Traveller children step into school

The report Travelling People and Public Sector Policies identified pre-school and special education as services which were not well provided for gypsy traveller children. Children were particularly vulnerable to bullying and were not always supported when incidents occurred, while there was a lack of cultural awareness of traveller lifestyles reflected in school policies and materials.

Among 37 other recommendations, the committee said that gypsy travellers should be included in the strategic planning of education services and the impact of their participation monitored in order to ensure that their views are considered and listened to.

Clementine MacDonald, a traveller who gave evidence to the committee, said, 'At last the politicians seem to have actually listened to what we were saying. But now it's up to the councils and other people to start doing the same. When I'm older I don't want my kids to go through what I did.' Alison Davies, director of Save the Children Scotland, commended the parliamentary committee for conducting an open and comprehensive inquiry which drew heavily on the life experiences of young travellers. She said, 'We have consistently highlighted the denials of rights experienced by young gypsy travellers, despite the fact that these are set out as international standards in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child - the right to be protected from discrimination, to have an education which meets your needs and the right to have the best health care possible.' In some areas steps have already been taken to meet the pre-school education needs of gypsy and traveller communities along the lines recommended by the committee. In Dumfries and Galloway a portable classroom, funded by the local education authority, has been stationed at the Thistle Grove site in Collin, near Dumfries, opposite a primary school to provide children with a stepping-stone into mainstream education.