ITM Education Working Group

Who are we?

We are a group of Travellers and settled people committed to actively pushing for equality and outcomes in Traveller education

The ITM Education Working Group is a forum where issues relating to the whole life experience of Travellers in education are discussed.

Aims of the ITM Education Working Group

• Provide a forum where issues concerning Traveller education can be discussed and debated
• To share information at a local and regional level in order to feed into national policies and initiatives, for example the implementation of the Traveller Education Strategy and soon to be re-established Advisory Committee on Traveller Education
• To document the experiences of Travellers in education
• To meet Traveller parents throughout the country
• To support Traveller representatives on the Advisory Committee on Traveller Education and the Traveller Education Strategy
• To influence policy at a local, regional and national level
• To lobby for change and for use of resources that make positive changes in education for Travellers

How to get involved

Any member of the Irish Traveller Movement is welcome and encouraged to join the ITM Education Working Group

Contact Details

Mary Cassidy                                                                 Paula Madden
Chairperson of the ITM Education Working Group         ITM Education Worker
Tallaght Travellers CDP                                                  4-5 Eustace Street
Unit 1A                                                                          Dublin 2
Killinarden Enterprise Park                   
Dublin 24                                                                       01-6796577
01-4664334                                                                  educationitm@gmail.com



Actions undertaken in 2009

The Education Working Group in 2009 held five regional workshops in Sligo, Limerick, Macroom, Tullamore and Kilkeeny with 35 member groups participating. The Group consists of representatives from Clondalkin Travellers Development Group, Tallaght Travellers CDP, Tullamore Travellers Movement, Barnardos/ TESO, the Parish of the Travelling People, National Traveller MABS, the Visiting Teacher Service for Traveller Education and Pavee Point. Inputs are also given from other member organisations who cannot attend meetings via phone, post or email and ITM members with an interest in education are encouraged to join the Working Group by contacting educationitm@gmail.com

The Education Working Group meetings aim to engage Travellers and Traveller parents in discussions about Traveller education and to look at the issues that they experience locally. The meetings also act as a platform to raise awareness about education and accessing rights in education.

The Education Working Group, in conjunction with Graínne O’Toole, developed an education section for the ITM Legal Packs. (link for education legal pack) This developed directly from member organisations at the AGM, who felt education legal rights should be addressed in the legal pack. The EWG also developed an information leaflet for Traveller parents on the budget cuts in May 09 (see ITM publications section on this website)   The Working Group will continue to develop education resources for member organizations in light of new education developments and suggestions through consultation with member organizations.

The ITM Education webpage in the future will look to highlight the work of member organisations in education and initiatives that local Traveller organisations have been involved in. This will provide an invaluable resource for member organisations to highlight their achievements in providing education resources and programmes, and hopefully will act to provide ideas and inspiration for other member organisations in the future. If you would like to highlight an education project that your local Traveller organisation was involved in, contact the ITM at (01) 6796577 or email educationitm@gmail.com


Role of the Working Group

The role of the ITM Education Working Group is as follows:

• It develops policy on education for the ITM to be adopted by the Central Group or ITM members
• It disseminates policy to members
• It allows for information to filter up from a local level to national
• It allows for networking between local and national
• It can also look at specific local issues and develop responses

Structure of Meetings

The Education Working Group meets approximately every six weeks. Meetings are held around the country and not specifically in Dublin. Member organisations often suggest locations in order to meet a need for debate around specific education areas. Meetings are broken down into two parts: the first section is a meeting with local parents, where local concerns can be raised and awareness raised; and the second half a business meeting for members of the working group.

Meeting with Traveller parents and Traveller learners to discuss education is crucial. As most local groups do not have staff that specifically focus on education and that hosting meetings affords the opportunity to discuss national developments and get local feedback. Education Working group meetings could easily become focussed on policy development; meetings with local groups keep the Working Group grounded in day to day issues. Workshops should be developed with Traveller children to get their needs and views, and to also focus on those who have left mainstream education to see what their needs and options are.

An agenda is agreed by the chair of the group and sent out to members at least one week in advance of the next meeting. Organisation of the next meeting is a constant item on the agenda, is as a space for information sharing on upcoming events and publications. Individual members can suggest items for the agenda by contacting ITM staff, who can then send it to the chair. Minutes taken at the previous meeting will also be circulated well in advance.

Guidelines for group hosting meeting

For the hosting group, there are a number of tasks. The first is to make contact (if not already made) with local Travellers, to see if there is any interest in participating in a discussion on education. If there is an interest in organising a forum with local parents, ideally an agenda should be drawn up. This way, local parents can decide what areas they want discussed with the education working group; once this has been agreed, the working group can be contacted. If a specific area is to be covered, a specific input can be given e.g. an input could be given on pre-schools, what current provision and practice is. This would help to move the discussion on, and would perform a key role in providing Traveller parents with information on current practices in education, and measures that may need to be challenged. Preparation work will also allow local Travellers to assess what areas they would like to see changed etc. and this can be channelled back to the working group so that they can be prepared and have as much information ready as possible. Once a rough estimate of numbers is available, the hosting group should ensure that a suitable space can be made available for the meeting. If the local group does not have room, a local hall/ community centre etc. should be booked. The ITM will cover the costs for renting the space.

Starting the meeting

Everyone should introduce themselves, and a brief introduction by the chair should explain the purpose of the meeting. Ground rules for participating should be raised at this point, including:

• The chair will invite participants to speak
• Each person having the opportunity to speak
• Respecting other people to speak (if someone else is speaking, no talking over them)
• Not mentioning individual names of people who are not present at the meeting

If a specific topic has been chosen and an input can be given, this should be done at this stage. If there has been no specific request for an input, meetings can start by using the ITM “Moving On” video as an ice-breaker. These have been used before and can have the benefit of providing a topic for discussion. The hosting group, if interested in doing this, should contact the education worker to bring a copy of either/ both to the meeting and arrange to have a DVD/ video and TV at the venue for showing either of these.

Once the presentation/ DVD/ video has ended, the chair will open the floor to observations. If there is a large number attending, it may be worthwhile to break into smaller groups to allow everyone the space to get their views across. When this happens, notes from each group should be relayed to the education worker for inclusion in the overall minutes.

Membership of the Working Group

Membership of the ITM education working group is open to ITM member organisations who have an interest in education. Currently the membership of the group is made up of:

Mary Cassidy, Chair of the Working Group (Tallaght Travellers CDP)
Mary Allen (Visiting Teacher for Travellers Service)
Collette Murray (Pavee Point)
Dermot Sreenan (National Traveller MABS)
Maureen Ward (Midland Regional Youth Service)
Ashling O’Sullivan (Clondalkin Travellers Development Group)
Cristina Hurson (Tullamore Traveller Movement)
Biddy Kavanagh (Tullamore Traveller Movement)
Charlie McDonagh (Tullamore Traveller Movement)
Winnie McDonagh (TESO)
Catherine McCarthy (Clare Care)
Kathleen McDonagh (Exchange House)
Mary Sherlock (Galway Traveller Movement)
Annemaire McDonagh (Galway Traveller Movement)
Shirley Martin (Galway Traveller Movement)
Deirdre Barrett (West Limerick CDP)
Fionnuala Spillane (Longford Traveller Movement)
Aoife Cooke (St. Margaret’s Traveller Community Association)
Loretta Holleran (Mullingar Traveller’s Men’s Health Project)
Margaret McDonagh (STAG)
Paula Madden (ITM Education Worker)


Contact details for the group can be obtained from Paula Madden at 0872410258 or 01-6796577 or educationitm@gmail.com