traveller education. The report of the task force on the travelling community outlined
the principles which should guide the development and provision of education
services at all levels to travellers;

Equality of opportunity must exist so as to ensure that Travellers shall have
access to all forms of education.

The principle of anti discrimination should inform all education provision.

Acknowledgement of, and respect for, cultural diversity and multi -ethnicity
should inform all education provision.

The principle of affirmative action should be applied to Travellers in
Education.

Rule 10 of the rules for National Schools which states that ‘no child may be
refused admission to a national school on account of the social position of its
Parents, nor may any pupil be kept apart from other pupils on the grounds of
social distinction’ should be applied in all Primary and Post Primary schools.

There should be full Parental involvement in decision-making and in the
development of education provision for their children.
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
The principle of integration should be applied save in exceptional
circumstances.
A commitment to these proposals was made by the Government in the national
agreement Partnership 2000. This commitment needs to be supported by adequate
resources at a micro and macro level. Part of the function of this report is to highlight
resources that can be made available to young Travellers at the micro level.
2.
Findings
This section documents the research findings and is divided into four parts: 2.1 details
the information on existing services both within an outside the five target schools, 2.2
details the experiences of other after school projects for Travellers in Dublin, 2.3
contains the views of Traveller children and their Parents and 2.4 outlines the data
collected from education providers in the area.
2.1
Education Resources and Travellers
There are existing support services in places in some schools that are intended to
improve the educational opportunities of young Travellers. These supports include
Resource Teacher for Travellers (RTT), Visiting Teacher Service, National Education
Officer, enhanced capitation grants, and provision of transport in certain
circumstances. The Resource Teacher for Traveller initiative is only available to
Primary schools. A brief outline of these supports follows:
2.1.1 Resource Teacher for Travellers
This post is allocated on the basis that the Traveller children are taught within their
classroom with the RTT working in partnership with the class Teacher or withdrawn
in groups for intensive tuition according to their needs. The Pupil Teacher ratio is
14:1. An RTT post can be shared between a number of schools with one school
designated as base.
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2.1.2 Enhanced Capitation Grants
The capitation grants for Traveller children are as follows:
Children under 12 : £171
Children over 12: £372.
The standard capitation grant is £45. For children in disadvantaged schools it is £75.
The standard capitation grant should be deducted from the above amounts. The
remainder is to be used to support Traveller education in school.
2.1.3 Visiting Teacher Service
This service is available to children in Primary and Post Primary schools. It is a
family based service which provides opportunity for Traveller Parents, their children
and schools to ‘engage in a process of development which maximises participation
and attainment levels, combats racism and promotes an intercultural education’
(Travellers in Education, Resource Pack for Primary schools p 11)
2.1.4 National Education Officer
Works to promote and facilitate the education of Traveller children on a national
basis.
2.1.5 Transport
Where necessary Department of Education and Science grant aids 98% of school
Transport costs.
2.1.6 Extra Teaching Hours
Secondary Schools do not have an RTT service. Instead the school is allocated one
and a half extra Teaching hours per week based on each Traveller child in the school.
According to the report on Secondary schools
‘Schools are still at an early learning phase in the best use of extra Teaching
hours. Withdrawal of specific Traveller children with learning deficits or
difficulties is a suitable strategy for some Traveller children but other strategies
such as the presence of an extra Teacher in the classroom for some Travellers may
be beneficial. The extra hours are primarily teaching hours but can also be used to
develop schools teaching resources, to assist Traveller Parents to become more
involved in the education of their young people and co-ordinating and monitoring
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attendance and the Travellers progress in school’ (Guidelines for Traveller
education in post primary schools p5).
These are the range of resources that are designed to enhance the educational
opportunities of young Travellers within school hours. Certain schools, depending on
the number of Traveller children on roll and the status of the school (whether it is
disadvantaged or not), have access to more of these resources than others. Schools
may also have extra provision to enhance the children’s educational opportunities,
which are not provided for by the Department. None of the schools involved in this
research have additional non-Department supports that are targeted only at Traveller
children. There are additional support structures that include Traveller children in
their target group. There follows an outline of the services that are available to
Traveller children both within and without individual schools.
Good Shepherd NS.
There are 16 Traveller children on roll in the school. There is one RTT post. The
school is part of the disadvantaged schools scheme and has a Home School Liaison
Co-ordinator. An After School support club was set up in the school in April 2000. It
is primarily Homework support and takes place twice weekly, immediately after
school between 2.30 and 3.30. The club is divided into two groups. The junior group
is for children in 2nd and 3rd classes and the senior group for children in 4th- 6th
classes. Children receive help with their homework from trained Teachers who work
in the club and from the classroom assistant. The fact that this classroom assistant is a
Traveller has had a very positive influence on the way Traveller children perceive the
club. The children return home with the assistant when the club finishes. 8 of the
Traveller children are in 2nd to 6th class and are enrolled in the club. There is no after
school support service for children in Junior Infants to 1st class.
Queen of Angels N.S.
There are 18 Traveller children on roll in the school. The school has one and a half
RTT posts (The other half is in Holy Cross NS.). It is also a disadvantaged school and
has a Home School Liaison Co-ordinator. An after school homework club was
established in the school in September 2000 and is open to all children. Priority is
given to children from disadvantaged backgrounds. 2 Traveller children currently
participate in the club
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Holy Cross N.S.
There are 5 Traveller children on roll in the school (All five children are members of
the same family). Holy Cross is also a part of the disadvantaged schools scheme and
has a Home School Liaison Co-ordinator. It has half an RTT post. There is no after
school support structure attached to the school.
St Olaf’s N.S.
There are 5 Traveller children on roll in the school. Unlike the other four schools St
Olaf’s is not a disadvantaged school and therefore has no Home School Liaison
service. Neither does it have an RTT post (It is in the process of making an
application to the Department of Education and Science). Traveller children in the
school do not receive any additional support on the basis of being Travellers. Two of
the children attend learning support but this is entirely on the basis of learning needs.
There is no after school support structure in the school.
St Tiernan’s Community School.
There are 15 Traveller children on roll in the school. As already outlined Secondary
schools do not have access to RTT positions. However extra teaching hours are
allocated to Traveller pupils. The school has a Home School Community Liaison Coordinator. At present there is no after school support structure but the school has very
recently received sanction from the Department of Education and Science to initiate
the Stay in School scheme. This a preventative programme aimed at pupils who are
seen to be at risk of dropping out of school. This scheme entails a multi faceted
approach to issues of early school leaving. Two of the most relevant approaches for
the purposes of this research are

