The Traveller Child’s - Wicklow County Childcare · the traveller child’s ... 4.2 results of qualitative research with traveller parents .. 66 4.3 results of one-to-one interviews

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The Traveller Child’s

experience of Early Childhood

Care and Education since the

introduction of the free pre-

school year

Marie Cuddihy

Dissertation presented in part fulfilment of the requirements for the

degree for Master of Arts in Early Childhood Studies,

Queen’s University Belfast.

Early Childhood Education Department

September 2014

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ABSTRACT

The aim of this research is to explore the Traveller child's experience of pre-school

since the introduction of the free pre-school year.

The literature shows that Travellers' educational outcomes are not on a par with non-

Travellers and that early education has a vital role in promoting inclusion from the

outset.

A mixed methods research approach was adopted to facilitate the collection of both

quantitative and qualitative data from early years’ educational services and Traveller

parents. A survey, interviews and a focus group were the tools used.

The results found that Traveller children are in the main not accessing pre-school

outside the community sector. Familiarity with pre-schools and relationships were

found to be important factors for Traveller families when choosing a pre-school.

Analysis of the results pointed to recommendations in the areas of on-going data

collection, partnership with parents in line with Siolta, standard 3, and supports a

well-resourced Equality & Diversity training plan combined with on-going mentoring

of Childcare practitioners.

Keywords: Travellers; Early years education; inclusion; free pre-school year;

universalism; Partnership; Equality & Diversity; Siolta and Aistear.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to acknowledge the assistance, guidance and support of the Early

Childhood Studies Team at Stranmillis University College, Belfast, throughout my

engagement with the MA in Early Childhood Studies. Specifically, I would like to

thank my supervisor, Dr. Barbara McConnell for her professional supervision at each

stage of this research.

I would also like to thank my family and friends, and colleagues in the Early Years’

sector for their encouragement, assistance and patience.

Finally, I wish to sincerely thank the Traveller Parents and Early Years Practitioners

who participated in and contributed to this project.

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ACRONYMS USED & EXPLANATION OF TERMS

AISTEAR

Aistear – The Curriculum Framework

CCSS Community Childcare Subvention

Scheme

DES Department of Education and Skills

DCYA The Department of Children & Youth

Affairs

ECEC Early Childhood Education and Care

ECCE Scheme

Early Childhood Care and Education

Scheme = Free Pre-school Year

EOCP Equal Opportunities Childcare

Programme

FETAC

Further Education & Training

Awards Council

NDP

National Development Programme

NEYAI National Early Years Access

Initiative

NEYQSS National Early Years Quality Support

Service

NCIP National Childcare Investment

Programme

OMC Office of the Minister for Children

OMCYA Office of the Minister for Children &

Youth Affairs

PPP Professional Pedagogy Project

SIOLTA Siolta – The Early Years quality

Framework

UNCRC UN Convention on the Rights of the

Child

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LIST OF FIGURES

Page number

Figure 2.1 Investment in Traveller education 2008-2013

9

Figure 4.1 Questionnaire Distribution and Results

48

Figure 4.2 Breakdown of Respondents by type of service 49

Figure 4.3 Breakdown of Respondents by size of service 50

Figure 4.4 Enquiries to Pre-school services about

admission by Traveller families since January 2010

51

Figure 4.5 Enquiries to Private Pre-schools by Travellers 52

Figure 4.6 Enquiries to Community Pre-schools by

Travellers

53

Figure 4.7 Number of Traveller Children who attend

Community Pre-schools

54

Figure 4.8 Number of Traveller Children who attend

Private Pre-schools

55

Figure 4.9 Equality & Diversity Training 56

Figure 4.10 Responsibility for ensuring good peer

relationships in Pre-school

57

Figure 4.11 Factors that the Community Sector thinks

would attract Traveller Families

58

Figure 4.12 Factors that the Private Sector thinks would

attract Traveller Families

59

Figure 4.13 Questionnaire Summary Findings

60

Figure 4.14 Table Summary of emergent themes from

Qualitative Research with Traveller Parents

67

Figure 4.15 Table Summary of emergent themes from

Qualitative Research with Childcare Providers

75

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CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .................................................................................. 7

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................................ 9

2.0 INTRODUCTION TO LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................. 9

2.1 CONTEXTUALISING EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE AND EDUCATION ......... 10

2.2 TRAVELLERS’ EDUCATION.......................................................................... 23

2.3 INCLUSION OF TRAVELLER CHILDREN IN THE EARLY YEARS SECTOR.............................................................................................................................. 28

2.4 SUMMARY OF LITERATURE REVIEW ......................................................... 40

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY ............................................................................... 42

3.0 INTRODUCTION TO METHODOLOGY ......................................................... 42

3.1 DESIGN .......................................................................................................... 42

3.2 PARTICIPANTS .............................................................................................. 44

3.3 ETHICS .......................................................................................................... 45

3.4 MATERIALS ................................................................................................... 47

3.5 PROCEDURE ................................................................................................. 48

3.6 CONCLUSION OF METHODOLOGY ............................................................. 51

CHAPTER 4: RESULTS ........................................................................................... 52

4.0 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................ 52

4.1 SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS ......................................................... 52

4.2 RESULTS OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH WITH TRAVELLER PARENTS .. 66

4.3 RESULTS OF ONE-TO-ONE INTERVIEWS WITH CHILDCARE PROVIDERS.............................................................................................................................. 73

CHAPTER 5: ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION .......................................................... 80

5.0 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................ 81

5.1 DISCUSSION ................................................................................................. 81

5.4 CONCLUSION OF DISCUSSION ................................................................... 92

CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ..................................... 94

6.0 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................ 94

6.1 RESEARCH QUESTIONS .............................................................................. 94

6.2 RECOMMENDATIONS .................................................................................. 96

6.3 SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS ......................................................... 97

6.4 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY ...................................................................... 98

6.5 BENEFITS OF THE STUDY ......................................................................... 100

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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Since the introduction of the free pre-school year in the Republic of Ireland in

January 2010, there have been many changes in the Early Years’ sector.

These changes have sharpened the focus on the Early Years sector and include

increased qualification requirements for early years’ workers (DCYA2, 2013);

compliance visits for childcare services (POBAL, 2014); emphasis on quality

standards within childcare services using SIOLTA and AISTEAR, the dual “Pillars of

Practice” (Hayes, 2013:47); Murray & Urban remind us of the specific, still relevant,

“quality targets” (Murray & Urban, 2012:69) in the area of diversity, as itemised by

The European Commission Network on Childcare in 1996.

These changes are measurable, tangible aspects of children’s education and care.

These statistics show the increase in the “Qualification Levels of Staff Working in

ECCE Services” (POBAL, 2013:53); “93.7% of services have had at least one

compliance visit from Pobal“(POBAL, 2013:71); “24 practitioners across the seven

services” (AISTEAR, 2013:24) took part in the 2011 – 2013 Aistear initiative. The

statistics can be documented to show that progress is being made in the sector.

Arguably, the changes that haven’t been documented are the experiences of

children who avail of the free pre-school year.

Under Outcome 2 of the National policy Framework for Children and Young people

2014-2020, the Irish government has committed to “Continue to increase investment

in high-quality early years care and education for all children” (Better Outcomes

Brighter Futures, 2014:71). The responsibility for ensuring that this investment is

meaningful and leads to brighter futures for all children lies with the policy makers.

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This piece of work focusses on the experiences of one group of children who access

pre-school, namely Traveller children. The main aim of the research is to get a

rounded picture of how Traveller children and their families negotiate the realm of

early years’ education since the implementation of the free pre-school year.

Another dimension to the research is how early years’ services fit into the equation.

Because, the free pre-school year (ECCE scheme) has been in operation since

January 2010, enough time has passed to let the scheme bed down and arguably

the time is right to look at how Traveller families experience the free pre-school year.

The expectations, around what information will be garnered from this research, lie in

getting a rounded picture of where Traveller children attend pre-school in 2014,

finding out what Traveller families experience when accessing pre-school and also

looking at how Childcare Services manage and further the inclusion and participation

of Traveller families.

At the conclusion, it is hoped, that both the statistics gathered and the emergent

themes generated from the research, will be combined to give a clear picture of how

Traveller children experience pre-school in 2014 and to recommend possible

considerations for policy-makers in the realm of inclusion in the early years’ sector.

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CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0 INTRODUCTION TO LITERATURE REVIEW

The aim of this literature review is to contextualise the Traveller child’s experience of

pre-school education in the Republic of Ireland looking through the lens of inclusion.

To achieve this aim, three areas will referred to.

The first of these areas will be Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) in the

Republic of Ireland - the history of ECCE will be explored, coupled with a look at

current provision since the introduction of the free pre-school year in January 2010.

Following this a general picture of Travellers’ participation in, and outcomes from,

education in Ireland, and beyond, will be presented.

The third area that will be considered is inclusion in education. In this section a

definition of educational inclusion will be clearly elucidated before looking at three

different inclusion policies which have been implemented in Early Years services in

Ireland and Northern Ireland, with a view to ensuring that all children achieve

comparable outcomes in the ECCE setting.

Finally, It will be seen that research questions will organically emerge, providing a

robust rationale to move ahead with the research and a strong foundation on which

to locate the research.

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2.1 CONTEXTUALISING EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE AND EDUCATION

Early Childhood Care and Education in Ireland has been expanding since the 1970’s

and what follows here is an overview of the development of the sector coupled with

recent major changes in the sector.

Prior to 2010

Changes in the 1970’s, particularly the removal of the ban on married women

working in the public sector meant that women could now continue to work outside

the home after marriage and during motherhood. (Corrigan, 2003).The childcare

agenda really only came into focus in Ireland in the early 1980’s. Up until then,

mothers usually looked after their own children in the home and for those who

worked outside the home, family members or child minders filled the gap (Corrigan,

2003). From the 1980’s onwards, the sector was evolving in response to the

changes in the labour force participation of females (Corrigan, 2003), and was made

up of private services, community services and specialist services. The majority of

these services would have been primarily a three to three and half hour pre-school

service and even those who provided full-time (more than five hours) or part-time

(three and a half to five hours) provided pre-school education during those times to

the relevant children (children from about three years up to five years) in their care.

Private Pre-schools

Private Pre-schools were fee-paying pre-schools. If you wanted your child to attend

pre-school and were ineligible for the Community or Specialist Pre-schools, you paid

a fee to the pre-school operator for the provision of pre-school education. This sector

developed largely due to the work of private individuals who did training courses in

the Montessori Method or other methods of ECCE and set up private enterprises.

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These private enterprises were supported by organisations such as the Montessori

Board and overarching membership childcare organisations which lobbied for

advances in the sector. Due to the fact that State support for childcare was limited to

specialist services, the efforts of these private services and their mother

organisations provided the basis for the current early childcare sector in the Republic

of Ireland. (Corrigan, 2003). The sector was initially un-regulated as is evidenced by

the fact that Pre-School Inspections were only introduced following the writing into

law of the Child Care (Pre-School Services) Regulations in 1996. (O’Kane, 2003).

Community Pre-schools

Community Pre-schools were in place to offer subsidised (often free) pre-school

education to those children most in need. These pre-schools were often found

adjacent to or part of Family resource centres. The pre-schools were run by a board

of management and children accessed the service through referrals from the Health

Service Executive, local Family Support Groups, Drugs Task Forces or Community

Groups. Up until the late1990s, childcare supports were administered through the

Health Board from the Department of Health. Most of this support was in the form of

small grants to Community-based services, which addressed the needs of the

referred children at risk.

Under the National Development Plan (NDP) 2000 – 2006, substantial funding was

made available, via the Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme, (EOCP) to the

community childcare sector, which included a package of capital and staffing grants

for community run childcare services (Blanchardstown Area Partnership and Fingal

County Childcare Committee, 2008). This initiative was implemented to support

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parents to access training and employment therefore, arguably, the supports to the

childcare sector were, at best, a secondary consequence, and, at worst, an

unintended consequence, of the policy reform.

From 2008 and as part of the National Childcare Investment Programme (NCIP)

2006-2010, staffing grants to Community Childcare services were phased out and

replaced by the Community Childcare Subvention Scheme (CCSS) (Blanchardstown

Area Partnership and Fingal County Childcare Committee, 2008). The major policy

change was that instead of the community childcare service receiving funding to pay

staff, services now received funding based on the individual economic status of the

parents of the children who attended the service. Arguably, again, the policy was not

aimed at children’s care and education but to support parents.

Specialist Pre-schools

Specialist pre-schools developed in Ireland to address particular needs, some like

Early Start and Traveller Pre-schools were policy decisions to tackle social

disadvantage while others, such as pre-schools for children with disabilities

organically grew as extensions of services targeting people with disabilities and while

they received government funding to a degree, were managed by community and

voluntary organisations, which relied on fundraising to provide the services needed.

Examples of these specialist pre-schools include Early Start, Pre-schools for children

with disabilities and Traveller Pre-schools.

EARLY START

In 1994, the Department of Education and Skills (DES), set up 40 pre-primary

services, called Early Start, in primary schools located in areas of urban

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disadvantage. The aim of this initiative was to target pre-schoolers who were

experiencing social disadvantage (Early Start Programme, 2013)

PRE-SCHOOLS FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES

This sector was usually catered for by charitable organisations, an example of which

is St Catherine’s (St Catherine’s, 2013). Access to St Catherine’s and other such

organisations was dependent upon a referral from the medical sector (St

Catherine’s, 2013). Some services were set up for children with particular Special

Educational Needs.

TRAVELLER PRE-SCHOOLS

In 2001 there were 56 pre-schools specifically for Traveller children in Ireland

(Villareal & Wagman, 2001). These schools which were historically generally

“created by voluntary bodies” (OECD, 2006:354), had started opening in 1978 to

address social and educational disadvantage (DES, 2003). By the year 2000, 98% of

teachers’ salaries and transport costs were being funded by the Department of

Education and Science (OECD, 2006). Arguably, the provision of segregated pre-

school education led to missed opportunities in terms of interaction and learning

across the groups in line with Social Learning Theory (Allport, 1954). Objective K of

the National Children’s Strategy, published in 2000 states that

“Children will be educated and supported to value social and cultural diversity

so that all children including Travellers and other marginalised groups achieve

their full potential” (The National Children’s Strategy, 2000: 37)

This signalled a move away from the segregated provision of education because

valuing social and cultural diversity only becomes a reality when all children have the

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opportunity to access all pre-schools and the opportunity to participate in the pre-

school when they gain access. The UN Convention states that all types of childcare

provision should be equally available to all children (Willoughby, 2004). This is

mirrored in the government report which states that “The future provision of an early-

childhood education and care service for all young children, including young

Traveller children, should be inclusive,” (McNamara, 2006:30). One of the

aspirations of this report was that Traveller children would access and participate is

mainstream early childhood care and education provision (McNamara, 2006).

McNamara went on to state that “It is important that segregated provision be phased

out, in a planned manner (McNamara, 2006:98).

The shift towards mainstream provision is shown by the table below. These figures

appeared in a Pavee Point Publication from April 2013, and highlight the reduction in

Traveller Pre-school education spending from 2008-2013.

Figure 2.1 – Investment in Traveller Education 2008-2013 €

Year

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

Pre-

School

Note 1

468,920

761.252

627,887

253,179

95,143

0

Source: Department of Education & Skills.

Note 1 – Pre-School and related transport coats. Now part of the mainstream

Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE). (Harvey, 2013:36)

This reduction in investment in the segregated model of provision combined with,

firstly, the aspiration and vision of the UN Convention and, secondly, the policy to

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“eliminate or reduce” the number of Traveller Pre-schools, goes some way towards

paving the path towards creating an inclusive educational environment but arguably

the rhetoric does not coincide with the reality.

Up to 2010, the ECCE sector organically grew in response to labour market

requirements, funded by various government departments. It was only after 2010,

that shifts in ways of thinking around the rights of the child and universal ECCE

provision began to take hold in government policy decisions.

Post 2010

From 2010 two major developments in the ECCE sector in the Republic of Ireland

shaped how evolving ECCE strategies would be managed. Firstly, the introduction of

a universal free pre-school year paved the way for changes that were to come,

Secondly in 2011, the Department for Children and Youth and Affairs (DCYA) was

established and a Minister for Children and Youth Affairs was appointed (DCYA3,

2013). Prior to this the Office of the Minister for Children was a junior ministry

attached to the Departments of Health, Justice and Education (Cousins,1996)

Arguably, this appointment signalled that issues surrounding children and ECCE

would be to the forefront of future policy making and policy implementation agendas.

