Ms Mary Cregg:

On the pilot projects, at the outset a set of goals was set out based on consultation and in collaboration with the Traveller representative groups. They identified what they saw as the main issues that they felt needed to be tackled. The goals identified included supporting students; improving the learning experience for students; supporting parents; supporting schools to improve attendance, participation and retention; developing linkages with community and other services; and to consider gathering data and assessment in order to have an evidence base that would inform future policy.

In terms of what is happening on the ground, each team has a home school community liaison officer and an educational welfare officer or school completion worker. Each team has two members of the Traveller or Roma community working as a team on the ground in the four sites of Dublin, Cork, Wexford and Galway.

The initiatives that are put in place are planned at the outset of the year. We recognise that there are regional variations. We also recognise that there is local knowledge among the Traveller representatives in the various areas about the specific issues that might have an impact on attendance and education. They differ across the various areas and, on that basis, the teams try to be as innovative as possible. The teams involved have identified certain initiatives that they have trialled to see what does and does not work. Part and parcel of that is to consider this in an overall context and ensure that operational and practical supports are provided to parents. By practical things, I mean assisting parents in navigating how to use the communication tools from schools, building relationships and understanding the culture and being the bridge between the Traveller community and the schools. That is one of the things that schools have seen as one of the key benefits of this collaboration. We also bridge links to community supports. Obviously Covid has had a huge impact on the normal school environment. Certainly the pilot teams were of huge benefit during the Covid period in terms of maintaining that connection with schools for the pupils involved.

There is a lot of practical work on the ground. There has been the development of resources that have been used locally in the schools. These resources were developed in conjunction with the Traveller organisations. There is also the introduction to Traveller culture and history within schools. That building of understanding is probably the key element that the informal feedback has given to us at this point in time.