Extra tuition (usually on a one to one basis) given to pupils during school
time.

Homework support after school
Given the poor retention rates of Traveller children in secondary school, St Tiernan’s
are prioritising Traveller children for inclusion in this scheme.
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There are other after school support structures in the community that children from
some of the above schools can access. These are located in Kilcross Resource Centre
and in Ballyogan Resource Centre:
Kilcross Resource Centre Homework Club.
This club was established this year and is open to children who live in the Kilcross
area and who are in Primary school between 1st and 6th class. Most Primary School
children in Kilcross attend Queen of Angels Primary School. The club runs twice
weekly, Mondays and Wednesdays, from 3-4pm. It is co-ordinated by the Local
Youth Development Officer and staffed by two C.E. Workers. The club is open to all
children from the Kilcross area but priority is given to children from disadvantaged
backgrounds. At present 2 Traveller children are enrolled in the club.
Ballyogan Resource Centre Homework Club
This club was established this year and is open to children from the Ballyogan area
who are in primary school between 1st and 6th class. It caters for three different age
groups; 1st class children, 2nd - 3rd class children and 4th-6th class children. The club
for 1st class children runs on Wednesday afternoons between 3.30 and 5pm. This is an
activity group with the emphasis on activities such as Art and Crafts/Drama rather
than on Homework support. The other two groups are facilitated on Tuesday
afternoons; the 2nd-3rd-class group runs between 3.30 and 4.15pm and the 4th-6th class
group runs from 4.15-5pm. Only one Traveller child attends this club but she has
attended on only two occasions. The club is co-ordinated by the local Youth
Development Officer and staffed by two C.E. workers. The service is currently under
utilised.
Youth Service for Travellers
This service provides support for young Travellers aged between six and eighteen
years in the Dublin area. It currently employs three Traveller women who are trained
youth workers to work with 13-18 year old Travellers on an individual site basis.
Resources are limited but the service has its own bus.
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Youthreach
Youthreach is based in Mountainview House, Rathfarnham, where it has a training
centre for young people out of school. The centre has initiated a pilot programme for a
group of 12 young Travellers aged 15-18 who are currently out of school. It does not
provide a service for school going children.
2.2
Other After School Projects in Dublin
As part of this research, other centres in the Dublin region that provide after school
support specifically for Travellers were visited. The purpose of these visits was to see
the benefits that can ensue from after school provision for young Travellers.
2.2.1 Tallaght Travellers After Schools Project (Club 2000)
Club 2000 was established in 1998 and caters for 17 Post primary children all of
whom are Travellers. The club was established in response to the low levels of
Traveller participation in two local community schools; St Aidan’s C.S and Jobstown
C.S. The club takes place Tuesdays and Thursdays (3.30-5.30) in St Aidan’s C.S. The
first hour is dedicated to education support and the second is recreation and activities.
The pupils are transported to and from the club. It has been noted in the evaluation of
the club that it could not operate without transport, given the distances some pupils
have to travel to/from the club venue and parents fears for the children’s safety. The
club is managed by a committee comprised of Project Staff and the part-time coordinator.
The Tallaght Partnership initially funded the project. The South Dublin Urban
Initiative Ltd now funds the part time Project Co-ordinator. It also receives funding
from the Department of Social Community and Family Affairs Community
Development Programme. The County Dublin VEC pays for the project tuition hours.
The club is staffed by one Teacher, one youth worker and two Traveller Parents, one
of whom is a community worker employed by the project and one of whom is a
volunteer.
The club is seen to respond to the barriers affecting Traveller participation in second
level education in a number of ways;
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
It acknowledges Traveller culture and emphasises the right of Travellers to
participate in post-primary education.