(DCYA3, 2013)

The areas in which marked change have occurred and continue to occur are the

Introduction of the free pre-school year; the quality agenda, which includes the

quality frameworks and qualification requirements for those who work in the ECCE

sector; the consolidation of regulations around running an ECCE service; the

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universalisation of provision of services. These will now be examined in turn to

deepen the understanding of how current provision operates.

Introduction of the free pre-school year

The Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) free pre-school year was

introduced in January 2010. This scheme entitles all pre-school children to one

year’s free pre-school provision over 38 weeks. The scheme is universal with the

only eligibility criterion being that the child’s date of birth must fall between two

specific dates. For a child starting pre-school in September 2014 and wishing to avail

of the free pre-school year, she must have been born on or between February 2nd

2010 and June 30th 2011. The child may attend any pre-school which is in contract

with the Department of Children and Youth Affairs to deliver the scheme, provided

that pre-school has an available place for the child on the date of application. The

guidance from DCYA to parents is a follows

“There are approximately 4,500 pre-school services notified to the Health

Service Executive or registered with the Irish Montessori Educational Board.

All of these services are eligible to apply to participate in the ECCE

programme. A list of participating pre-school services is available for parents

from the local City or County Childcare Committee…Parents can contact

participating services in their area to arrange to enrol their child” (DCYA1,

2013).

The new free pre-school year was a completely new path in the provision of ECCE in

Ireland. As pre-school services signed contracts to become contracted to deliver the

service on behalf of the government, these services now found themselves having to

comply with the terms and conditions of the contracts. The terms and conditions

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require that quality of service is addressed and that a minimum qualification structure

is adhered to (DCYA2, 2013). As a consequence of this, it is necessary to consider

the existing quality frameworks that govern the early years’ sector. Qualification

requirements and related issues in the early years’ sector will also need to be

explored.

Quality Frameworks

The quality agenda in the pre-school sector is governed by two quality frameworks.

Both of these frameworks, SIOLTA and AISTEAR had been developed prior to 2010.

SIOLTA

SIOLTA (meaning seeds), was published in 2006 and iterates sixteen quality

standards that promote best practice in ECCE services. (SIOLTA, 2006). These

standards range from “Play” and “Identity and Belonging” to “Environment” and

“Rights of the Child” (SIOLTA, 2006). Prior to 2010 and before DCYA paid capitation

payments for all eligible children availing of the ECCE scheme, ECCE services were

encouraged to voluntarily engage with SIOLTA, but after 2010, compliance with the

terms and conditions of the ECCE scheme required engagement with SIOLTA

(DCYA4, 2013) SIOLTA co-ordinators were funded by the DCYA to guide a small

proportion of services towards formal engagement with SIOLTA and the

development of a service specific SIOLTA portfolio (Goodbody Economic

Consultants, 2011), Some intensive work was done by 134 services nationally

supported by SIOLTA co-ordinators/mentors. An evaluation of this work was

undertaken by Goodbody Economic Consultants. (Goodbody Economic Consultants,

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2011). It was found that there was a wide difference in the levels of engagement

across the 134 services. This equated to less than 4% of all services nationally as

there were 4250 services in operation (Goodbody Economic Consultants, 2011) at

the time of roll-out of this Siolta Quality Assurance Programme (QAP). The level of

engagement seemed to correlate with the intensity of the Siolta Co-Ordinator support

to the service. (Goodbody Economic Consultants, 2011). Therefore, it could be

argued, that without on-going intensive support, the services were less likely to

achieve the quality standards. This report also noted that going forward the Siolta

mentoring programme would require investment on a very large scale to replicate the

model across all settings. The phrase used to highlight this was “...a resource

intensive model” (Goodbody Economic Consultants, 2011:102). Arguably this model

of quality raising will prove too costly across the sector.

AISTEAR

Aistear, meaning “Journey” was published in 2009 and sets out the curriculum

framework for 0 to 6 year olds. The framework is made up of themes one of which is

“Identity and Belonging” (Aistear, 2009). An Aistear Toolkit is available on-line as a

resource for childcare providers to develop, revise and document quality curricula

(Aistear Toolkit, 2013). These curricula propose to ensure that children benefit from

learning that is steeped in interactions and play and which is assessed regularly to

ensure that children have the best possible learning outcomes (Aistear, 2009).

It could be concluded that, as both Siolta and Aistear concur, much emphasis must

be put on Identity and Belonging to deliver a quality service. As can be seen form the

Goodbody Report (Goodbody Economic Consultants, 2011), on-going, intensive

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investment is needed to progress quality in the sector and this quality investment

could include resources for advancing the Equality and Diversity pre-school agenda.

Analysis arising from Budget 2013 stated that “The quality dimension of the ECCE

programme, which is crucial if the scheme objectives and potential benefits are to be

realised, will be analysed” (Budget 2013: 33). Arguably, arising from this was the

announcement of the launch of National Early Years Quality Support Service

(NEYQSS) by POBAL in early 2014 (NEYQSS, 2014) and this shows a commitment

to the allocation of resources to the early years sector. The direction of these

resources needs to be carefully considered.

Qualifications in the sector

Nutbrown, in her recent report, states that the “… biggest influence on the quality of

early education and care is its workforce…When we talk about the ‘quality’ of staff,

their qualifications are key” (Nutbrown, 2012:14).

When the private pre-school sector started to mushroom in the 1980’s, there was no

regulation in place. “The first legislative control over early education services in

Ireland came into place in 1996, in the form of the Child Care (Pre-School Services)

Regulations (Department of Health, 1996)” (O’Kane, 2005: 231). This allowed pre-

schools to decide what level of qualification, if any, was required to operate the

service.

With the arrival of the pre-school regulations from 1996 onwards, and as re-iterated

in the updated 2006 regulations, it was recommended that “a sufficient number of

suitable and competent adults are working directly with the pre-school children in the

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pre-school service at all times” (Pre-School Regulations, 2006:6). This phrasing is

open to interpretation as “suitable” and “competent” does not necessarily imply that

qualifications are required.

With the introduction of the free pre-school year there was a shift towards the

requirement for qualifications. Services which were led by a childcare worker who

didn’t have a minimum of FETAC Level 5 in Early Childhood Education were given

over two years to upskill to the minimum requirement. From September 2012, this

was vigorously enforced with services who didn’t comply becoming ineligible to be

part of the ECCE free-pre-school year program (DCYA2, 2013)

As recently as November 2010, it was accepted, in Ireland, that “There isn’t a fund

available to assist the ECCE workforce to engage in education and training”

(Workforce Development Plan, 2010:9). However, Right from the Start report

recommends extending free-pre-school provision to children from the age of three up

to the time the child starts primary school and that this change would require prior

investment in up skilling and further education of the existing early years workforce

(Right from the Start, 2013).

An incentive to up skill, aimed at childcare practitioners, was presented in the form of

a higher capitation per child being paid to the pre-school service, if the leader had a

qualification of FETAC 7 (or higher) in Early Childhood Education and every

assistant was qualified to a minimum of FETAC 5 in Early Childhood Education

(DCYA2, 2013). Arguably, this incentive had the intended consequence of motivating

childcare workers to engage in further education but it also had the unintended

consequence of providing two tiers of ECCE provision, one led by childcare

professionals who hold minimum qualifications and the other led by childcare

21

professionals who have higher qualifications. In the UK, according to Nutbrown, the

children who attend the service with the more highly qualified staff will have better

outcomes than those who are cared for and educated in the services who adhere to

the minimum standards required. (Nutbrown, 2012). Arguably, the same is true in the

Republic of Ireland, where the children who are educated by the more highly

qualified staff will have better outcomes than those children who are educated by the

educators who hold minimum level qualifications. Arguably this two tier provision

favours some children over others and promotes inequality of provision as well as

inequality of outcomes.

In tandem with the quality agenda and the changing requirements in terms of

qualifications, a streamlining of the registration process for pre-schools is expected

for 2014, and there is a shift towards towards the ethos of “progressive

universalism”. (OMC, 2007:39). What follows is a brief exploration of the proposed

new pre-registration process and a short exploration of the ethos of universalism as

evidenced in the Irish ECCE context.

New Pre-Registration Process for Pre-schools

To date, in the Republic of Ireland, a childcare service must advise TUSLA, formerly

the HSE, of the intention to open, 28 days in advance of opening. Therefore no

checks are in place prior to opening a childcare service. Upon opening, the new

childcare service will be visited by the Pre-School Inspection Service. This visit

results in a report which lists the areas in which the service is non-compliant and

gives a time-frame for the service to work towards compliance.

22

From September 2014, it is proposed that, a new system will operate, whereby all

childcare services intending to open, will have to pre-register with the Pre-School-

Inspection service, to ensure that standards around qualifications, garda vetting,

curriculum, health and safety, and quality are met prior to opening. Arguably, this will

promote higher quality of services from the outset because though services who do

not meet the quality criteria will not open.

“Progressive Universalism”

As mentioned earlier, when the new free pre-school year was introduced in 2010,

one of the ideals was that any child can attend any service. Another step on from this

is the ethos of “progressive universalism” (OMC, 2007:39) where all children receive

the free pre-school year (universalism) and those who need extra supports (including

Travellers) receive these supports within pre-school provision, or can access the

extra supports in collaboration with pre-school providers and the wider community

(progressive provision). Arguably, progressive universalism is ideally at work by

implementing the free pre-school year (Right from the Start, 2013). It could also be

argued that the phasing out of the Traveller pre-school which has been recently been

called an elimination of, or a reduction in the number of, Traveller Pre-schools

(Quinn, 2013) coupled with the option for those children who have a diagnosis of

disability, to split the ECCE pre-school provision over two calendar years supports

the ethos of “progressive universalism” (OMC, 2007:39). However, the continuation

of the Early Start Programme coupled with the two-tier ECCE provision based on the

23

qualification level of the early years’ workers, seem to be out of synchronisation with

this ethos.

Summary of Context

The preceding pages have given an overview of the historical context, before 2010,

and current provision, since 2010, of ECCE in the Republic of Ireland and has given

a basis for understanding the ethos underlying the provision of Early Childhood Care

and Education and movements in the sector in terms of quality, qualifications,

funding, entitlement and regulation.

This overview and contextualisation of the ECCE sector will give a starting point, in

which to locate the research. This starting point will be augmented by looking

Traveller Education, specifically Traveller ECCE provision and experiences, which

will be dealt with in detail in the next section.

2.2 TRAVELLERS’ EDUCATION

Drawing on studies and literature from the UK and further afield, and general studies

from Ireland in relation to the educational needs of Travellers, this chapter will give a

picture of Travellers’ experience of education generally before moving on to look at

prejudice, participation and outcomes in relation to Traveller children.

“Travellers remain among the most disadvantaged groups in Irish society” (Ronayne,

1997:2). Arguably, this continues to be the case, especially in the case of traveller

children who are “…a minority within a minority” (Murray, 2012:569), Traveller

children suffer the negative outcomes attached to being a Traveller as well as being

24

a minority within the Traveller community, that is, being a child, a minor who has no

power and often no voice. Traveller children suffer from being a Traveller and further

suffer from being a child. (Pavee Point, 2013)

Historically educational attainment has been low among Travellers with only 40% of

Traveller children making the transition to secondary education in 2002/2003 (Pavee

Point, 2013a:1)

Looking at the pre-school experiences of Traveller children in Ireland since 2010 has

proved difficult as there is a paucity of literature in the area due to the relative

newness of the free pre-school setting.

While it is accepted in the Republic of Ireland that “Traveller children should have

access to an inclusive, well-resourced, well-managed, high-quality early-childhood

education, with an appropriately trained staff operating in good-quality premises”

(McNamara, 2006:32), a Northern Irish study has concluded that while integrated

educational provision is an important choice for many Travellers, other Travellers

would choose segregated provision as the less risky option and preferred type of

education for their children. (Hamilton, Bloomer & Potter, 2012).

It could be argued that a number of factors contribute to the choices Traveller

families make around early education, namely; prejudices felt and experienced by

Travellers in the school setting, including the issue of the “…fear of bullying and

discrimination” (Hamilton et al, 2012:517); barriers to participation in the school

setting (Vandenbroeck et al., 2010); poor educational outcomes (Mac Greil, 2011)

are some of the reasons why integration works in some cases and segregation is

chosen in other instances.

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Prejudices

Owners and managers of, what were previously, private pre-schools, are

recommended to have policies and procedures in place that promote openness,

accessibility and equality for all of those children who attend their pre-school.

(Murray, C., Crooke, M., O Doherty, A. & Hanrahan, M., 2006). Even when these

policies are in place, concern still exists that there is “...a mismatch between policy

and practice where some children matter more than others” (Cudworth, 2008: 361).

A more important consideration is the availability of training, support and resources

to empower childcare providers to implement the guidelines. In 2011 and 2012, 231

childcare services (out of 4,500 services) nationally in Ireland engaged in Diversity

and Equality Training (Evaluation Report. 2013) which was shown to improve the

quality of policy implementation within those services. Arguably this is progress for

those 5% of services but 95% of services are still without training. An evaluation

report recommended that

“National initiatives should be designed and planned, hand-in-hand with their

evaluation process” (Evaluation Report, 2013:129).

This points to the possibility that National Initiatives will ensue but confirmation of this

or a proposed timeline has not been made public. This does little to further the up

skilling of 95% of childcare services in Ireland. Among the 95% of the workforce, who

have not benefitted from this training, there may be a latent prejudice, which has

been put down to a lack of “…awareness…” (Murray, 2012:579) across a number of

areas including, being self-ware, recognising oppression, being empathetic, valuing

differing contributions to society and the ability to challenge existing norms.

26

Another issue around prejudice for Travellers is that

“Many Traveller parents feel that they cannot take for granted things that settled

parents generally do not even have to consider, for example that their child will

be welcomed in some schools, will be treated fairly, and will have their needs

dealt with in a respectful way. This can lead to ambivalence and a negative

attitude on the part of some Traveller parents regarding the value of formal

education” (McNamara, 2006:22),

As outlined above, it could be argued that direct, indirect or felt prejudices, which

may stem from the early years setting or the family of the Traveller child may impact

upon the child’s access to a particular setting and/or the Traveller child’s participation

within the setting. (Murray et al, 2006; Murray, 2012; McNamara, 2006)

Participation

Apart from prejudices, direct or otherwise, which may be present in the pre-school

structure, there are a number of other issues which impact upon a Traveller Parents

decision to enrol his/her child in a pre-school setting and then follow up by enabling

the child’s attendance. These include; Literacy and numeracy issues; Lack of

awareness around timelines for enrolment; Physical access considerations, that is,

bad roads and services from sites; Lack of appropriate clothing; Financial restraints

impacting upon school resources” (Vandenbroeck et al., 2010)

Therefore, even if the child has the option of attending a particular service, there are

many barriers to participation which are outside the control of the childcare service.

Arguably, if the Traveller family had supports to address these barriers, the Traveller

child would be in a better position to participate in mainstream settings.

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As “…Traveller communities have shifted their emphasis towards a greater desire for

formal education dictated by concerns for their children’s futures” (Myers, McGhee &

Bhopal, 2010: 545), arguably, this move towards participation should be matched by

early years’ services engagement with the Identity and Belonging Streams of both

Siolta and Aistear, the quality frameworks, and Equality and Diversity upskilling.

Outcomes

What is not disputed is that “In both Ireland and the UK, Traveller children reportedly

suffer the lowest rates of educational attainment of any group” (Nugent, 2010: 55).

Being relatively inadequately educated affects one’s life chances and provision of

quality pre-school services is one of the early preventative measures that policy-

makers can put in place, as asserted by Murray, who stated

“...that early childhood education and care is a key policy tool to combat social

exclusion” (Murray, 2012: 569)

This is re-iterated by Bello

“According to available studies, kindergarten attendance positively impacts

the success in primary and secondary schools of Roma and Traveller pupils”

(Bello, 2011:53).

Murray and Bello both espouse the importance of early childhood care

and education, specifically for Traveller children.

As previously discussed, prejudices and barriers to participation have been shown to

impact upon the Traveller Child’s experience of and outcomes from early childhood

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care and education and that is why it is imperative that the experience of Traveller

children within the early years sector is researched and evaluated. This analysis

could inform policy decisions and develop practices and norms that embrace the

Traveller Community, the pre-school sector and the wider community. Following this

through could inform the development of a national inclusion policy for the pre-school

sector in the Republic of Ireland.

