Education of Traveller Children
The Irish Traveller community has been defined as “a community of people….who are identified (by themselves and others) as people with a shared history, cultures and traditions, including, historically, a nomadic way of life on the island of Ireland.
This includes those Travellers who live in ‘settled’ accommodation.
Data Collection
Data Collection for Traveller children is led by the Department’s team of Statisticians, in conjunction with the Additional Educational Needs Team and staff at Classroom 2000 (C2k).
All data is managed by the Department of Education’s Statistics branch according to the appropriate data protection policies.
For further information, visit the statistics section of the website
Funding for Traveller Education
The Department provides additional funding directly to schools with Traveller children. Schools budgets are determined by the Common Funding Scheme, within which Traveller children constitute a ‘factor’. This funding is calculated on a per capita basis.
The Department also allocates additional funding each year to the Education and Library Boards (ELBs) to provide educational services to Traveller children, their parents and their schools. This funding is a fixed amount, adjusted for inflation, and is distributed to the ELBs in April each year on a per capita basis. This is distributed on the basis of the number of Traveller children enrolled in schools in each Board area in the most recent October school census.
The Forum for the Education of Travellers' Children (N.I.)
The ELBs established The Forum for the Education of Travellers’ Children (N.I.) as a mechanism to share good practice and co-ordinate efforts across the north. The group continues to meet on a regular basis.
Joint North South Traveller Education Conference 2009
The Joint North South Traveller Education Conference took place on 11th March 2009 and attracted 170 delegates from across Ireland.
Useful Links:
School Circular – The Education of Children and Young People from the Traveller Community