It supports young Travellers to complete their homework by providing support
that many Traveller parents cannot, and by providing additional tuition and a
suitable study environment.

It increases the awareness of Traveller Parents of the value of education for
their children.

It provides club members with a form of peer support by enabling them to
meet and mix with other Travellers attending post primary education in their
area.

It contributes to the educational attainment of Travellers in post primary
education, thus ‘evening out the playing field’ with their settled peers.
Following an external evaluation of Club 2000 a number of key issues have been
identified:

After school initiatives are essential in attracting and retaining young
Travellers in the Post Primary education system. These initiatives require
adequate resourcing, particularly in the form of personnel, and there is an
imperative on the Department of Education and Science to contribute.

The integration of community and statutory bodies is invaluable in the
development of initiatives such as Club 2000 and in promoting Traveller
participation in post-primary education.

It is imperative that schools adopt positive programmes, policies and
interventions to attract and retain Traveller children in the education system.

There is a need to provide formal accredited training programmes for
Traveller parents who become involved in the delivery of after school
initiatives.
(Evaluation Report 2000)
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2.2.2 Clondalkin Travellers After Schools Project
This project is based in Scoil Mhuire in Clondalkin. Its target group are Traveller
children who are in 1st -6th classes in four local Primary schools, all within walking
distance of one another. It runs twice weekly, Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 3.305.30 pm. The first hour is given over to reading, literacy and numeracy and the second
hour to recreational activities. The children have a day trip once every six weeks.
Children walk to the project and are transported home by bus. An average of 12-14
children participate each day. There has been a notable improvement in the children’s
attitude to school since they began attending the project. Crucially Traveller Parents
have expressed their satisfaction with the club as the fact that many of them cannot
read or write is restricting their children’s progress. The children have expressed
particular satisfaction in the relaxed manner in which they receive support in the club
and also with the opportunity to mix in a social way with children from other sites and
therefore expand their circle of friends.
The project is staffed by a Teacher and three Traveller assistants, one of whom is a
Parent and the other two are siblings of children involved on the project. It is managed
by a committee comprising the RTT from each of the four participating schools, one
of the assistants on a rotating basis, two principals and the visiting teacher for
Travellers. The Project also shares a part time co-ordinator with the Tallaght project.
The co-ordinator is also a member of the management committee. Originally funded
by Urban it is now funded by the Dept of Social Community and Family Affairs
Community Development Programme.
The aims of the project are to:

Develop the personal, social and educational skills of young Travellers
involved in the project.

Provide assistance with homework, so as to raise literacy and numeracy levels
and to help foster positive attitudes towards school.

Promote self-esteem and pride in identity among Traveller children.

Develop the management skills of Travellers involved in running the project.

Engage Traveller parents in their children’s education by encouraging parents
to participate in project activities.
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In the evaluation report (January 2000) a number of key recommendations were
made:

Linkage between the project and the schools, particularly in relation to
consultation and discussion with Teachers is central to the impact of the
project. The presence of the co-ordinator is crucial to this linkage taking place
and having positive effect.