2.3 INCLUSION OF TRAVELLER CHILDREN IN THE EARLY YEARS SECTOR

This section will consider inclusion in the pre-school sector. A definition of inclusion

will be put forward at the outset to set the context for the following discussion and

analysis of inclusion as it currently operates and how best practices around inclusion

have developed in other jurisdictions.

Before moving forward, a definition of social inclusion as it refers to this piece of

research will be defined.

Definition of inclusion

The meaning of social Inclusion has been defined, redefined and disputed. Social

inclusion is a process (Topping & Maloney, 2005), and it shifts overtime (Topping &

Maloney, 2005; Millar, 2007). For the purposes of this piece of work the following

definition of inclusion, which relates specifically to educational inclusion will be

adhered to

“Inclusion may be seen as the drive towards maximal participation in and

minimal exclusion from early years settings” (Nutbrown & Clough, 2006: 3)

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Theory underpinning inclusion

Social Learning Theory is a worthwhile lens with which to view the importance of

inclusion in the early years Sector. Inclusion is seen here as enabling participation in

mainstream pre-school settings for all groups irrespective of ability or cultural

background. The Contact Hypothesis (Allport,1954), can be explained by

“...sustained inter-ethnic contact can promote perspective taking and acceptance

of and respect for difference” (Hughes, Campbell & Jenkins, 2011: 981)

When applied to the pre-school sector, the Contact Hypothesis can arguably have

the same outcomes when different groups, which have traditionally been segregated,

are brought together for the purpose of education and care. The social learning that

occurs during contact promotes empathy and respect for difference and leads to

enhanced social inclusion. Just being admitted to the setting, though, is not enough.

Social learning needs to happen. Putnam’s assertion that admittance of an out-group

causes the original members of the group to pull back (Putnam, 2000), may happen

initially, but, arguably if the contact is” sustained” (Hughes et al, 2011: 981), there will

be time for social learning to happen and a gradual process of understanding to

evolve.

However, for Allport’s Contact Hypothesis (Allport, 1954) to produce positive results,

in the pre-school sector in the Republic of Ireland, consideration needs to be given to

five areas;

1. Firstly, when contact does occur, that it is meaningful and the children have

the opportunity to influence the inclusion process (MacNaughton et al, 2007).

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2. Secondly, that tasks or formal learning do not impinge upon the social

learning. (Tomovska, 2010)

3. Thirdly, that leadership, as a skill is valued, enhanced and made use of to

produce a vision for change in individual pre-schools. (Whalley, 2011)

4. Fourthly, that pre-school practitioners receive training in Inclusion to develop

reflective and reflexive thinking (Brock, 2006) and have the resources to

research and develop inclusive practices (Miller & Cable: 2011)

5. Fifthly, that inclusion policy at national level is not subsumed by the

unintended consequences of other policy changes because “...there are still

policymakers who do not understand the crucial nature of early years

education” (Brock, 2006:6) and the role of Social Learning Theory as a way of

understanding how Inclusion can be facilitated by using Allport’s Contact

Hypothesis (Allport, 1954).

When these five factors are in place, arguably, the process of inclusion (Topping &

Maloney, 2005), will gain momentum and become a reality for all children in the

Republic of Ireland.

Article 2 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) states that a child

has the right to be protected from discrimination. Article 8 of the UNCRC states that

the child has a right to his/her identity (Murray & Urban, 2012). These two rights,

which are two of many, combined with three objectives of The Council of Europe in

its Rights of the Child Strategy 2012-2015, which are

“promoting child-friendly services and systems”

“guaranteeing the rights of children in vulnerable situations (such as those

with disabilities, in detention, in alternative care, migrant or Roma children);”

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“promoting child participation., (Council of Europe, 2012:1).

support the necessity to have inclusive policies in place for all children.

As mentioned earlier, Traveller pre-schools are being phased out in the Republic of

Ireland with social inclusion being one of the goals of this process (National

Evaluation Report, 2003). Arguably, the justification for this phasing out decision can

be found in the definition of social inclusion as “...Increasing participation for children

and adults in learning and teaching activities, relationships and communities of local

schools” (CSIE, 2013: 1),

The timing of the phasing out of Traveller pre-schools roughly coincided with the

introduction of the ECCE scheme in 2010 when universality was introduced in terms

of pre-school provision and entitlement. In Ireland in 2013, an Early Years Strategy is

being developed and if “backed up by national commitment… could… remove

barriers of inequality” (Right from the Start, 2013:1)

Further afield, in the context of Northern Ireland, research considered “...the issue of

segregated education for the Traveller community and how for some this segregation

can exacerbate social exclusion, disadvantage and discrimination” (Hamilton et al,

2012: 501). This assertion points to the fact that Traveller children would experience

increased social inclusion by gaining access to and participating in mainstream

education provision but not all Traveller families would choose the integrated route

due to worries about safety and the type of education their child would receive

(Hamilton et al, 2012). This demonstrates the importance of an awareness of the role

of all stakeholders in the journey towards inclusion in the Early Years sector, and an

acknowledgement that some Traveller specific provision may need to continue

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Stakeholders in inclusion

“Inclusion does not operate in a vacuum” (Themelis, 2009:262). The roles of six

distinct stakeholders combine to make inclusion (or non-inclusion) an ever-evolving

process.

The Child as an Inclusion Stakeholder

As stated earlier, Traveller children are a minority (Murray, 2012) and their inclusion

in or exclusion from pre-school is outside their control and in the hands of their family

of origin, the pre-school sector, government policy and society in general.

The Family as an Inclusion Stakeholder

The relationship between the pre-school provider and the Traveller community and

Traveller parents is also important to how Traveller children experience pre-school

and in what setting. This relationship may be impacted upon by “...lack of trust

between schools and parents” (Times Educational Supplement, 2012). What should

not be overlooked, during the research is that Travellers are active agents in their

own quest for education and services and are not merely recipients of education,

who have education bestowed upon them by social policy implementers.

“Travellers are doing what they always have done and still do, and that is

taking control for themselves and choosing what specific educational

opportunities on offer will benefit them” (O’ Hanlon, 2010: 239).

It is well documented that Traveller Parents have negative memories of school

themselves and this fuels fears around their children’s safety in the educational

settings (Myers, McGhee & Bhopal, 2010).

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Other considerations for Traveller parents when making choices around education

include

The mismatch between the curriculum and Traveller Children’s lives (Myers,

McGhee & Bhopal, 2010). How this challenge was overcome in one instance,

is demonstrated by the cameo of “A Traveller boy” (Murray, 2012:578) whose

identity was ably supported by practitioners who had engaged in Diversity and

Equality Training.

The prospect of “cultural erosion” (Myers, McGhee & Bhopal, 2010:534) may

inhibit Traveller parents’ engagement with early education. The minimising of

the importance of Traveller culture is a worry for Traveller families. Again a

cameo of “A 4-year-old Traveller Child” (Murray, 2012: 578) shows how this

may happen, whether motivated by protective measures or not. Mac Greil

asserts that this is not an unfounded worry as there is a tangible risk that

participation for Travellers in education will lead to “cultural de-radicalisation”

(Mac Greil, 2011:305)

As can be seen from the above points, the Traveller child’s family has a huge impact

on the child’s access to and participation in early childhood care and education.

Early Childhood Practitioners as Inclusion Stakeholders

Arguably, when the Traveller Child gains access to and attends the service, there is

another crucial factor which impacts upon inclusion in the pre-school sector, namely

the role and attitudes of the teacher/early years’ practitioner.

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The level of qualifications of pre-school teachers impacts positively on children’s

outcomes (Yoshikawa et al., 2013). Recchia & Lee recognise the “…power of early

childhood teachers” (Recchia & Lee, 2013: 94) in the arena of inclusion. Recchia and

Lee also support the training of these professionals before they work in services as

well as advocating for their continued professional development to “…help guide the

process of changing professionals’ thinking in ways that will lead to changes in their

actions in schools and classrooms” (Recchia & Lee, 2013: 94)

A further consideration is the quality of interactions between the practitioner and the

child. Interactions are impacted upon by the level of practitioner qualifications, ratios

and group size but having these factors in place does not guarantee positive

interactions (Yoshikawa et al., 2013).

Recchia & Lee postulate that there are six competencies that early years’

professionals need to hone to make inclusion a process in the classroom (Recchia &

Lee, 2013). However, the continued development of these competencies needs to

work in tandem with the general ethos and practices of the school community. “In

order to successfully carry out the hard work of enacting inclusion, teachers need to

know they are not alone” (Recchia & Lee, 2013:91). This is where the role of the

educational institution comes into play

The Pre-School as an Inclusion Stakeholder

Arguably, the pre-schools which are now part of the ECCE scheme have a vital role

to play in ensuring that social inclusion is a reality and not just a dream “...the

commitment of the head teacher and senior management team to the inclusive ethos

of the school is crucial in setting the tone of the school towards positive treatment of

Gypsy, Roma and Traveller pupils” (Bhopal & Myers, 2009: 299). Murray takes this a

35

step further by postulating that early childhood care and education settings can

challenge and counteract biases that exist due to hierarchical framings of identity

and belonging (Murray, 2012).This is where leadership comes into play. Engaging in

continued professional development as a manager/leader can enhance leadership

qualities and models good practice. Team members learn by this social modelling.

As Roberston states “...leadership involves pushing against current ways of doing

things” (Robertson, 2006: 43). To promote inclusive early years care and education,

providing leadership training to early years leaders, might be an element worth

considering.

As previously alluded to, attitudes around challenging bias and respecting difference

need to be considered in the ethos of childcare services. (Right from the Start, 2013)

and for this to be achieved the Expert Working Group recommended rolling out the

Diversity and Equality Guidelines for Childcare Providers nationally, in conjunction

with “mandatory training and support for diversity and equality practice” (Right from

the Start, 2013: 21).

The Community as an Inclusion Stakeholder

Murray and Urban postulate that Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC)

Settings “…have a role in building communities” (Murray & Urban, 2012: 162).

Providing spaces for families to connect can start the process of building supportive

communities. One of the spaces where parents and children connect can be as

simple as the pre-school entrance area. That is why this area needs to be welcoming

and comfortable for all parents. (Murray & Urban, 2012). Taking this role of the early

years sector as a given, the potential for community building between Traveller

36

families, non-Traveller families, early years teachers and the wider community is

boundless.

Society as an Inclusion Stakeholder

“Good intentions are not enough” (Gorski, 2008: 515) in the area of intercultural

education. Just because our administrators support equality and diversity and a

strong leadership stance is taken, our early years teachers possess the six

competencies (Recchia & Lee, 2013) and mandatory training is recommended in

Equality and Diversity (Right from the Start, 2013), it has been shown in a recent

study that attitudinal changes relating to equality, diversity and multiculturalism, that

come about as a result of training, up skilling, dialogue and consensus are not

necessarily translated into action on the ground. (Pittman, 2013). The practitioners

and stakeholders in the early childhood sector have the information, agree that it is

important but behaviour change does not follow. A societal shift in how minority

groups are viewed needs to happen to enable inclusion across society and this may

happen as a consequence of inclusion in the Early years Sector by virtue of Social

Learning Theory (Allport,1954)

With some or all of the stakeholders playing an active role in promoting and enacting

inclusion in the early years setting, interventionist policies can be put in place to

further the pro-active inclusion of all children in the early years’ sector.

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Interventionist policies

What follows is a look at three interventionist policies taken on board to promote

inclusion in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Diversity and Equality Framework (Republic of Ireland)

The policy to “support childcare practitioners, early childhood teachers, managers

and policy makers in their exploration, understanding and development of diversity

and equality practice” (OMC, 2006: ix) in the Republic of Ireland focusses on the

training of early childhood practitioners in Diversity and Equality guidelines. The

limitations attached to the roll-out of the Diversity and Equality Framework have been

dealt with previously and are mainly confined to resources. Progress could be

achieved, if the recommendations of the Evaluation Report were actioned

(Evaluation Report, 2013), namely the collaborative development of national

Diversity and Equality Initiative based on the Framework (Evaluation Report, 2013)

and the inclusion of Diversity and Equality modules as part of FETAC 5 & 6 training

in the future. This coupled with the recommendation from Right from the Start to

“Roll out the Diversity and Equality Guidelines for Childcare Providers

nationally, along with mandatory training and support for diversity and equality

practice” (Right From the Start, 2013:22)

could further the Diversity and Equality agenda within pre-schools to enhance the

inclusion of all children in the sector.

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Arguably, other stakeholders in the inclusion equation in the Republic of Ireland are

being somewhat ignored, as the roll-out of the Diversity and Equality Guidelines only

focusses on the early years educators within the early years’ service. In an effort to

view a wider perspective, Diversity and Equality initiatives from other jurisdictions,

will be discussed with a view to exploring how these initiatives encompass other

stakeholders needs.

The Media Initiative (Northern Ireland)

This interventionist programme operated by showing short cartoon clips on television

over a three week period, a few times a year. The clips were aimed at young

children, using fun characters and the underlying messages were about inclusion.

These clips were discussed in pre-school, led by the early years’ educators, who

received relevant training and were provided with back-up resources to help re-

enforce the learning. Parents were also brought on board to receive information and

play an active role in the learning (Early Years, 2009)

The evaluation of the initiative, acknowledged the innovativeness of the programme,

showed a high level of engagement, across all stakeholders, with the programme but

demonstrated no discernible changes in the of willingness pre-school children to be

more inclusive generally. Partnership with parents was mentioned as an important

factor in the mix. (Coral, 2012)

This Media initiative brought the children, the parents and the wider community into

the Inclusion equation, and explored the possibilities of making inclusion an organic

reality by bringing all the stakeholders together. Arguably, this model of intervention

where different stakeholders are brought together in a joint initiative could be

39

modelled more extensively in the Republic of Ireland with an emphasis on

partnership with parents, which was an issue that was noted in the evaluation of the

Media Initiative.

TOYBOX Project – (Northern Ireland)

The Toybox Project aims to tackle disadvantage, exclusion and poor educational

attainments experienced by Traveller children through supporting them from birth to

4 years. The project operates by partnering with parents and children and delivering

outreach interventions through the medium of play. Staff were employed to carry out

his work and some government funding was accessed. (Early Years1, 2014). One of

the specific aims of the project was to “actively promote their (Traveller Children’s)

enrolment in pre-school settings” (McVeigh, 2007:6).

The TOYBOX project which involved, children, parents and the wider community, is

unique in that it intervenes early in the child’s life to, firstly, increase the child’s

likelihood of attending pre-school and secondly, equip the child’s family to play a

more active role in the child’s education.

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2.4 SUMMARY OF LITERATURE REVIEW

In summation, what the literature has shown is; educational outcomes for travellers

are not on a par with non-Travellers (Nugent, 2010: Pavee Point 2013); early

childhood care and education impacts positively upon outcomes for children (Murray,

2012: Yoshikawa et al., 2013); To ensure that an inclusive ethos is active in the pre-

school setting, childcare services need to engage with Diversity and Equality training

that is mandatory (Right from the Start. 2013); inclusive pre-school education

provides better outcomes for some Traveller children (Hamilton et al, 2012); pre-

school leaders have a vital role to play in the promotion of social inclusion (Bhopal &

Myers, 2009); relationships between pre-schools and Traveller parents need to be

focussed upon (Times Educational Supplement, 2012) always keeping in mind the

factors which act as barriers to participation in early years education; Travellers

themselves ultimately have the final say in which educational options they wish to

utilise (O’ Hanlon, 2010). Social Learning Theory is a powerful lens through which to

view educational inclusion and how it may augment social inclusion in the long term.

As stated at the outset, the main aim of this study is to tell the story of the Traveller

Child’s experience of pre-school in the Republic of Ireland in 2014

From the preceding Literature, the following research questions arose,

1. Where, in 2014, do Traveller Children attend pre-school?

2. What are Traveller parents’ views on how their children experience pre-

school?

41

3. Are pre-schools equipped to understand what Traveller families are looking

for in a pre-school?

Prior to asking these questions, a clear, relevant methodology will be designed to

ensure that the right questions are asked of the right people and that useful data is

collected.

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CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY

3.0 INTRODUCTION TO METHODOLOGY

The objective of this study was to gain an understanding of the Traveller child’s

experience of pre-school since the introduction of the free pre-school year in January

2010. Based on the questions arising from the literature review, namely

1. Where, in 2014, do Traveller Children attend pre-school?

2. What are Traveller parents’ views on how their children experience pre-

school?

