Ms Maria Joyce:

The actions outlined in the national Traveller and Roma education strategy, which was launched in December, are about a whole-school approach and all of those wider supports and resources under TESS to engage with the school and deliver on those actions in a real way. They are about Traveller children having a more positive experience right from early years, and early years opportunity as well because only about 70% of Traveller children are in early years as compared with over 90% of the wider settled society. If the approaches are got right from there through to further and higher education and create a more positive environment for Traveller children throughout the school system, it is not further "policing", for want of a better word, or punitive measures that you need. If there is more wrap-around support with the actions in the Traveller and Roma education strategy delivered by schools, we will see more positive outcomes right through to the senior cycle of second level education. I would strongly encourage any of the members who has any role or remit in ensuring we implement policy that values the Traveller child and the Roma child within the system in a respectful and caring way, and works with parents to get the child through system with strong and high expectations, to do so. It is about ambition for Traveller children within the system.