The project needs to ensure that effective on going training opportunities are
in place for the Traveller assistants who are the core to the community
development dimension of the project. This training should focus on skills
development including liaison between teacher and the Travelling community
and skills to identify issues arising for Traveller children and their parents in
relation to participation in education. Certification should also be explored.

The involvement of the Visiting Teacher for Travellers is very important and
should be developed.

The barriers to parents involvement need to be examined, in particular the
availability of childcare to release parents to take part in activities.
2.2.3 Finglas Traveller Education and Support Options Project (TESO)
TESO is a community based education support project which is based in St Joseph’s
Park, Dunsink Lane, Finglas. The project was established in 1997. The Finglas Cabra
Partnership provided funding of £105,000 over a three-year period, which represented
approximately 25% of the annual budget. The remainder was provided by Barnardos,
St Vincent de Paul and a trust fund. The project has recently come to the end of its
three year pilot phase and negotiations are ongoing with the Department of Education
and Science to mainstream it.
Adopting a community development approach the TESO project aims to develop and
provide improved family support and educational opportunities for Travellers in
Finglas and Cappagh Fields. The Project area has a population of approximately 200
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Traveller families. There are roughly 200 children of primary school going age
attending schools and 91 teenagers, 5 of whom are attending second level schools.
The TESO project has the use of the Dublin Corporation premises in St Josephs Park.
This is a very modern facility and presents as an attractive learning environment.
There is one full-time project co-ordinator, one childcare resource worker (p/t), one
education and development worker (p/t), and three C.E. workers (p/t). The Finglas
Cabra Partnership provided training to the CE workers on how to run Homework
support. Traveller Parents have very little involvement because training has not been
available. At present, however, the position of education and development officer is
filled by a Traveller. TESO is managed by a committee with representatives from all
the main funding bodies and members of staff. The project caters for two separate
groups:, a senior and a junior group
(1)
Senior Group
A group of twelve girls aged between 11-15 years meet on Wednesdays between 34.30pm. These are girls who are either in 6th class Primary or are in second level
education. Primary and second level pupils are combined for peer support. It is hoped
that the Primary pupils will be inspired by their secondary peers to enter second level.
It also allows the older girls to act as mentors for the younger ones and so instil a
sense of pride and self-worth in both age groups. Eight of the girls live in St Josephs
Park and the other four live in the nearby Avila Park. The service is not targeted and
can cater for up to 30 children.
Transport is not provided home for these four girls and this has proved to be a
frequent stumbling block to their participation as their Parents are anxious that they
should not walk home alone on what is a very dangerous road. The first hour of the
club is given to assistance with homework and the last half hour is activity based.
(2)
Junior Group.
A second group comprises fourteen children (girls and boys) all of whom are in third
class in four different primary schools. Most of these children live on the site. Those
who do not are transported by their parents. This group meets every Thursday
between 3-4.30pm. The first hour is homework support and the remaining half hour is
activity based. This age group was chosen following research involving local schools
revealed that this was the most needy age group.
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No formal evaluation has taken place of the project thus far but the education and
development worker made a number of points about the project;

The project was giving much needed support to Traveller children in the area.
Poor accommodation standards have had a detrimental effect on the
performance of the children in school. In many cases the home environments
are not suitable for completing homework or study. More support is needed
however in order to make a significant impact.

Teachers have noted improvements in the children’s attitudes towards school.
However close links have not been established with the schools and this is
acting as an obstacle. Direct links and consultations are needed with class
Teachers.

Only children who regularly attend school can attend the project. This has
acted as an incentive for some children to attend school. It has also helped to
build relations with schools as the project is seen to be supportive of and not in
competition with local schools.

Training Traveller parents has proved to be difficult. Part of the reason for this
is the demands made on parents in their day to day lives and the consequent
inability to commit time to outside activities. However TESO is very much
committed to exploring ways to involve Parents in their children’s education.