3. Are pre-schools equipped to understand what Traveller families are looking

for in a pre-school?

this study seeks to examine how the inclusion of Traveller children into mainstream

pre-schools has been achieved. The study specifically looks at the numbers of

Traveller children visible in mainstream settings, how Travellers have been affected

by the Transition, what factors have impacted upon the process, the role of early

years’ services. The study also seeks to provide a snapshot of Early Childhood Care

and Provision for Travellers in the county being researched.

3.1 DESIGN

Arguably, the best way of gleaning information about the Traveller child’s experience

of pre-school since January 2010, is by employing a mixed methods approach. ‘We

do not advocate slavish adherence to a single methodology in research; indeed,

43

combining methodologies may be appropriate for the research in hand’. (Cohen,

Manion & Morrison, 2011: 217). In this particular study, combining methodologies is

the best choice because both quantitative and qualitative data is required to produce

a holistic picture of Early Childhood Care and Education for Traveller children since

2010 and Johnson and Onwuegbuzie asserted that the “time has come” (Johnson, &

Onwuegbuzie, 2004: 14) for using mixed methods research. For example the

quantitative data around the number of Traveller children attending mainstream pre-

schools, combined with the qualitative data around the experiences of Traveller

parents in relation to the Transition from segregated provision to mainstream

provision, need to be collected to provide a rounded picture combining facts and

experiences. Thus,

“In a complementarity mixed methods study, qualitative and quantitative

methods are used to measure overlapping but also different facets of a

phenomenon, yielding an enriched, elaborated understanding of the

phenomenon” (Greene, Caracelli, and Graham, 1989: 258)

This mixed methods approach included a quantitative approach, the survey

questionnaire, which was sent to pre-school services, followed by the qualitative

approach, which comprised of interviews with three pre-school services and two

focus group discussions with groups of Traveller parents. These methods were

chosen to do justice to the process of transition that was being investigated.

Both quantitative data, on where Travellers attend pre-school, levels of equality and

diversity training in pre-schools, and, emergent qualitative data on perceptions and

understandings on Traveller children’s transition from segregated to universal

provision of early childhood care and education form the viewpoint of both pre-

44

schools and Traveller parents, was needed to give a rounded picture of the pre-

school experience of Traveller Children. “Exclusive reliance on one method... may

bias or distort the researcher’s picture of the particular slice of reality she is

investigating” (Cohen et al, 2011: 195).

3.2 PARTICIPANTS

The participants in this research were chosen from the early years’ sector in the

county. All of the150 or so ECCE pre-school providers in the area were invited to

take part in the questionnaire phase of the study. These providers were part of the

Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) government funded scheme, and

covered the spectrum of private, community and full day care providers. The last

questions on the questionnaire asked the participant, if he/she would be prepared to

engage in a short one-to-one interview with the researcher on the topics covered in

the questionnaire. Based on the feedback from this particular question, three early

years services were chosen for the interview phase of the research. The three

selected included a private service where Traveller children were highly visible, a

private service where no Traveller Children were visible and a community service

that has a long history of engagement with Traveller families.

For the third strand of the research, access to Traveller parents was achieved by

linking in with, two local training networks for Travellers and two Family Resource

centre, where Travellers access services and are involved in cascading information

and training to the Travelling Community. These four links acted as gatekeepers for

45

the researcher to gain access to Traveller parents. Two focus groups with Traveller

Parents, in different geographical areas, were organised through the involvement of

the stakeholders mentioned above.

3.3 ETHICS

Prior to embarking on the study, ethical approval was sought and obtained from the

Stranmillis University College MA Ethics Committee using the guidelines contained

in RESPECT (2004), Connolly, (2003), Howe & Moses (1999) and Oliver (2003) .

(Please see Appendix 10 to view a signed copy of the ethical consent obtained).

Even though, no children were interviewed during the course of the study, informed

consent from the participants in the study was sought. Consent forms were

developed for this purpose. (Please see Appendices 5 & 6). Along with the consent

form, all participants were given a synopsis of the research aims and an explanation

of the input required from the participants. (Please see Appendix 7 to view the

research synopsis). The study synopsis was emailed to the survey participants along

with the questionnaire – there was no need for a consent form in this case, because

filling in the questionnaire indicated consent. However a consent form and the study

synopsis were presented to the interviewees and focus group participants prior to the

interviews and focus group. Focus Group participants were accessed through

gatekeepers as indicated earlier. The four gatekeepers were approached at the

outset and utilised as an access point, which promoted increased trust in the project

from the viewpoint of the participants but care was taken to ensure that no

participants felt obliged to take part in the focus group due to the involvement of the

gatekeepers (Connolly, 2003). All participants were informed that they could refuse

46

to take part in the research or could withdraw at any time during the research. Care

was taken to explain the research and to answer questions as they arose. Consent

for recording of information, whether in writing or electronically was also sought.

Conflict of Interest may have become an issue as the researcher had, prior to this

research, developed in-depth relationships with approximately 70 of the 150

childcare services to be approached to complete the questionnaire and this may

have had an impact on the services’ understanding of the voluntary nature of the

questionnaire. In this regard, a web based survey generator was utilised to collect

and analyse the data to ensure that the anonymity of the services was watertight and

to ensure that questionnaire recipients did not feel under pressure to participate.

Another issue that could have impacted upon the value of the research findings was

that Focus Group participants were accessed through gatekeepers as indicated

earlier. The four gatekeepers were approached at the outset and utilised as an

access point, which promoted increased trust in the project from the viewpoint of the

participants but care was be taken to ensure that no participants felt obliged to take

part in the focus group due to the involvement of the gatekeepers (Connolly, 2003).

Anonymity and confidentiality were assured and participants were informed that all

potential identifiers would be removed from data before replication in findings.

Findings were fed back to the groups in an appropriate manner. This took the form of

a debriefing session which was held as part of a networking event.

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3.4 MATERIALS

Firstly, the quantitative aspect of the study was carried out. This comprised of a

questionnaire which was directly emailed to the 146 early years services by the web

based survey generator. The questionnaires were anonymous to protect the

identities of the services and the children involved. The questionnaire asked open

and closed questions including closed questions like “How many children do you

cater for?”, “How many Traveller children do you have in attendance?” The

questionnaire also had two questions around expertise in the area of Equality and

Diversity. The first question was a “selected response” (Gillham, 2010:28) question,

where the participant had a list of possible answers to choose from; the second

question gave answer options on a sliding scale, and is termed a “rating scale

question” (Thomas, 2013:211), where the possible answers were graded on a scale

from “not at all“, to “a lot” and the participant chose one answer. There was also a

somewhat open question on the questionnaire that sought information on the

likelihood of Travellers choosing the pre-school in question. This “rank order

question” (Thomas, 2013:210) asked for the opinion of the respondent, who had to

rank the answers in order of importance. The question was therefore somewhat

qualitative, demonstrating the cross-over between data collection methods and data

type. (Please see Appendix 1 to view the questionnaire)

The justifications for choosing this method as a starting point for the study are

manifold; firstly, the questionnaire could be distributed to a large group of pre-

schools without the need for personal interaction and time resources; secondly, to

find out straightforward facts about Traveller Children in pre-school and levels of

expertise in equality and diversity; thirdly, to explore perceptions that pre-school

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providers have in relation to Travellers and pre-school (Sharp, 2009); fourthly, it

provides a way of identifying those services who would be willing to participate in the

interview strand of the research. The decision to email the questionnaire was taken

for two reasons; firstly, because the “Participants are also more often willing to give

more honest answers to a computer or by email than to a person or on a paper

questionnaire” (Seale, 2012: 188); secondly to reduce costs. The questionnaire was

short, containing only 11 questions which could be completed in a short space of

time. This design was specifically chosen so that most potential participants didn’t

feel put off before they even started filling in the questionnaire (Seale, 2012).The

proposed questionnaire was piloted with three pre-school providers, outside of the

research county, who were not part of the study. This pilot group was asked to

complete the questionnaire and report back on the length of time it took to complete

the questionnaire, the clarity of the instructions and if they felt the questions were

clear. (Please see Appendix 4 to see a copy of the email requesting feedback on the

questionnaire). The pilot group recommended minor changes around the wording of

questions and reported that the time taken to fill out the questionnaire was between

4 and 9 minutes. The recommendations for minor changes made by the pilot group

were taken on board before distributing the amended questionnaire.

3.5 PROCEDURE

The questionnaires were distributed via email, using an email list sourced from the

local County Childcare Committee, for which permission was granted by the Board of

the Childcare Committee in question. (See Appendix 10)

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Once the forms were returned, they were analysed to count the number of pre-

schools where Traveller children attend, to get a statistical picture of where Traveller

children attend pre-school and also to pinpoint factors which may give an insight into

why the attendance patterns exist. Perceptions of pre-schools to Travellers were

also noted and an equality and diversity expertise audit was recorded.

This survey, though useful in the collection of some data related to this study, did

have its shortcomings in that the data collected was primarily quantitative and did not

give a descriptive picture of the experiences of Traveller children and families in pre-

school. To counteract this shortcoming, qualitative methods were also employed to

provide rich data on the “attitudes and values” (Seale, 2012: 209) of early childhood

care and education providers.

According to Lave and Kvale, “The most sufficiently complex instrument to

understand human life is another human” (Lave and Kvale, 1995: 220). It is with this

in mind that, interviews with pre-school providers were carried out. As previously

said the questionnaire was anonymous, but it had a tick box at the end, for the

service provider to indicate if they were happy to engage in a short interview process

to explore the topic further. 28 services agreed to this engagement on the topic.

Because of resources, three were chosen to take part in the interviews. The three

were chosen based on having Traveller children enrolled, based on not having

Traveller children enrolled and based on a history of engagement with Traveller

families. The interviews were short, spanning a period of 15 to 20 minutes each.

These interviews were one to one with the researcher, structured in format, and

included questions on feelings and attitudes around educational Inclusion and

specifically Traveller inclusion. (Please see Appendix 2 for a list of proposed

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interview questions). The interviews were also recorded with the consent of the

participants. These interviews provided rich qualitative information, “…accessing

individuals attitudes and values – things that cannot necessarily be observed or

accommodated in a formal questionnaire” (Seale, 2012: 209). On completion, the

interviews were transcribed and analysed to identify themes. The strengths of this

interview approach lay in the possibility to explore, in-depth, the perceptions and

attitudes pre-schools have around the inclusion of Traveller children in mainstream

pre-schools and the steps pre-schools have taken or are willing to take to facilitate

this inclusion. This data provided understanding around the process of

mainstreaming but its main short-coming was that it focused on the understandings

and perceptions from the viewpoint of the pre-school provider and that justified a

third strand to the research, which focused on the Traveller experience of the

transition from segregated to universal provision of early Childhood Care and

Education.

Two focus groups with Traveller parents were then organised in different areas of the

county to elicit the attitudes and perceptions of Travellers to the phasing out of

Traveller pre-schools and the inclusion of Traveller children in “mainstream” pre-

schools. The focus groups, though somewhat structured, were less formal than the

interviews with the pre-school providers and took the form of group discussions, and

as facilitator the researcher was “…facilitating, moderating, monitoring and recording

group interaction” (Punch, 2009:147). The aim of the focus group was to gather data

generated by “…group interaction and discussion” (Seale, 2012:228). (Please see

Appendix 3 to view the topics pre-planned by the researcher to be brought up during

the focus group). Each focus group time slot was planned to be approximately 50

minutes. However, on the day of the first focus group, the participants indicated that

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they would prefer to be interviewed singly, rather than take part in a focus group. The

researcher facilitated this and four one-to-one interviews were conducted with

Traveller parents. The interview were recorded, with the consent of the participants.

The second focus group proceeded as planned and was also recorded with consent.

As with the interviews with pre-school providers, the Focus Group discussions and

the interviews with Traveller parents were transcribed and the data analysed to

identify emergent themes.

3.6 CONCLUSION OF METHODOLOGY

Based on a mixed methods approach, the value of this study can be distilled down to

the information, both quantitative and qualitative, that was generated concerning,

where Traveller children attend pre-school, what factors impact upon the choices

that Traveller families make in regard to early childhood care and education and how

equality and diversity training impacts upon inclusion. At the end of the research a

holistic picture of early childhood care and education for Travellers and non-

Travellers through the lens of equality and diversity was available. This can be used

as a barometer for change or as an example of good practice. Either way, the

research is needed because almost five years have elapsed since the Early

Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) scheme was introduced and in the interests

of the pre-school child, the practices that have evolved, due to the new policy

changes, need to be evaluated.

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CHAPTER 4: RESULTS

4.0 INTRODUCTION

The main aim of this study was to examine the Traveller child’s experience of pre-

school since the introduction of the free pre-school year in the Republic of Ireland in

January 2010. In particular the study aimed to look at the views and experiences of

Traveller children through the lens of the Traveller parent. In conjunction with this,

the perspectives of early years’ services were also sought to give a two dimensional

view of the Traveller child’s experiences of pre-school.

The following Research questions were addressed

4. Where, in 2014, do Traveller Children attend pre-school?

5. What are Traveller parents’ views on how their children experience pre-

school?

6. Are pre-schools equipped to understand what Traveller families are looking

for in a pre-school?

Initially, the survey questionnaire will be looked at before moving on to analyse the

results of the Traveller parents’ Focus group and one-to-one interviews with pre-

schools and Traveller parents

4.1 SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS

This section will provide the results for the questionnaires distributed to childcare

providers by post, email or through a web link.

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Response Group Data

Before examining the findings, a brief snapshot of the response group data will

presented.

Figure 4.1: Questionnaire Distribution and Results

Method of questionnaire

distribution

Number of childcare

services targeted

Number of services who

responded to the

questionnaire

Survey monkey email 146 65

Direct email 1 1

Web link 1 1

Total 148 67

Response rate 45.3% (n=67)

Figure 4.1, above, shows that there was a 45% response rate to the questionnaire.

Figure 4.2: Breakdown of Respondents by type of service

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ECCE Services targeted

Response Rate

Number of services

% of services

Number of responses

% of overall responses

% of responses from own sector ie Community or Private

Community Services

18 12% 9 13% 50% response rate from Community Services

Private services

130 88% 58 87% 44.6% response rate from Private Services

Figure 4.2, above, shows that the response rate percentages of community (13%)

and private (87%) services are indicative of the percentages of community (12%)

and private (88%) services targeted in the research area. This demonstrates an even

spread of responses across the two sectors, in line with the numbers of services.

Group sizes in Respondent Pre-schools

According to the data generated by the questionnaire, Community pre-school

services cater for a minimum of ten children and more than half of services cater for

20+ children. The private sector, however has 20% of groups catering for less than

10 children and one of these groups catering for less than 6 children (See Figure

4.3)

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Figure 4.3: Breakdown of Respondents by size of service

Figure 4.3 indicates that, The Private Sector offers more diverse pre-school group

sizes than the Community Sector, and that if a child attends, a community service,

the groups are likely to be larger.

Questionnaire Findings

The Findings will show; to which pre-schools Traveller Families make enquiries re

admission; where Traveller Children are visible in pre-school; how qualified pre-

school practitioners report being in the area of Equality and Diversity; who is seen as

responsible for positive relationship development within the pre-school setting and;

what factors are seen as important to Traveller families when choosing a pre-school.

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Enquiries by Traveller Families to Pre-schools

As stated earlier there were 67 pre-school services who responded to the survey and

as can be seen on the pie chart below, the majority of these services (over 83%)

report that they do not receive enquiries from Traveller families re admission of their

children into the service. (See Figure 4.4)

Figure 4.4 Enquiries to Pre-school services

83% of childcare services surveyed reported that they had no enquiries from

Traveller Families around enrolling their child in the pre-school. Of the 17% of

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services (n = 11) who report that Travellers made enquiries re admittance, 5 of these

services were Private services (see Figure 4.5) and 6 were Community services (see

Figure 4.6), even though the ratio of Private to Community Services in the county is

approximately 7:1 and this ratio is upheld in the ratio of private providers to

community providers who took part in the survey as shown in Figure 4.2 above.

Figure 4.5 Enquiries to Private Pre-schools

Over 91% of Private Services received no admission enquiries from Traveller

families.

5 Private Services out of a total of 55 received enquiries.

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Figure 4.6 Enquiries to Community Pre-schools

33% of Community Services received no admission enquiries from Traveller families.

6 Community Services out of a total of 9 received enquiries.

Figures 4.5 & 4.6 show, Traveller families are much more likely to consider using

Community pre-schools over Private pre-schools.

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Visibility of Traveller Children in Pre-school

So having considered their options, where do traveller families eventually send their

children to access pre-school services?