During the pilot phase of the project a number of initiatives were tried. Two of
the more successful ones include:
(1)
The targeting of Traveller children in 1st classes who had poor literacy
skills. A seven-week programme was devised and implemented by a local
Primary Teacher. This programme had a very positive effect on the
children. TESO are planning to replicate this project over the coming year
with children in senior infants. A general observation made by the
education officer was that they have found that interventions have proved
to be most successful with the younger age groups.
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(2)
A local Music production company, Fusebox, undertook a six-week music
programme with a group of teenage girls. The group recorded their own
song and produced a CD. This had the added advantage of heightening
local interest in and respect for TESO projects.
The retention of boys in second level is one of the greatest challenges. As yet TESO
has not devised any strategies to counteract the high drop out rates among young
Traveller boys. Instead the project has focussed its attention on the retention and
promotion of girls in the second level system.
2.3
Traveller Views
Traveller Parents whose children are attending after-school support activities were
very happy that their children were being given additional opportunity in school. Most
Parents who had experience of the support spoke in very positive terms about project
staff and Teachers who work with their children. Although most Parents have not met
Project Staff they had ‘heard stories from their children’, and were happy with the
support being offered.
In response to being asked why their children attended the club infrequently, Parents
gave different answers. One complained of poor living conditions that pushed
homework as an issue into the background. Issues such as accommodation, poor
health, poor living environments and family deaths often take precedence in the lives
of Traveller children. Another parent said that they forgot to tell the children to go.
One Parent was aware that there was after-school support but did not send her
children because she was unsure what it entailed. The idea of after school support was
new to some Parents. This was a very small minority (Four Parents) and was mostly
confined to the two primary schools where there was no service in place (St Olaf’s
and Holy Cross). These Parents however, once informed of what was involved, were
very supportive of the idea. No Parent interviewed was opposed to the idea of their
child attending after school support, but different fears were expressed about what
was involved and in particular what was expected of them.
16
Parents who had no access to their own transport were concerned that their children
would not be able to take part. In the Good Shepherd club the children are escorted
home. In winter the children run the risk of getting wet and cold. This is a concern to
Parents who are very positive about the club but feel some form of transport is
necessary. Transport home is not available in any of the other three clubs and was
cited by a number of Parents as being a concern to them. Transport is a very major
concern to all Parents of second level pupils. Many expressed concern that afterschool activities would mean that their child would have to travel home in the dark on
his/her own. Four Parents said that they would be able to organise their own transport.
When asked whether they would like their children to attend Traveller only afterschool support, all Parents of primary school children said that they would prefer their
children to take part in an integrated group. One parent commented
‘They’re together in everything they do at school anyway, What’s the point of
breaking them up for Homework?’
One parent expressed a wish that ‘every so often’ the Traveller children would do
something as a group together, whether it was an outing or a learning activity.
However she felt that it would be ‘wrong ‘ to divide the children at all times.
Parents in St Francis Park were supportive of both having a support service come to
the park for Traveller children only, but were also supportive of a school-based club
with an integrated group of children.
While all parents of second-level pupils who were interviewed were supportive of the
idea of the Stay in School initiative, they were also very positive about Traveller
children taking part in evening activities as a group. Most Parents felt that their
children would enjoy such an opportunity. Some Parents were unsure.2
2.4
Education Providers
2.4.1 Existing Provision
100% of people interviewed were of the opinion that after-school support has a very
positive impact on the quality of children’s education. Many people spoke of
2
It was not possible given the limits on this research to interview a representative number of teenage
Travellers. Other research will have to be carried out to ascertain their views.
17
individual cases they were familiar with of where children who were failing in the
system began to experience success. All the education providers interviewed were of
the opinion that Traveller children would benefit from inclusion in after school
support structures. It was widely recognised across this group that Travellers are a
disadvantaged group in society and that positive actions need to be taken to enhance
and promote the participation of Travellers in education.
There was a consensus that in as far as was possible, service provided to young
Travellers after school should be part of a package that is also available to children
from the settled community. Many people cited the fact that the children were
integrated in school as good reason to continue integration in any after school
structures. This is reflected in the enrolment policy of the four existing after school
support services in the area; Queen of Angels, Kilcross, Good Shepherd and
Ballyogan. These projects are open to all children but priority is given to, and the vast
majority of places are taken up by, children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Many
of the places are available to Travellers. In order to gain a clearer picture of the
services it is useful to create three categories:
Group1
Children who are in the catchment area of Queen of Angels, Kilcross
and Ballyogan after-school support projects.
Group 2
Children who are in the catchment area of the Good Shepherd after
school support club
Group 3
Children in second level who do not have access to after-school
support.
Group 1
A total of 28 Traveller children attend Queen of Angels, Holy Cross and St Olafs
National schools. Of these 16 children are at an age where they can access after
school support. These children live in a number of different areas: 10 children in this
group live in Moreen, 2 in Ballyogan, 2 in Kilcross and 2 children live in Bearna
Park. Currently 4 of these children are accessing the services.
The remaining 12 children are too young to access existing services. 5 children in this
group live in Ballyogan, 3 in Kilcross, 1 in Bearna Park, 2 in Burton Hall and 1 in
Cois Cairn.
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Group 2
16 Traveller children attend Good Shepherd N.S. all of whom live in St Francis Park.
Of these 8 children are of age to access the existing after school support structures in
the school. Currently all 8 children are enrolled in the club.
The remaining 8 children are too young to access this service.
Group 3
15 Traveller children attend St Tiernan’s C.S. At the time of this report no after
school service for second level pupils exists in the area. These children live in a wide
geographical area: 2 live in Kilcross, 3 live in Ballyogan, 5 live in Bearna Park, 3 live
in Moreen, 1 lives in St Francis Park and 1 lives in Rosemount.
Most people interviewed were strongly of the view that a qualified Teacher should be
present during club activities. A number of reasons were given for this:

Particular skills are necessary for working with children in any environment.
Even more skills are necessary to work with children from disadvantaged
backgrounds, as the children’s needs are even greater. While trained assistants
are invaluable in contributing to this work, the skills of a fully qualified
Teacher are crucial.

Trained Teachers are familiar with the curriculum and are therefore in a much
better position to help children with their homework than people who are
unaware of the curriculum.

Discipline can present major problems in an after school setting. Teachers are
equipped with the necessary skills to deal with discipline difficulties in a
constructive way. Of the four existing projects only the Good Shepherd afterschool club employ Teachers (one in the junior club and one in the senior
club). These Teachers also work in the school and are very familiar with the
needs of the children. Difficulties with discipline are not an issue in this club.
Many of the people interviewed felt that the clubs were under-resourced to deal with
the particular needs of Traveller children. As a consequence not all Traveller children
19
are accessing the services that are available. Problems cited include the lack of
suitably trained personnel and difficulties with transport. Lack of Parent awareness of
the value of the club was also cited as a barrier. Although many Parents were aware of
the existence of the club they were not pushing their children to join. As a result of
low participation levels there has been no noticeable improvement in young
Travellers performance in school, although some people reported an improvement in
some of the Traveller children’s attitude towards school. The problem remains,
however, that despite the existence of after-school supports for Traveller children in
primary school, many of these children are not accessing the services.
Most people interviewed who work in after-school clubs stressed the importance of
establishing and maintaining close links between the club and the school. In particular
it was mentioned that there should be some way of feeding information to the class
Teacher from the club and from the Teacher to club organisers. Time constraints and
lack of staff were cited as two of the main reasons why this communication does not
take place. This problem is less evident in the two school based clubs.
All of the education providers felt that establishing links with Parents was crucial to
the success of children’s involvement. Home visits and outreach by the visiting
Teacher for Travellers were seen as the way to create and foster closer links with
Parents.
2.4.2 Non-Existing Provision
While there was general agreement that current after-school provision needs to be
improved, there was also acknowledgement of the hard work done by both Project
Staff and Home-School Community Liaison Co-ordinators in starting after school
provision and attempting to make it accessible to young Travellers. However there
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remains a large number of children in both Primary and Second level education who
do not have access to after-school support.
(1) Primary Level
12 Traveller children in infant classes in St Olaf’s NS. Holy Cross NS. and Queen Of
Angels NS. do not have access to after school support. There are 8 children in Queen
of Angels, 4 in St Olaf’s and none in Holy Cross at present. It was a widely held
belief among those. interviewed that the earlier the intervention and the younger a
child receives support, the higher the chances of positive outcomes. Education
providers interviewed expressed the view that some form of after school support
should be put in place for this age group. There was a consensus that this support
should also be integrated and be made available to children from both the settled and
Travelling community. Queen of Angels was suggested as a location with the club to
take place between 1.30 and 2.30 twice a week. Transport would have to be made
available to St Olaf’s children to the club and to all children home from the club. It
was a common view that this service would provide the children with access to
play/art/ music and other such activities and not focus on academic schoolwork.
8 Traveller children in the Good Shepherd NS who are in Junior Infants-1st class do
not have access to after school support. All of these children live in St Francis Park.
One proposal was to place a mobile home in the park, which would act as a junior
education centre where after school support activities could be held for young
children. However due to the insecure conditions in St Francis Park local people felt
that this is not a viable option but may be something worth considering in the future.
A second suggestion is to use a mobile bus. Barnardos use one of these in a number of
areas. This has the advantage of working with the children in their own environment
and maximises the likelihood that all children will participate. The alternative to this
is to organise after school activities for the eight children in the school between 1.30
and 2.30 during the week. This is less flexible than a mobile unit. However the
children could be integrated with their settled peers if the club was organised in the
school.
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(2)
Second Level
As outlined in an earlier section of this report, there is currently no after school
provision for second-level pupils attending St Tiernan’s Community school. However
the Stay in School Programme is about to get underway in the school and Traveller
children are to be included in this programme.
A number of people interviewed felt that teenage Travellers would welcome the
opportunity to mix with other Travellers their own age. This view was expressed by a
number of teenage Travellers who were interviewed. There is a sense of isolation
among teenage Travellers that they do not have the opportunity to meet with other
Travellers their own age because they live apart from each other. Last year an
informal peer-support programme was organised by the Visiting Teacher, which
allowed this to happen. Teenagers were picked up in their homes, by car, and brought
on outings with other young Travellers of a similar age. It was noted that they enjoyed
the opportunity to trade stories of their own experiences of home, school and
community. Besides the social dimension to these outings, which were very
important, there was the added dimension of peer support and the opportunity to make
new friends, among young Travellers. However this service was organised on a very
informal basis and relied on the good will and availability of committed adults. It is
not ongoing but has pointed up the need for peer support activities to take place. A
number of adults have suggested that youth club type activities for Traveller children,
as a group are necessary. None of the children are involved in local existing youth
club activities.
One group that does work with this age group of Travellers is the Traveller Youth
Service. The Service have placed three youth workers in the area. However all three
of these workers are based on halting sites. Only one of the pupils, who lives in St
Francis Park can currently access this service. The remaining 14 pupils live in
Kilcross (5), Ballyogan (3), Bearna Park (5), Moreen (3) and Rosemount (1). The
youth Service has expressed its wish to work with these children and are open to
considering any proposals made.
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3. Recommendations
3.1
Introduction
After school provision in this area is a very new area. Yet in a very short period (less
than a year), a great deal of progress has been made. Parents whos children take part
are very enthusiastic about the benefits and possibilities that this new service offers to
their children. This progress is due to the hard work and commitment of the Home
school community liaison coordinators, teachers, club organisers, Visiting Teacher,
youth development officers and community employment workers who have combined
their efforts to get the projects off the ground. In relation to Traveller children, notable
progress has been made;

After school support has been offered to a total of eighteen children in the
Good Shepherd and Queen of Angels schools. Although not all of these
children have availed of the service, it is a considerable step forward to have a
service in place.

Support has been offered in an integrated environment with equality of
opportunity offered to children from both settled and Traveller communities.
This is very much in keeping with the wishes of Traveller parents. Parents
have been consulted about the service and their voices have been listened to.

All of this has been achieved on very small budgets.
Essentially after school support services have been established through the efforts of a
small, dedicated and hardworking group of people. Those involved are to be highly
commended for their commitment to bringing improvement to the lives of these
young people. However a lot more work remains to be done to increase the levels and
improve the quality of after school support that is available to young Travellers.
Unlike other areas, where Travellers live in close proximity to each other, many of the
Travellers in the area served by the five schools live at a remove from one another.
This presents greater challenges when considering projects such as after school
support for children. Innovative ways of ensuring Traveller children benefit from
services are required.
23
This report concludes with a list of recommendations of how participation of young
travellers can be enhanced. This is divided into two parts 3.2 Recommendations for
existing provision and 3.3 Recommendations for new provision.
3.2
Recommendations for existing provision
All Parents and Education Providers expressed satisfaction with the integrated nature
of the existing after school clubs. There is not, therefore, a need to set up more clubs
for the age group 1st class-6th class. However improvements are needed in these
existing services to improve the extent and the quality participation of Traveller
children

Homework support should continue to constitute a major element of each
club. This support should be augmented by other activities. In line with the
recommendations of the task force of the Travelling community these
activities need to acknowledge cultural diversity.

Each club should have at least one trained Teacher working in the club.
This is currently the situation in only one of the clubs, the Good Shepherd
club, where this policy has proved very successful. This should be replicated
in Queen of Angels, Kilcross and Ballyogan.

The existing services in Queen of Angels, Kilcross and Ballyogan should
be made available to Traveller children attending St Olaf’s NS and Holy
Cross NS. Transport will have to be made available to these children to allow
them to access the service. It should also be made other Traveller children who
require it.