Figure 4.7 Number of Traveller children who attend Community Pre-schools

Of the 9 community services who participated in the survey 5 had no Traveller

children enrolled and 4 community services had Traveller children visible within the

service (See figure 4.7 above)

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Figure 4.8 Number of Traveller children who attend Private Pre-schools

Of the 58 private services who participated in the survey a much larger percentage

had no Traveller children enrolled and only 3 private services had Traveller children

visible within the service. (See chart 4.8 above)

Equality & Diversity Training engaged in by Pre-school services

As can be seen from Figure 4.9 below, only 1 pre-school from the 67 surveyed

reports having no qualifications or learning in the area of Equality and Diversity.

Each pre-school had the choice of choosing all options that applied within a service.

For example one member of staff may have a FETAC 6 module in Equality and

Diversity, another may have studied Equality and Diversity as part of general

childcare training and another may have other non-accredited training in the area.

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Figure 4.9 Equality & Diversity Training

Figure 4.9 shows that pre-school services report high levels of qualification in the

area of Equality and Diversity.

Responsibility for ensuring that positive peer relationships are integral to the pre-school experience.

Overall, across the childcare sector, the feeling is that this responsibility lies with the

pre-school and not the Traveller Family or child. The Private Sector takes on this

mantle even more completely than the Community sector with over 98% of private

services stating that it is their responsibility to ensure that a child develops good peer

relationships. One third of the Community sector pre-schools feel that this

responsibility lies with parents as opposed to pre-schools. (See Figure 4.10 below)

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Figure 4.10 Responsibility for ensuring good peer relationships in Pre-school

Therefore, the perception of pre-schools is that the onus is on them to ensure that a

child has good relationships within the pre-school setting.

Deciding factors when Traveller families are choosing a pre-school

Figures 4.11 & 4.12, below, show statistics for both Community and Private services.

There are differences across the two sectors but quality of care and education and

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welcome score high as factors of importance to Traveller Families, in both the

Private and Community sectors.

Figure 4.11 Factors that the Community Sector thinks would attract Traveller Families

For Community Services, Familiarity is another factor which is felt to be important to

almost 89% of services. Training options for parents is another aspect of provision

which 44% of Community services feel is important to Traveller families whereas

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only a third of community services feel that proximity to the childcare service is a

consideration for Traveller families. (See Figure 4.11, above)

On the other hand, the Private sector attributes high importance to Proximity of the

service to the town centre with almost half of those surveyed stating that this would

attract Traveller families. In contrast to the 88% of Community services only 41% of

Private services feel that familiarity is an important factor in attracting Traveller

families. (See Figure 4.12, below)

Figure 4.12 Factors that the Private Sector thinks would attract Traveller Families

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Overall, Pre-school services feel that the quality of care and education that the

service offers and the welcome that the child and family receive from the service are

the most important factors when a Traveller family is choosing a pre-school.

Summary of Questionnaire Findings

Arising from the questionnaire, the following 5 findings are among the most

noteworthy.

Figure 4.13 Questionnaire Summary Findings

1. The majority of pre-schools do not receive enquiries from Traveller families re

admission to pre-school and those services that do receive enquiries are mainly

community services.

2. Traveller children are more likely to be visible in community pre-schools than private

pre-schools

3. Pre-school Services report high levels of qualification in the area of Equality and

Diversity

4. The perception of pre-schools is that the onus is on them to ensure that a child has

good relationships within the pre-school setting.

5. Pre-school services feel that the quality of care and education that the service offers

and the welcome that the child and family receive from the service are the most

important factors when a Traveller family is choosing a pre-school.

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4.2 RESULTS OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH WITH TRAVELLER PARENTS

The following section will report on the findings from one focus group and 4

individual interviews with a total of 11 Traveller parents. The Methodology chapter

outlined how the focus group and interviews were conducted. The data collected was

thematically analysed and will be addressed under the following headings; Quality of

care and education; Familiarity and connection with the pre-school; Relationships;

Information; Inclusion and Integration.

Each theme is presented below and supported by extracts of data. ((M1), (M3), (K)

etc., represent statements made by the participants).

Quality of Care and Education

The Traveller parents had very strong and definite ideas about why they currently

send and why they will send their children to pre-school in the future.

Education “To learn” (M2), Socialisation “To mix” (M1) and “To be not stuck at home

all day” (L) and Childcare “To have a break” (M3) were the reasons stated as to why

pre-schools were used

As the focus group progressed, it became more obvious that quality of care seemed

to be more of a consideration than quality of education. There was reference to the

2013 Primetime documentary “…aired in May 2013, on national television”

(Eurofound, 2014: 25) during which early years services were secretly filmed and

seen to be engaging in practices that were concerning in terms of best practice and

quality of care. “It was on the news about it - you’d have to trust someone to mind

your child like.” (M2). There was a fear that a child might be treated badly “I’d be

afraid they’d get neglected or something” (M2)

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Talking about her decision to move her child from one pre-school to a Traveller

specific pre-school, one participant asserted that the new pre-school made more of

an effort to make the child feel welcome and an integral part of the setting “They just

take it a step more to make the child comfortable” (K)

Familiarity and connection with the pre-school

The second theme that emerged was around familiarity and connection with the pre-

school. If other family members had attended the pre-school in the past and there

was a historical or current connection with the pre-school, it seemed that the

participants would be more likely to use the pre-school. “Her father went there and a

lot of her aunties and uncles are up there” (in the primary school section) (K). A

familiarity of the pre-school through wider networks was also seen as a positive. “A

lot of people I know and their father went to it” (K). A knowledge of the leadership in

the pre-school was also mentioned “The better you know the person who’s running

the crèche” (M1) along with the experience and longevity of service of pre-school

personnel as evidenced by “She’s been up there for years” (K)

The relationship between the pre-school service and the child/family The third theme that emerged was around the relationships between the pre-school

service and the child and the family.

How the child is dealt with on a daily basis was seen as very important. “The way

they treat your children” (L). Having time for the children and not ignoring their needs

was also mentioned during the focus group. There was a concern expressed around,

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“If they” (the childcare workers) ”have no time for them” (the children) (M2), and this

was given as a reason for not sending a child to pre-school.

There was also an assertion that the personality of the pre-school personnel plays a

vital role in relationship-building. One participant when talking about her decision to

move her child from one pre-school to another said of the teacher in the school that

the child was moving to “It’s just the teacher up there is very, very nice” (K)

Trust, which is an aspect of relationships, was seen to play a part in how Traveller

children experience pre-school. This trust needed to be firmed up by the families to

enhance the child’s experience. As the participants stated “…you’re leaving the life

of your child in someone else’s hands” (L) and “…you’d have to trust someone to

mind your child like (M2).

During the individual interviews, emphasis was put on the relationships between the

child and the pre-school personnel and the relationship between the Traveller child’s

family and the pre-school.

One interviewee spoke about an incident where she removed her child from a pre-

school because of a biting incident. The interviewee felt that the pre-school was

“shocked” (B) when she brought up the incident and that in the end she had no

option but to change pre-schools because she felt the issue was being disregarded

because she was from the Travelling Community “…when you go to talk to someone

you’re not talking about Traveller, you are talking about a child. And that’s where I

think the people gets very confused with schools and the Education system” (B) This

interviewee moved her child to a private pre-school where Traveller children had not

previously attended. Verbal communication was stronger and the importance of this

was even more highly accentuated as the interviewee could not read or write.

“…they communicated a lot with me” (B).

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The same interviewee told a story

When one of her sons was in senior infants in primary school and the class was

having a conversation about grandparents. Her son mentioned his “Oul Da” and

was corrected by the teacher saying there was no such thing. (“Oul Da” is used in

Traveller culture as a name for Grandfather). The child was confused and upset

telling his mother the story later on that day.

This story highlights the importance of communication between the teacher and the

child and its potential impact on the relationship between the teacher and child.

Another interviewee also pointed to “The relationship between the kids and the

teacher” (C) as one of the most important things in making a good pre-school.

A further interviewee, when asked “what makes a good pre-school?” answered

“I think the women. It’s nice if they could have a good relationship with the children. That’s

the most important part for me…That the child is comfortable with the person is the most

important thing for me” (K)

This highlights the role that positive relationships have on Traveller children in pre-

school.

The fact that “The teacher greets the child each morning by his name and this

welcoming is important” (K) shows that the on-going everyday relationship between

the child and teacher and how it is affirmed though the use of names and a

welcoming ritual is recognised and appreciated by Traveller parents.

When asked what would put her off a pre-school, an interviewee said “If I felt that I

didn’t feel comfortable with the teachers and I didn’t feel that there was any pleasant

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thing about them and I know from the way my child is reacting with them”(C). This

interviewee felt that she would be guided by the interactions between the child and

the teacher and her general “sense” (C) of the teacher when making decisions

around a pre-school’s suitability to cater for her child’s needs. This solidifies the role

that positive relationships play in the child’s pre-school experience.

Information Another dominant theme was around how Traveller families get information on the

pre-school services they use.

When choosing a pre-school, Traveller parents widely seek recommendations from

other parents and act upon these recommendations. Interviewees, when talking

about why they chose a particular pre-school, said “Because I heard a lot of people

talking about it (K1) and “A few of the friends I was talking to was telling me about it.

They had kids in it, themselves” (K1). The reliance on verbal recommendations can

be seen throughout the interviews. Another interviewee, when asked how she got

information about pre-schools stated “I can’t read or write so I would rely more on

word of mouth” (B). This is evidenced again by yet another interviewee who stated “I

chose it because I heard good recommendations from other parents that had their

kids in that crèche at that time” (C) and “Other members of the Travelling community

had used that crèche and gave me the good recommendations for it” (C). The final

interviewee when asked how she chose a pre-school for her son said “Word-of-

mouth, recommendations and how their child got on. I would trust other people

before I would just put him in some place” (K).

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Inclusion/Integration

The fifth theme that emerged from the qualitative strand of the research project was

the issue of inclusion and integration and the importance that Traveller parents

attributed to this concept and process.

An interviewee said she chose a particular pre-school because “It wasn’t just for

settled children like. It was mixed” (K1). This was backed up by another interviewee

who thought “I think it’s nice for them to mix with others and to see other cultures”

(K).

When asked if they thought it was a good idea to phase out Traveller specific pre-

school one interviewee said “It’s hard to know, being straight like. That’s a hard

question. I’m not sure like” (K1). 3 of the 4 interviewees said the phasing out of

Traveller pre-schools was a good idea however, there was some concern around

cultural erosion and the loss of Traveller culture “I think children need to integrate in

society but I think some children do get lost along the way too. They’re losing their

identity” (B). Another view expressed was that

“Yes. I think that’s the best decision. I wouldn’t like my child to be singled out, to be in

their own community all the time and not mixing. I think that’s a good thing for their

development as well. They can mix with other children of their own age. Travelling

children have their own culture but at this age they are just developing and they can

keep this culture, I feel this personally myself” (C)

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Summary of Results of Focus Group & Interviews with Traveller Parents

The results of the focus group and the interviews show that from the perspective of

the Traveller parent, the following themes and sub-themes below are important

factors when looking at the Traveller child’s experience of pre-school. Figure 4.13

shows the themes and sub themes in tabular form.

Figure 4.14 Table Summary of emergent themes from Qualitative Research with Traveller Parents

Theme Sub Theme

Quality of care and education

Quality of Care

Trust/Reputation

Welcome

Fear of neglect

Familiarity and connection with the pre-

school

Family Connection

Familiarity with leadership in pre-school

Knowledge around pre-school personnel

The relationship between the pre-school

leader and the child/family

Treatment of children

Personality of pre-school teacher

Trust

Verbal Communication

Interaction between child and pre-school

teacher

Information Verbal recommendation

Inclusion/Integration Socialisation

Cultural erosion

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4.3 RESULTS OF ONE-TO-ONE INTERVIEWS WITH CHILDCARE PROVIDERS

The Methodology Chapter outlined how the interviews were conducted and how data

analysis led to the emergence of themes from which several categories were formed.

Three dominant themes were evident; Familiarity and connection with the pre-

school: Relationship between the pre-school and the child/family; Traveller Families’

use of Community Childcare Services. Each theme is presented below and

supported by extracts of data. ((M), (M1) and (O) etc., represent statements made by

the interviewees)

Familiarity and connection with the pre-school

This first theme was evident in all three interviews. Interviewee one attributed her

personal experiences and connections with Travellers as she was growing up as a

factor in her current ability to communicate and interact with Travellers who

approach her pre-school.

“I believe in being upfront. I grew up with Travellers. A family moved to my

area when I was young. I went to school with them. My parents never made

any fuss that I hung around with Travellers. It’s all about having normal

conversations with them about everyday things. If you hide from them, they’ll

hide from you” (M).

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The interviewee felt that her method of communication and her personal history

contributes to the visibility of Traveller children in this private childcare service.

From the Community Childcare Service’s point of view, it was felt that connections

with Traveller families evolved over time and while Travellers may have been reticent

about engaging with pre-school services in the past, their other connections with the

service, in terms of training or homework and breakfast clubs acted as a bridge for

Travellers to eventually access pre-school using the free pre-school year.

“The big thing is familiarity and trust that builds up over a lot of

years so maybe even Traveller families who would never have sent

their children to pre-school, they have sent their children to

homework club. So they might have had older ones in homework club and

then the free pre-school year (ECCE) came in and they might send younger

children or their grandchildren because the service is someplace they trust for

the care of their children” (M2)

This observation clearly indicates that familiarity with the service in terms of other

services provided and connection with the service over time increases the

attendance and visibility of Traveller children in Community Childcare Services.

A private childcare provider noted that “Giving help to parents filling out forms and

reading and explaining what’s on the forms” (M) seems to be one of the factors that

attracts Traveller families to the service.

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When asked “what would put a Traveller family off applying to a service, there was a

feeling that location or lack of knowledge about a service would put Traveller families

off.

“Maybe where we are or maybe they don’t know where we are” (O)

A private service, which does not have Traveller children attending the service

responded to the question “What would attract Traveller Families to the service?”

saying,

“I don’t know if advertising works because we do a lot of that. Maybe some other way

of reaching the families. Maybe linking in with family support workers who work with

the families” (O).

This familiarity or connection theme presents a strong basis for understanding where

Traveller children attend pre-school and the underlying reasons for choosing the

particular pre-school.

“We would have built a rapport with Traveller families over the years”… “…and I was

very interested when the Free Pre-school Year (ECCE) came in to see if these

families would send their children to other services but it hasn’t happened”. (M1)

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Relationship between the pre-school and the child/family

The second theme which emerges from the interviews is the relationship between

the pre-school and the Traveller child and his family. This is undoubtedly linked to

the familiarity/connection theme, which is in operation before the child attends a

service. The relationship theme is evident when the child is attending the service and

is visible in the everyday dealings between the child, the family and the pre-school.

The relationship theme can be broken down into three sub-themes

Welcome and openness.

There was a consensus among the private pre-school providers that “Being friendly

and welcoming” (M) and “Being Open” (O) in relationship forming would attract and

retain Traveller families.

Non-Judgemental ethos and practices

In conjunction with this open armed approach, it was asserted that the relationship

between the pre-school and the Traveller family should not be “judgemental” (M1), or

not have “…any pre-conceived ideas about how their children are going to behave or

how they are going to perform” (M1)

Communication

As with the previous two relationship sub themes, communication was evident as a

factor that impacts upon the Traveller experience of pre-school.

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When speaking about what Travellers want from a pre-school, one interviewee said

“I think very often they would like a pre-school where they are going to be talked to. It

has to be face-to-face communication, the note or the text won’t do. (M1)

Another interviewee stated “Being honest with them and being upfront even asking

“Can you read and write?” (M)

Acknowledging the importance of verbal communication for the Traveller family and

being honest and direct in your communication style emerged as important sub

themes.

Traveller Families’ use of Community Childcare Services.

This theme emerged from the Interview with the Community Childcare service.

Unintended Consequence of Free Pre-School Year

The interviewee stated the introduction of the free pre-school year had the

consequence of, not only, ensuring that more Traveller children attended for one

pre-school year, but it also had the unintended consequence of increasing the

number of Traveller children who attended pre-school for two years. The interviewee

added that this could not be wholly attributed to the introduction of the free pre-

school year but attendance in the pre-school over two years for Traveller children is

becoming more normal in tandem with the CCS scheme (This scheme provides

subsidised or free childcare for eligible families based on need which is evidenced

usually by the parents’ receipt of a social welfare payment),

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“If the children come and do a CCS year, they usually stay to do the free pre- school

year afterwards, so they get a two year pre-school experience and I would say, for

most Traveller families that has been a big departure over the last few years. The

completely free pre-school year has probably opened Travellers more to pre-school

education and once that’s happened the subsequent siblings, cousins and other

family members, they see that they can also have the CCS year. Not only has it

been an improvement in the amount of traveller children starting and ending with a

free pre-school year, it means that more have two pre-school years. So it’s more

than just the free year, also the subsidised year (CCS) has made a big difference”

(M1)

Pragmatism

Travellers are very pragmatic in their choice of service and even if the childcare

portion of the service has proved difficult for them, in terms of child protection

referrals, and they feel compelled to withdraw from the service, they may revert to

the service at a later stage because of other considerations, such as training

opportunities, homework clubs etc.

“We have had, on occasion, issues with child protection, where you would lose a

whole extended Traveller family, if a child protection referral was made. They will just

withdraw from the service. What we have found over the years is that they might

withdraw for a year and within the year they would come back. Pragmatically, it (the

service) suits in other ways” (M1)

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Structure of Pre-school

The interviewee noted that the structure of the pre-school session sometimes proves

challenging for Traveller families and that these issues can be troublesome to

resolve.

“…what puts Traveller families off is the structure of it. The fact that we do expect the

children to come every day that we expect them to be in for the curriculum at nine o’

clock, that if they are not going to attend on a regular basis, we hassle them about it.

They are the things that are the niggles between the service and the families and

their culture” (M1)

Summary of Results of Interviews with Childcare Providers

The results of the interviews show that from the perspective of childcare providers,

the themes and sub-themes below are important factors when looking at the

Traveller child’s experience of pre-school.

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Figure 4.15 Table Summary of emergent themes from qualitative research Interview Results with Childcare Providers

Theme Sub-Themes

Familiarity and connection with the pre-school Familiarity

Location

Connection

Advertising

Relationship between the pre-school and the

child/family

Welcome/Openness

Non Judgemental ethos and Practices

Communication

Traveller Families’ use of Community Childcare

Services

Unintended Consequence of

introduction of free pre-school year.

Pragmatism

Structure

CHAPTER 5: ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION

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5.0 INTRODUCTION The chapter analyses and discusses the findings of this study drawing on the

literature presented at the outset for comparison and critique where relevant.

Drawing from the findings of the questionnaire, in combination with, the results of the

one-to-one interviews with Pre-school Providers and the results of the focus group

and one-to-one interviews with Traveller parents, a multi-dimensional story around

the experiences of Traveller children in pre-school since the introduction of the free

pre-school year emerges.

Direct quotations from interviewees and focus group participants will be shown in

‘Italics’.

5.1 DISCUSSION

Arising from the findings of the questionnaire and the emergent themes from the

qualitative research, as outlined in Chapter 4, the following main issues will be

discussed and analysed; The differences between what Traveller Parents and Pre-

schools see as important factors when choosing a pre-school; Inclusion/Integration

of Traveller children into Private pre-schools; Pre-schools level of expertise in

Equality and Diversity; Relationship building; Promoting Familiarity and Connection

between the Pre-school Sector and the Travelling Community.

As stated at the outset, the main aim of this study is to tell the story of the Traveller

Child’s experience of pre-school in the Republic of Ireland in 2014

In tandem with this discussion will be a reflection on the Specific Research

Questions which were put forward at the outset namely

1. Where, in 2014, do Traveller Children attend pre-school?

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2. What are Traveller parents’ views on how their children experience pre-

school?

3. Are pre-schools equipped to understand what Traveller families are looking

for in a pre-school?

While answering these questions, a rounded picture of the Traveller Child’s

experience of pre-school since the introduction of the free pre-school year will

emerge, laying the foundation for policy-makers to consider how policy might be re-

evaluated to incorporate changes based on findings from this Research.

Differences between what Traveller Parents and Pre-schools see as important factors when choosing a pre-school.

Firstly, Finding 6 from the questionnaire shows that Pre-school services feel that the

quality of care and education that the service offers and the welcome that the child

and family receive from the service are the most important factors when a Traveller

family is choosing a pre-school.

The qualitative research with Traveller parents concurs that

welcome is important, “The teacher says “Hello” to the child each morning by

his name and this is good”. This is supported in the literature. (Murray &

Urban, 2012). The absence of this welcome may lead to “…ambivalence and

a negative attitude on the part of some Traveller parents” (McNamara,

2006:22) as referenced in Chapter 2.

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Quality of care is part of the decision process when choosing a pre-school “…

you know that they’re taking care of your child and their eyes is on them, full

stop”. Quality of education was also mentioned but not as often as the care

element. “To learn” was one of the responses to “What would encourage you

to send a child to pre-school?” From this research Traveller families seem to

put emphasis on the care rather than the education of their children and this

stance is corroborated by McNamara in Chapter 2. (McNamara, 2006)

Secondly, further data from the questionnaire shows that over 48% of Private

Childcare Providers and 33% of Community Services feel that proximity of the

service to the town centre would be a factor when Traveller parents choose a pre-

school but this was clearly shown not to be the case as evidenced by what one

Traveller parent said during the interviews“… when I moved to another town I still

drove back to the previous town to put my daughter in the pre-school that I moved

my son to”. This shows that location of the pre-school is secondary when choosing a

pre-school. This is in line with what the literature shows around the choices that

Travellers make in respect of pre-school “Travellers are doing what they always

have done and still do, and that is taking control for themselves and choosing what

specific educational opportunities on offer will benefit them” (O’ Hanlon, 2010: 239).

The closest pre-school to the Traveller Family will not always be the pre-school that

the Traveller Family chooses.

Thirdly, the large gap in understanding between the percentage of Community

Services (89%) and Private Services (41%) who perceive that familiarity with a

service encourages enquiries from Traveller families and enrolment of Traveller

children, is worth noting. This could be due to the additional services that Community

Services are often attached to, or it could be due to the fact that the information and

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knowledge around the universal availability of pre-school services is not filtering

down to Traveller families. Another consideration could be the link between

availability of Community Childcare Subvention (CCS) funding and the free pre-

school year.

The above three points highlight the fact that while there is some understanding in

the pre-school sector around the reasons why Traveller families choose a particular

pre-school, there are also mixed understandings across Community and Private Pre-

schools and less recognition of some of the issues that are closest to the hearts of

Traveller parents.

Inclusion/Integration of traveller children into Private pre-schools

As seen from Questionnaire Finding 2, Traveller children are more likely to be visible

in community pre-schools than private pre-schools. This would lead us to the

conclusion that Traveller children are not making the move into the private sector

and not becoming more integrated into the mainstream pre-school education system.

However, there is some movement to the private sector as is evidenced by the

attendance of 3 children across two private services who were surveyed. There is

also an acknowledgment from the Travelling Community that this is happening. A

Traveller parent when interviewed said “The school James is in now, he’s the only

Traveller that ever went there”. Based on this there is some slight movement towards

the integration of Traveller children in private pre-schools. A manager of a

Community pre-school said that “…I was very interested when the Free Pre-school

Year (ECCE) came in to see if these families would send their children to other

services but it hasn’t happened”. (M1). The movement of Traveller children has been

so slight that it is unnoticed by this particular community service.

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This gradual, almost unnoticed movement is a factor in the overall process of

inclusion/integration and it presents a beginning of the application of the Contact

Hypothesis (Allport, 1954) in the pre-school sector in the Republic of Ireland. As

discussed in Chapter 2, the outcomes from ongoing contact between different

groups helps all groups see things through the eyes of the other, promotes empathy

and fosters mutual respect (Hughes et al, 2011)

It is not enough, however, that Traveller children attend private pre-schools. There

are other factors in the inclusion equation that need to be addressed when Traveller

children attend private services to ensure meaningful participation in the service.

Linking back to the definition of Inclusion put forward at the outset,

““Inclusion may be seen as the drive towards maximal participation in and

minimal exclusion from early years settings” (Nutbrown & Clough, 2006: 3)

It can be appreciated that quality of education, respect for diversity and the

elimination of discrimination are factors that are at play after the child walks through

the door of any childcare service.

From the qualitative strand of the research, Traveller parents spoke again and again

about the emphasis they put on how their child is being treated and being included in

the service. This is shown by the boxed statements below.

1. “I think it’s nice for them to mix with others and to see other cultures”

2. “I wouldn’t like my child to be singled out”

3. “They just take it a step more to make the child comfortable”

A simple way of implementing inclusion is shown by the cameo of Joseph, a three

year old Traveller child. When the pre-school manager meets with Joseph’s mother,

she communicates verbally with the mother, admitting that her knowledge of

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Traveller culture is not very extensive, asks for information from the mother on the

Traveller culture and Joseph’s likes and dislikes. The pre-school then prepares for

Joseph’s arrival day, not only by sourcing resources that she knows Joseph will be

interested in, but by telling the other children that a new boy will be arriving and

organising activities that will allow Joseph to talk about his home life in a safe place

and allow him to start forming bonds with other children. The pre-school manager

regularly updates Joseph’s mother with how he is getting on (Hayes, 2013).

Arguably, incorporating a policy around inclusion for all children who are newcomers

to a service, takes the pressure off the early years’ workers when a new child arrives

at the service. The preparation is done in advance in line with guidelines in the policy

and each parent, irrespective of the child’s background, will be assured that their

child is experiencing an inclusive pre-school experience

There is the widespread belief that these issues can be addressed “Through

informed practice” (Hayes, 2013: 100) which is achieved by up-skilling and training in

the area of Equality and Diversity (Murray & Urban, 2012; Nutbrown, 2012), which

brings us to the third issue arising from the Research.

Pre-schools level of expertise in Equality and Diversity

The third issue arising from the research was quite marked. Based on the

questionnaire, 98% of services report having done, at least, some training in the area

of Equality and Diversity and only 1 service reported that no training had been

undertaken in this area. This self-reporting of expertise in the area of Equality and

Diversity is in marked contrast to the statistics shown in Chapter 2, which show that

only 5% of services have been trained in the FETAC 6 module in Equality and

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Diversity which was rolled out in 2011 and 2012 (Evaluation Report, 2013). Taking

the questionnaire findings on board would lead to the conclusion that the perceived

level of expertise in pre-school services around Inclusion and Integration is quite

high. The pre-school services express a high level of engagement with training and

the understanding would be that this training would “…help guide the process of

changing professionals’ thinking in ways that will lead to changes in their actions in

schools and classrooms” (Recchia & Lee, 2013:94). The changes in attitude,

according to Pittman (2013), which come about as a result of training, up skilling,

dialogue and consensus are not necessarily translated into action on the ground.

(Pittman, 2013). The fact that the practitioners and stakeholders in the early

childhood sector have the information and agree that it is important does not

necessarily bring about behaviour change.

Arguably, this could be a factor in why Traveller children are not more visible in

Private pre-school settings. Based on the research findings, early years’ workers

have the training and the knowledge but practices around equality and diversity are

not being implemented on the ground, firstly, to attract Traveller families and

secondly, to meaningfully engage with these families when they arrive at the door of

the service. What needs to be ensured here, as outlined in Chapter 2, is that

following any Training in Inclusion or Equality and Diversity, that early years

practitioners develop reflective and reflexive thinking (Brock, 2006) and that

resources are in place to facilitate the development of inclusive practices (Miller &

Cable, 2011). The Evaluation Report on the Pre-school Education Initiative for

Children from Minority Groups supports this proposed strategy

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“…the findings of this report have demonstrated that a training programme

with mentoring/coaching included is the best way to ensure maximum learning

outcomes for Practitioners” (Evaluation Report, 2013:8).

This is also supported by The Professional Pedagogy Project (PPP) where 10

childcare services in Donegal underwent professional development over a 12 week

training period. These services then linked in with on-going support to affect change

on the ground. It was acknowledged that isolated training was not adequate (NEYAI,

2014).

A recent research paper which analysed Irish pre-school practice across a number of

areas noted that under the category of diversity “In most cases books, pictures, dolls

and display show little or no evidence of race diversity in a wider world, In order to

improve on this score, practitioners require training in the use of the resources

designed to promote cultural understanding” (Neylon, 2014: 113).

What emerged from this Research Project is that the training that has been received

by early years’ practitioners is not becoming a reality on the ground, in terms of

understanding the needs and preferences of Traveller families and in enabling

access to private services for Traveller families. Another issue is the early year’s

practitioners’ perception of their expertise in the area. This highlights the continued

need for training (Neylon, 2014; Murray & Urban, 2012; Nutbrown, 2012), combined

with coaching & mentoring (Evaluation Report, 2013), reflexive thinking (Brock,

2006) and specific resources (Neylon, 2014), (Miller & Cable, 2011) as outlined

above.

“Building Partnerships” (Hayes, 2013: 81) will become feasible if the above elements

are streamlined to meaningfully engage with Traveller families. This engagement

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requires developing relationships from the outset. This is the fourth theme that

emerged from the study, Relationship Building.

Relationship building.

From the findings of the qualitative strand of the research, relationships emerged a

very dominant theme. Interviewees and focus group participants put high emphasis

on communication with verbal communication being the preferred mode of

communication. Being able to go and talk to a pre-school manager if an issue arose

was also seen as important, as evidenced by, the biting incident and the Traveller

parent, who wanted to talk about this to the pre-school. The parent described the

pre-school’s reaction as “shocked” that she should bring up the issue. The

relationship with Traveller parents, as with all parents, needs to be developed and

nurtured as seen by the cameo of Joseph above. Of course, Joseph benefits from

the preparation put in before he arrives at the pre-school, but he also benefits from

the fact that his parent is happy and feels connected to his experiences in the pre-

school. Arguably this aspect of partnering with parents, though often implemented

when a child joins a service, could be built upon during the school year, to further

enhance the child’s experience of pre-school. This is evident, again from the biting

incident story where the parent felt that her concerns were not given due

consideration because of her Traveller background, and she felt compelled to

remove her child. If the relationship had had a more solid base, arguably the child

would have had a more consistent pre-school experience. Murray & Urban talk about

“Meaningful engagement with parents” (Murray & Urban, 2012: 160) which has its

foundation in “Partnership with parents…” (Murray & Urban, 2012: 161) and

“…Genuine interest” (Murray & Urban, 2012: 161). Relationships that don’t feel safe

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or strong to Traveller parents can impinge upon the child’s pre-school experiences.

This was visited in Chapter 2 also when referencing an article which appeared in the

national press (Times Educational Supplement, 2012)

It can be seen from the findings of the questionnaire that pre-school services, mainly

believe that the onus is on them to ensure that Traveller children have good peer

relationships within the pre-school setting. If this thinking was changed to a

collaborative vision where both pre-schools and parents share this responsibility and

partnership with parents was the norm, not just in the realm of promoting good peer

relationships, arguably, relationships between Traveller families and pre-school

services would be greatly enhanced and the child’s experience of pre-school

improved.

To achieve meaningful partnership with parents, the ethos of the service needs to

reflect the willingness and drive for partnership in its policies and procedures and

communicate this ethos to Traveller parents. The underlying research for SIOLTA,

the Quality Framework as referenced in Chapter 2 states “…parental involvement

needs to be individualised and reflective of the diversity of families” (Siolta1, 2006:6)

It is acknowledged that involving parents in decision-making in the early years sector

is difficult to implement (Siolta1, 2006) but arguably with a drive to apply the

strategies outlined in Siolta Standard 3, Parents & Families (Siolta, 2006: 29)

improved outcomes could be realised for Traveller families and pre-schools alike.

According to the results of the interview with a Community Service, there is the belief

that Relationship building is slow and cumulative and can sometimes take

generations, as evidenced by the following quote,

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The big thing is familiarity and trust that builds up over a lot of

years so maybe even Traveller families who would never have sent

their children to pre-school, they have sent their children to homework club.

So they might have had older ones in homework club and then the free pre-

school year (ECCE) came in and they might send younger

children or their grandchildren because the service is someplace they trust for

the care of their children.

This leads to the fifth theme that emerged from the study which is Promoting

Familiarity and Connection between the Pre-school and the Travelling Community.

Promoting Familiarity and Connection between the Pre-school and the Travelling Community.