Transport home from the club should be made available to children
attending the Good Shepherd club who live in St Francis Park. Two
current options for providing a transport service are the Traveller Youth
Service who have their own minibus, and the Southside Partnership
community bus. Other transport options should also be explored by the club
organisers.
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
There is a need to secure more long term funding for existing initiatives.
Currently all four clubs have funding to the end of the current school year.
Three year funding needs to be secured in order to provide a stable working
environment. This should be sought as a group rather than individual clubs
seeking funding in isolation. The commitment to Traveller inclusion is a
common to all four clubs and funding should be sought on this basis. Funding
is currently available from the Department of Education and Science ; The
Grant scheme for special projects to assist disadvantaged youth. Lessons
learned from other after-school projects point towards the eventual
mainstreaming of the service.

An education officer should be employed to help co-ordinate Traveller
inclusion in all the clubs. Professionals working in the field who are critical
to this service such as Home School Community Liaison Coordinators and the
Visiting Teacher for Travellers already have a heavy workload. The
experience of other project clearly shows the need for one person to have the
responsibility of co-ordinating traveller inclusion. This person would act as a
link between the families schools and the club.

Close links between the schools and the clubs need to be established and
built upon. A clear lesson from other projects is the need for close links
between schools and in particular class Teachers and the club. Close links also
need to be established between the RTTs and the clubs. This would be part of
the responsibility of the education worker.

There is a need to improve Parent knowledge and involvement. Parents
need to know that their children are going to be in a safe environment where
their culture is validated and they have the opportunity to learn in a supportive
way. Parenytal involvement also needs to be fostered. The positive experience
of the Good Shepherd club where the assistant is a Traveller needs to be
emulated. Training such as that offered to the workers in TESO should be
25
made available to interested Parents. Such training needs to be ongoing and
not just a once off input.

All clubs should have a management committee that sits at least once a
month to review objectives and to monitor and evaluate work. Each committee
should have at least one Traveller parent. It should also involve the Visiting
Teacher for Travellers who’s contacts with families are invaluable.
3.3
Recommendations for New Provision

In relation to the Stay in School Programme in St Tiernan’s Community
School the principle of affirmative action which was a key recommendation of
the Task force of the Travelling community can be applied. All Traveller
children in the school should be considered for inclusion in any after school
programme, which is to be established. As Parents have outlined the issue of
Transport is a key issue. Transport needs to be made available to participants.

A youth initiative needs to be established which brings young Travellers
from the area together as a group. The Traveller Youth Service should be
involved in any such initiative. This should be done following consultations
with all Traveller teenagers in the area. The education worker would have a
key role to play in developing this project.

New provision needs to be made for primary school junior class children.
Research shows that the earlier the intervention and support, the more
effective it is. A new service providing children with structured
play/art/craft/drama type activities should be established on at least a twiceweekly basis between 1.30 and 2.30pm. This service needs to be made
available in two areas; Balally / Sandyford and Churchtown. Currently, a
total of 14 Traveller children ; 9 children in Queen of Angels, 4 in Holy Cross
and 1 in St Olaf’s are too young to access existing provision. A new service
needs to be set up in the area to cater for these children (Queen of Angels has
been suggested as a possible location). This service could include a number of
26
children from the settled community but care must be taken to maintain group
size to less than twelve children.

A similar service also needs to be made available to 8 Traveller children
in Good Shepherd NS who are currently too young to access the existing
service. This service could be provided in the school to children from both
traveller and settled communities or to Traveller children on their own. It
could also be provided on site if a suitable mobile unit was available. The
availability of such a unit would mean that transport would not be necessary
for the children. The service should be made available at least twice a week
between 1.30-2.30pm.

The Education worker would have a key role to play in the establishment and
management of both these initiatives. Without an education worker it is
difficult to see any of these initiatives achieve their potential in relation to
Traveller children.
27
Bibliography
Moving On: Traveller Participation in Post Primary Education and Training
Southside Partnership 1998
Report of the Task Force on the Travelling Community
Government Publications-July 1995
Charting our Education Future
White Paper on Education, Government of Ireland-1995
Integrated Services and Children at Risk
Combat Poverty Agency, Barry Cullen-1997.
Urban After School Action Evaluation Report
Dr Phyllis Murphy 2000
Travellers and Education in Clondalkin
Clondalkin Partnership 1998.
Guidelines on Traveller Education in Post Primary Schools
Dept of Education and Science
Traveller Education: Resource Pack for use in Primary Schools
Visiting Teacher Service, Dublin 2000
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