Findings from the questionnaire showed that the Community sector placed more

emphasis (88%) on familiarity or connection to the pre-school service by Traveller

families than did the Private sector (41%). This could be the case because, often, the

Community sector pre-school offers additional services, on the same site, which

Traveller families avail of. These additional services could be training or information

and the Traveller families become familiar with the pre-school aspect of the service

by accessing the other services. There is a general understanding of this process

within the community sector and maybe not such a strong understanding from the

private sector, even though, one private service when asked “what would put

Traveller families off accessing your pre-school” seemed cognizant of this lack of

familiarity when answering “Maybe where we are, or maybe they don’t know where

we are”. This may well be the case, because during the focus group with Traveller

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participants, when asked “Do you have enough information about pre-schools in your

area?” a participant answered “Well, I didn’t know there was 40 in this town”

indicating that there is a lack of familiarity around pre-school services. This familiarity

is greatly increased in the community sector due to provision of other services on-

site and it was acknowledged by a Community pre-school that Traveller families are

pragmatic in their choice of pre-school and would often base their decision to choose

a service if “…it suits in other ways”. This echoes the literature, specifically in that

Travellers choose what education suits them and are active decision makers (O’

Hanlon, 2010).

The issue for going forward, is how to promote a familiarity and connectedness with

pre-schools for Traveller families, where there is only pre-school provision on-site.

Can this be done by information dissemination? Who should take responsibility for

this? Should it be a national initiative or left to individual pre-schools to manage?

This issue has been visited by Right From the Start when talking about Equality and

Diversity Training for pre-school Providers where it was recommended that not only

should the recent pilot of Equality and Diversity Training be rolled out nationally but

this should be accompanied by “…mandatory training and support for diversity and

equality practice” (Right From the Start, 2013:22). This national approach would

allow for streamlining of approaches and go some way towards, eliminating poor

practices and, guiding pre-schools on how to become familiar to all communities and

further connectedness with Traveller families.

5.4 CONCLUSION OF DISCUSSION

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The preceding chapter analysed and discussed the results of this research project.

Bringing the quantitative and qualitative data together and enmeshing it with the

literature produced a robust picture of the Traveller Child’s experience of pre-school

since the introduction of the free pre-school year. This picture had 5 differing aspects

1. Differences between what Traveller Parents and Pre-schools see as

important factors when choosing a pre-school

2. Inclusion/Integration of Traveller children into Private pre-schools

3. Pre-schools level of expertise in Equality and Diversity

4. Relationship building

5. Promoting Familiarity and Connection between the Pre-school Sector and the

Travelling Community.

The next chapter moves on to present the conclusions from this study and points to

potential considerations for Policy makers and implementers in the area of inclusive

pre-school provision.

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CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

6.0 CONCLUSION

This study explored and identified the Traveller Child’s experience of Pre-school in

the Republic of Ireland since the introduction of the free pre-school year using a dual

lens, that is, the experiences of Traveller parents and the experiences and statistical

data collected from pre-school services.

The Research questions presented at the outset of this research were

7. Where, in 2014, do Traveller Children attend pre-school?

8. What are Traveller parents’ views on how their children experience pre-

school?

9. Are pre-schools equipped to understand what Traveller families are looking

for in a pre-school?

This chapter seeks to demonstrate how these questions have been answered,

before suggesting recommendations arising from the research findings.

Following this limitations and benefits of the study will be outlined.

6.1 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

Research Question 1 - Where, in 2014, do Traveller Children attend pre-school?

In the main, Traveller children attend pre-school in Community services, even though

there is visibility of Traveller children moving into the Private Pre-school sector.

Community services get more enquiries from Traveller families that Private services

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do. This practice can be explained by the Familiarity/Connectedness theme or the

Travellers not being aware of the universality of pre-school services since 2010

Research Question 2 - What are Traveller parents’ views on how their children experience pre-school?

Traveller parents rank the relationship that the child has with the pre-school teacher

as very important, along with putting great emphasis on the care the child receives.

Verbal communication and trust were sub-themes that were prevalent in the findings

as were inclusion and integration.

Research Question 3 - Are pre-schools equipped to understand what Traveller families are looking for in a pre-school? Pre-schools do understand what Traveller Families are looking for in a pre-school on

many levels, however, there are areas that need to be highlighted and worked upon.

This work needs to be done to address the level of expertise of childcare

practitioners in the area of Equality and Diversity; to question childcare services’

perception that they have more expertise than is actually evident; to facilitate the

translation of training into inclusive practices on the ground; to explore the provision

of intensive coaching and mentoring following Equality and Diversity Training; to

allocate resources, including time, to facilitate equality and diversity practices.

Understanding that, traditionally, Traveller families access pre-school on a multi-

service site, and this pattern is challenging in terms of attracting traveller families into

mainstream settings.

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On the whole, the answer to this research question is mixed. Pre-schools have some

of the tools to understand the needs of Travellers but more resources are needed to

fully equip pre-schools.

6.2 RECOMMENDATIONS

Recommendation 1 - National Audit of where Traveller children attend Pre-school

Arising from research question 1 and its findings, it might be useful if a National Audit

of where Traveller Children attend Pre-school could be carried out. This could be

easily achieved by adding a question to the ECCE registration forms which pre-

schools gather from parents each September. This data could be compared annually

to audit the trends in where Travellers attend pre-school and to document any shift

towards the Private Sector.

Recommendation 2 - Implementation of a Partnership with Parents Strategy

Arising from research question 2 and the issue of what Travellers parents want from

the pre-school sector, widespread implementation of SIOLTA Standard 3, Parents

and Families, could be considered with a view to opening up sustained dialogue and

engagement with Traveller families, promoting partnership while Traveller children

attend pre-school and beyond.

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Recommendation 3 - Facilitation of the continuance of Equality and Diversity Training

Finally, arising from Research Question 3 and the question of equipping pre-schools

to understand what Traveller families want from the pre-school sector, continuing

with the roll-out of Equality and Diversity training might be considered with the

addition of coaching and mentoring and the requirement for reflexive practice. A

similar model to that used by the Professional Pedagogy Project (PPP) (NEYAI,

2014). could be utilised. Acknowledging that this training was not specifically in the

area of Inclusion, does not dilute the potential usefulness of the model.

Further to the rolling out of this training, consideration might be given to adopting

more holistic approaches to Equality and Diversity Training as shown by the

TOYBOX PROJECT (McVeigh, 2007) and the MEDIA INITIATIVE (Coral, 2012) in

Northern Ireland where stakeholders other than Early Years Educators were involved

in the interventions, as mentioned in the literature review.

The three recommendations outlined above can be universally applied to the Early

Years sector and could be viewed as initiatives to facilitate all children in the early

years’ environment. The recommendations could be initial steps to inform policy

makers when planning educational services for all young children.

6.3 SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS

These recommendations are directly in line with the recently published National

Policy Framework for Children and Young People which states that the government

commits to “Strengthen social Inclusion measures and re-invigorate efforts to

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improve educational outcomes among, and integration of, Travellers, Roma and

migrant children and young people… recognising an enhanced role for early Years

Education in targeting these groups” (Better Outcomes Brighter Futures, 2014: 71)

This re-invigoration could start with collecting data that will show trends in

enrolments in Private Pre-schools, mapping changes on a yearly basis as outlined

by recommendation 1. Re-engaging with the SIOLTA Quality Framework, namely the

Parents and Families Standard, as outlined by recommendation 2, would further the

re-invigoration. Finally, the continuance of Equality and Diversity Training for Early

Years educators, as outlined at Recommendation 3, would be the third step towards

re-invigorating efforts to improve educational outcomes for Travellers and, in the

process, bestow a meaningful, enhanced role upon Early Years educators.

6.4 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

The limitations of this study lie,

Firstly, the research is not representative for the island of Ireland and we

cannot make assumptions that this is the situation across the island.

Secondly, many Traveller parents may have had negative experiences of

education themselves, and this may have impinged on engagement during

the focus group and interviews. This might have been addressed by adding

an observational aspect to the study. This could have taken the form of

observing Traveller Families, bringing their children to, and collecting them

from, pre-school. The observations could have been based upon interactions

between the Traveller family and the Pre-school and may have yielded data

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from another perspective as the researcher would have been able to “’step

back’ from the obvious and ‘ordinary’ and look at the social world and social

interactions ‘afresh’” (Seale, 2012:163)

Thirdly, the opinions of Traveller children were not sought and arguably, this

would have added richness to the findings and upheld the UN Convention on

the Rights of the Child, which states that all children should have a voice. The

reasoning for not using children in this particular study lay in the age profile of

the children who would be from 3 years 3 months up to 5 years

approximately. Also, the type of data being collected is around how service

providers and parents negotiate the arena of pre-school and make it positive

for all children.

Fourthly, there were risks to the participants in the study for example

o Childcare services might have been identified

o Poor practice in childcare services might have been highlighted

o Traveller parents may have been reticent to engage with the Research

based on previous experience with pre-school and/or education

generally

This limitation may have been somewhat lessened by ensuring anonymity

around reporting of research by removing all identifiers, by promoting

confidentiality during interviews and the focus group, by ensuring that all

participants knew that taking part in the study was voluntary and that

everyone could decide to take part or not, or could withdraw at any time.

Nonetheless, the risk to participants is an acknowledged limitation of the

study.

100

6.5 BENEFITS OF THE STUDY

In spite of the acknowledged limitations of the study, iterated above, there are also,

arguably, potential benefits accruing from the study, namely

Awareness of ECCE scheme and its universality may be risen;

Promotion of inclusion issues and practices in line with SIOLTA, Standard 14

and the identity and Belonging theme of AISTEAR;

Re-consideration of Equality and Diversity Training especially in light of the

coaching/mentoring aspect of the Training;

Partnership between Traveller parents and childcare services and the

implementation of SIOLTA Standard 3, Parents and Families may be re-

visited as an area in need of resourcing.

101

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APPENDICES

Appendix 1 – Survey/Questionnaire for Childcare Providers

Appendix 2 - Interview Questions

Appendix 3 - Focus Group Questions

Appendix 4 - Email requesting feedback on pilot questionnaire

Appendix 5 - Consent form 1 One-to-one interviews

Appendix 6 - Consent form 2 Focus Group Participation

Appendix 7 - Synopsis of Research for Pre-School Services

Appendix 7a - Research Synopsis for Traveller Families

Appendix 8 - Statistics re Travellers in the County being Researched.

Appendix 10 - Consent form to use Childcare Committee’s Email addresses to

distribute survey/questionnaire

Appendix 11 - Dissertation consultation proforma 1

Appendix 12 - Dissertation consultation proforma 2

Appendix 13 - Dissertation consultation proforma 3

Appendix 14 - Interview with Traveller Parent 1

Appendix 15 - Interview with Traveller Parent 2

Appendix 16- Interview with Traveller Parent 3

Appendix 17 - Interview with Traveller Parent 4

Appendix 18 – Focus Group with Young Traveller Women

Appendix 19 – Interview with Childcare Provider 1

Appendix 20 – Interview with Childcare Provider 2

Appendix 21 – Interview with Childcare Provider 3

Appendix 22 – Ethics Consent Form

109

Appendix 1 – Survey/Questionnaire for Childcare Providers

The Traveller child’s experience of Early Childhood Care and Education since the introduction of the free

pre-school year

1. Do you want to be in the draw for a FREE storytelling workshop for your childcare

service? Please choose one answer

Yes No

2. Is your pre­school service Community or Private? Please choose Community or

Private from the drop­down box

3. How many pre­school children, aged 2.5years to 6 years, attend your pre­school

service? Please tick one answer

Less than 6

6 to 10

11 to 20

20+

4. How many Traveller Children attend your pre-school service? Please choose one answer.

0

2

3

4

5+

5. Since January 2010, approximately how many enquiries re admittance to your preschool service have you received from Traveller families? Please tick one answer

0

1 or 2

3 to 7

7+

110

6. Has your pre­school service ever refused admission to a Traveller child? Please tick one answer

yes

no

don't know

7. What equality and diversity training has your pre­school service engaged with? Please tick all that apply

none

as part of general childcare training

Fetac 6 module in Equality & Diversity

Other accredited training

Other non-accredited training

8. How much does your pre­school service value diversity of children's

backgrounds? Please tick one answer

Not at all

A little bit

Some

Quite a bit

A tremendous amount

9. Who, do you think, is primarily responsible for making sure that a child has good relationships with his or her peers in the preschool setting? Please tick one answer

Parents Pre- Schools Children

10. What factors about your pre-school would make it attractive to Traveller

Families? Please tick all that apply.

Quality of care/educ.

Proximity to town centre

Training for parents

Additional Extras

No additional extras

Additional Time options

Leadership

Service small 0- 9 places

Mid size 11-20 places

Service large 20+ places

Familiarity

Welcome

Access to other services

None

Other (please specify)

11. If you would be prepared to engage in a short 15 minute one to one

interview, with the researcher on the topics covered above please put your

contact details below

111

Thank you for your time and participation.

Please email this form to the researcher [email protected]

112

Appendix 2 - Interview Questions

The Traveller child’s experience of Early Childhood Care and Education since the introduction of the free

pre-school year

1. Introduction and reminder of research aims

2. Tell me what about your pre-school would attract Traveller families?

3. Explain what things about your pre-school would put Traveller Families

off your pre-school.

4. What do you think Traveller Families are looking for in a pre-school?

5. Do you think the decision to close Traveller Pre-schools was a good

decision? Why?

113

Appendix 3 - Focus Group Questions

The Traveller child’s experience of Early Childhood Care and Education since the introduction of the free

pre-school year

1. Introductions, Name, number of children, ages of children, children

currently in pre-school, children who will attend pre-school within the

next three years?

2. Tell me about your experience of pre-school?

a. Did you go to pre-school? (prompt)

b. Did your older children go to pre-school? (prompt)

c. Why did you choose that pre-school? (prompt)

3. What makes a good/bad pre-school?

4. What would put you off sending your child to pre-school? Why?

5. What would encourage you to send your child to a particular pre-school?

Why?

6. Do you think the decision to close Traveller Pre-schools was a good

decision? Why?

114

Appendix 4 - Email requesting feedback on pilot questionnaire

Dear early years’ practitioner,

I may have mentioned to you, that, as part of the Masters Programme I am

completing, I am required to submit a dissertation. My dissertation is in the area of

Traveller Inclusion in pre-school since the introduction of the free pre-school year in

January 2010. For more information, have a read of the research synopsis which I

have attached.

Before I start the research, I would like to get some feedback on my questionnaire

from early years practitioners in the field who will not be part of the research and this

is the reason I am contacting you. I would be most grateful, if you would have a look

at the questionnaire and complete it. I don’t want the questionnaire back from you

but I would like your critical comments on, the length of time it took to complete the

questionnaire, the clarity of the instructions that come with each question (ie how

many options to tick, how to rank etc), whether or not the questions are clear, If not

how could the wording be better and the layout of the questionnaire

I know you are all busy but I would be really grateful for your feedback as it will

inform the research.

Looking forward to hearing from you by return email.

Regards,

Marie Cuddihy

115

Appendix 5 - Consent form 1 One-to-one interviews

Full title of Project:

The Traveller child’s experience of Early Childhood Care and Education since the introduction of the free

pre-school year

Researcher

Marie Cuddihy, Childcare Development Officer, WCCC, Kilmantin Hill, Wicklow

Town.

Please Initial Box

1. I confirm that I have read and understand the information

sheet for the above study and have had the opportunity to ask

questions.

2. I understand that my participation is voluntary and that I

am free to withdraw at any time, without giving reason.

3. I agree to take part in the above study.

4. I agree to the recording of the interview.

5. I agree to the use of anonymised quotes from the interview

Name of Participant Date Signature

Marie Cuddihy

Name of Researcher Date Signature

116

Appendix 6 - Consent form 2 Focus Group Participation Full title of Project

The Traveller child’s experience of Early Childhood Care and Education since the introduction of the free

pre-school year

Researcher

Marie Cuddihy, Childcare Development Officer, WCCC, Kilmantin Hill, Wicklow Town.

Please Initial Box

1. I confirm that I have read and understand the information

sheet for the above study and have had the opportunity to ask

questions.

2. I understand that my participation is voluntary and that I

am free to withdraw at any time, without giving reason.

3. I agree to take part in the focus group.

4. I agree to recording the focus group.

5. I agree to the use of anonymised quotes from the focus group

Name of Participant Date Signature

Marie Cuddihy

Name of Researcher Date Signature

117

Appendix 7 - Synopsis of Research for Pre-School Services

The Traveller child’s experience of Early Childhood Care and Education since the introduction of the free

pre-school year

Traveller Pre-schools are being phased out tandem with the introduction of the Early

Childhood Care and Education Scheme (ECCE) in 2010. The aims of this research

are

1. to find out where Traveller Families access pre-school education

2. to understand how Travellers have dealt with the transition from segregated provision

to universal provision

3. to explore the factors impacting upon where the children attend

4. to identify ways of progressing positive pre-school outcomes for Traveller children.

There are two strands to the Research in which pre-school services can participate.

A questionnaire will be distributed to all ECCE pre-schools in the county to get a picture of

where Traveller children attend pre-school. The pre-school will be asked to answer 11

questions, which will take less than ten minutes and email the questionnaire along with the

consent form back to the researcher. The questionnaire will be confidential and anonymous

unless you are willing to be interviewed further on the topic. (Please see Q 11 on the

questionnaire)

One-to-one, face-to-face interviews will be carried out with three services, which consent to

being interviewed in more detail, on the topics covered in the questionnaire. The interviews

will be recorded to help the researcher remember what is being said. The names of services

and all identifiers will be removed from the data collected and confidentiality will be assured.

Appendix 7a - Research Synopsis for Traveller Families

The Traveller child’s experience of Early Childhood

118

Care and Education since the introduction of the free pre-school year

Traveller Pre-schools are being phased out in tandem with the introduction of the

Early Childhood Care and Education Scheme (ECCE) in 2010.The aims of this

research are

1. to find out

a. where Traveller Families go for pre-school education

b. how Travellers have dealt with the change from dedicated Traveller Pre-

schools to general pre-schools.

c. the factors impacting upon where the children attend

2. to identify ways of making pre-school more positive for Traveller children.

The opinions and experiences of Traveller families and parents are required to make

the research rounded.

Focus Group

This group will consist of Traveller parents whose children have attended, are attending or

will attend ECCE pre-schools. The group will last for about 50 minutes and will take the

form of a group discussion. Participation is voluntary and no undue pressure will be put on

participants. Consent will be formally sought. The participants will be asked to talk about

their personal experiences of the pre-school sector both before and since, the closure of

Traveller pre-schools, for example, where their children attend/ed or will attend and why they

chose that pre-school. The session will be recorded to help the researcher remember all that is

being said. The names of all people will be removed from the data collected and

confidentiality will be assured.

Appendix 8 - Statistics re Travellers in the County being Researched.

119

According to the Central Statistics Office, Travellers account for 0.6% of the total

population of the Republic of Ireland. 16% of Travellers are in the age bracket 0 to 4

years (CSO, 2012). In 2011, the population of the sample county was measured at

137,656 (CSO, 2012). This means that there are approximately 826 Travellers living

in the sample county with approximately 72 of these being in the 0 – 4 year age

bracket. Assuming that half of these children attend pre-school that means there are,

currently, 36 Traveller pre-school children in the sample county.

Appendix 10 - Consent form to use Childcare Committee’s Email addresses to distribute survey/questionnaire

Full title of Project:

The Traveller child’s experience of Early Childhood

120

Care and Education since the introduction of the free pre-school year

Researcher

Marie Cuddihy, 102 Ardmore Park, Bray, Co. Wicklow. Consent for using professional email contact list for the purpose of accessing childcare

providers

Please Initial Box

1. The Board confirms that the information sheet for the above

study has been read and understood and the Board has had the

opportunity to ask questions.

2. The Board understands that the list will be used for one

purpose only and that the emails will be sent from the

researchers private email address in the researchers own time.

3. I agree to the use of the professional email list

Name of Signatory Date Signature

(On Behalf of Board)

Marie Cuddihy

Name of Researcher Date Signature

Appendix 11 - Dissertation consultation proforma 1

STRANMILLIS UNIVERSITY COLLEGE A College of Queen’s University Belfast

MA Early Childhood Studies

121

NAME OF STUDENT: Marie Cuddihy

YEAR GROUP: MA ECS

DATE OF MEETING: 16.9.13

TIME OF MEETING: 12.30

The following points were discussed and agreed at today’s meeting:

Expectations for a MA Dissertation – word length, critical writing, original and

independent piece

Supervisor Role – advisory, help student with their goals and research plan, ‘a

critical friend’, provide constructive feedback, to assess the dissertation

Student’s role – take full responsibility for studies, submit work and meet deadlines,

regular contact, and take initiative in raising concerns

Supervision protocol – supervision meetings - number and length, emails, phone calls,

reviewing drafts

Research Topic and Questions – Topical, EY relevant, ‘Golden thread’

Methods – Appropriate, Innovative, Triangulation

Potential to Publish

Beginning the lit review – how and where to start

Planning the research - timeframe

Ethics – filling out the ethics form

Reviewed the literature review,

Action points for next meeting: Read other dissertations MA- particularly look at Majella mcbride

Review sources on qual

TUTOR SIGNED: ______________________ 16.9.13

STUDENT SIGNED: ______________________16.9.13

A copy of this response has been retained by the tutor for reference

Appendix 12 - Dissertation consultation proforma 2

STRANMILLIS UNIVERSITY COLLEGE A College of Queen’s University Belfast

MA Early Childhood Studies

122

DISSERTATION CONSULTATION PROFORMA

NAME OF STUDENT: Marie Cuddihy

YEAR GROUP: MA ECS

DATE OF MEETING: 17.10.13

TIME OF MEETING: 4.30

The following points were discussed and agreed at today’s meeting:

Discussed literature review and talked about the need to set it in a more theoretical context.

Suggested that Marie looks at the Inclusion literature and made some suggestions as to

further sources to ref

Talked about the need for a more critical writing style as to the descriptive approach (needs

less quotations and more paraphrasing)

Reviewed the literature review,

Action points for next meeting: Submit second draft of literature to be sure the research questions bare out of the literature

Submit second draft by Tues 5th

Nov

TUTOR SIGNED: ______________________ 17.10.13

STUDENT SIGNED: ______________________17.10.13

A copy of this response has been retained by the tutor for reference

Appendix 13 - Dissertation consultation proforma 3

STRANMILLIS UNIVERSITY COLLEGE A College of Queen’s University Belfast

MA Early Childhood Studies

DISSERTATION CONSULTATION PROFORMA

NAME OF STUDENT: Marie Cuddihy

123

YEAR GROUP: MA ECS

DATE OF MEETING: 18.02.14

TIME OF MEETING: 11.30

The following points were discussed and agreed at today’s meeting:

Discussed the structure and format of the methodology. We talked through the structure and

content of the remaining of the dissertation

Talked about the best way to present results to inform the discussion

Action points for next meeting: Submit the methodology for comment by email – 28

th Feb

Email questionnaire for ref

TUTOR SIGNED: ______________________ 18.02.14

STUDENT SIGNED: ______________________18.02.14

A copy of this response has been retained by the tutor for reference

Appendix 14 - Interview with Traveller Parent 1

Interview with Traveller Mother (Catherina) At 12.03 am on 20/03/2014

Background Catherina has three children, 7, 5 and 3 years old. All three went to the crèche for the year before school. Her first experience of pre-school with her daughter was very good- “She learnt an awful lot from the crèche” “I felt that she was very, very happy and content with that crèche”. Her second experience was with her little boy. ”For the first seven months he was very, very happy in school”. However, then Catherina saw the primetime documentary in 2013 about practices in creches and this “changed her opinion completely” “I was doubting myself – was I a bad mother for putting him in

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and that I didn’t pay more attention to what was going on”. “I was doubting myself”. “My opinion changed completely on the crèche and a week later, I took Ben out and kept him at home until he started school, but I really would have wished that he had more experience before he had went to school, and I felt it was a bit early putting him into school. I blamed it on myself and the crèche”.” I wanted to put him in for another year before he started school….because I felt myself as a parent that he wasn’t ready for school but I sent him anyway cos she (the Montessori teacher) said he was ready for school, but with the speech, my little fellow has a speech problem, I can understand him, but the teacher mightn’t, and that’s why I wanted him in the crèche for another year but I didn’t feel comfortable doing that” “With my third child, I was actually working here at the time, I didn’t have much family in the area that could take him while I was working in the morning and I had spoken to a few parents who had kids in other creches, for to see, did they find any problems with the creches. For myself, I didn’t feel ready to put him in the creche for the incident that happened to my other son (in a different service) but I had no other choice and if I wanted to keep my job here, I had to put him into a crèche. Interview I = Interviewer C = Catherina I: Tell me why you chose the particular pre-school to which you sent your eldest child? C: I sent my girl to a Montessori, a different one to the one my son went to. I chose it because I heard good recommendations from other parents that had their kids in that crèche at that time I: were these parents also from the Travelling Community? C: Yes I: Why did you chose the different pre-school for your son? C: Same thing. A cousin of mine had her little girl in there the year before Ben had started and she was giving it high praises that when you were going home every day you were told what he (she) had drank, how many times he (she) had been to the toilet and all this and I found that that was brilliant. I wanted to know every step and minute in the crèche what he was doing and how was he progressing. I: And for your third child, who is now currently in pre-school…. C: My third child… my baby…first starting off for the first couple of days, I didn’t think I was going to adjust fairly easy but then he really got into it and started to enjoy it. Coming out in the day, he was telling me what he doing, painting or…. I: And why did you choose that particular pre-school, which is a different one again? C: Other members of the Travelling community had used that crèche and gave me the good recommendations for it. I: In your opinion, what makes a good pre-school? What’s the most important thing? C: I’d say the minding, the minders, the workers because you know that they’re taking care of your child and their eyes is on them, full stop.

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I: Would you say, if they were well qualified, that that would make it even better? C: Yes, obviously they have to have experience with kids and have to have done everything, all the courses and that, what they have to do before they’re actually in childcare. Learning and the coping. The relationship between the kids and the teacher. I: What would put you off sending your child to pre-school? C: Safety and the teachers. If I felt that I didn’t feel comfortable with the teachers and I didn’t feel that there was any pleasant thing about them and I know from the way my child is reacting with them and my sense of… I: What would encourage you to send your child to a particular pre-school? C: Word-of-mouth, recommendations and how their child got on. I would trust other people before I would just put him in some place. I: Do you think it was a good idea to close Traveller specific pre-schools? C: Yes. I think that the best decision. .I wouldn’t like my child to be singled out, to be in their own community all the time and not mixing. I think that’s a good thing for their development as well. They can mix with other children of their own age. Travelling children have their own culture but at this age they are just developing and they can keep this culture, I feel this personally myself. I: Do you have enough information about pre-school in your area? C: Yes I do.

Appendix 15 - Interview with Traveller Parent 2

Interview with Traveller Mother (Keira) At 12.20 pm on 20/03/2014

Background Keira has three children. In 2005 and 2006 “My first two went to a Traveller’s crèche – it was here in the building. I was upstairs training and it was great because I’d just come in in the morning at nine, put the two girls into the crèche downstairs and I’d come upstairs. I was here until four and then I’d collect them but we’d go down at dinner hour to give the women a break – the mothers would go down to their own children like.” Keira did this until she had her third child in 2007. Then Keira stayed at home for a while and used the Traveller crèche once a week or so as a drop-in for a couple of hours while she did her shopping or other such things. Soon afterwards,

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Keira was employed by the centre up to one o clock each day. By this time her girls were in school so she only needed care for her young son, James went to registered childminder from the ages of two to four years and then started his free-pre-school year in a local Montessori school. ”It was similar to the childminders, he never really like going much – I think it was the mornings used to kill him, he didn’t like to get out of bed in the mornings. I used to have to drag him out”. He went there (the Montessori) for 12 months. It was lovely down there cos they do a little graduation and everything. The have the little graduation hats. Lovely. (The owner) was lovely” Keira felt she was going to have hassle when James started school because “when they’re at pre-school you can keep them off if they really don’t want to go but when they’re at school they’re meant to go, like” Interview I = Interviewer K = Keira I: Tell me why you chose the particular pre-school to which you sent your girls? K: I was upstairs and they were downstairs. If anything happened to them, they would just walk straight up to you. Convenient. I: Did you ever consider going to a different childcare service? K: No I: In your opinion, what makes a good pre-school? K: I think the women. It’s nice if they could have a good relationship with the children. That’s the most important part for me. To know what they’re doing as well. That the child is comfortable with the person is the most important thing for me. I: What would have put you off sending your child to pre-school? K: You kinda get a feeling when things are not…..I was worried when they were starting, anxious like. You hear things on the news about this crèche and you’re thinking could that happen, I think when you start for the first few weeks you are.. and then after a few weeks you get to know them. I: What would encourage you to send your child to a particular pre-school? K: It was close to me. Closer to me is better for me. And you hear people saying my child goes there and it’s a lovely crèche. In the Montessori James went to, he was the only Traveller. Word-of-mouth, recommendations and how their child got on. I would trust other people before I would just put him in some place. I: Do you think g that it was a good idea to close Traveller specific pre-schools?

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K: Yes. I think it nice for them to mix with others and to see other cultures. There’s no-one the same so you can’t bring them up as thinking that…. The school James is in now, he’s the only Traveller that ever went there I: Why did you choose that school? K: To be honest, they’re all different down there, they’re Polish and all different cultures and then they won’t be judged, I think, as much, of being a Traveller. The teacher says “Hello” to the child each morning by his name and this is good. I: When you were accessing pre-schools, did you have enough information about pre-schools in your area? K: I did because I went over to the Childcare Committee myself. I saw something in the window one day. I can read myself and I was looking for a creche so I went in and they gave me a list of creches and phone numbers so I rang them all.

Appendix 16 – Interview with Traveller Parent 3

Interview with Traveller Mother (Bernie) At 12.42 pm on 20/03/2014

Background Bernie has three children, two boys and a girl, aged 7, 9 and 12 years. All three of Bernie’s children went to pre-school. Her eldest boy went to the pre-school in the building where Bernie was part of a Traveller organisation. After having her son, Bernie really didn’t want to leave him but the “woman haunted her” to get her back. “He benefitted an awful lot from that”. Then Bernie moved to another town and again she had her son in the crèche within the same building in which she was working. This crèche was in a family resource centre, which was not traveller specific. “I had bad experience in that pre-school, so I took him out and I shopped around and I got

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him into a different pre-school” Then Bernie finished working in this town but she still started her daughter in the same pre-school because she really liked the way they treated the kids Interview I = Interviewer B = Bernie I: Tell me why you chose the particular pre-school to which you sent your children? B: The first was because it was in the same building as I was. When I wanted to move my son because of the biting incidents, I was talking around to other mothers and I got good feedback from it and when I went up to see them, actually my kids were the first traveller kids that ever went to it, they were very helpful, very understandable. Even when I would go to collect the kids, they would hide in the door. They really enjoyed having the kids and they communicated a lot with me. The other (previous) pre-school that my son was in had more contact with Traveller organisations and there were more Traveller kids there but it just wasn’t the same thing. I: What do you think makes a good pre-school? B: I think it’s the participants, it’s the kids that’s going to it, the families that’s involved and it’s the people that runs it. If they have an interest and they like what they’re doing and enjoy doing what they’re doing and the families don’t have an issue that their child is going (to pre-school) with a Traveller – it just works much better. I: Is there anything that would have put you off sending your child to pre-school? B: That experience that I did have did really knock me back an awful lot like, but I kept him home for about two weeks but the child was missing it (pre-school). I felt guilty then…. And it took me a good bit to get him back into it and that’s why I had to look into things more before I put him back in. In the other crèche (where Bernie’s son was during the biting incident), she was a lovely woman, but she was shocked that I confronted her and made such an issue out of it. Probably there was other Traveller families there before and they didn’t really make a big issue out of these simple things. I: So you feel communication is really important? B: When you’re putting your child into a service, you’re not putting your child into a service with a label on him, you’re putting him in as a child, it’s a human being you’re talking about. It ain’t label Traveller, White, Black or Whatever. It’s a child, like, do you know what I mean? And even though you want your child to have their identity, and you’re not hiding the fact that they’re a Traveller, when you go to talk to someone you’re not talking about Traveller, you are talking about a child. And that’s where I think the people gets very confused with schools and the Education system. I: What would encourage you to send your child to a particular pre-school? B: Good communication. Yeah because when I moved to another town I still drove back to the previous town to put my daughter in the pre-school that I moved my son to. I: Do you think that it was a good idea to close Traveller specific pre-schools?

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K: I think children need to integrate in society but I think some children do get lost along the way too. They’re losing their identity. That’s why I was asking earlier about the toys in the crèche (There were toys that reflected Traveller culture shown in a DVD that was shown earlier in the day). Bernie then gave an example of when one of her boys was in senior infants in primary school and the class was having a conversation about grandparents. Her son mentioned his “Oul Da” and was corrected by the teacher saying there was no such thing (Oul Da is used in Traveller culture as a name for Grandfather) I: Did you have enough information about pre-schools in your area? B: At the time no, it was down to myself for research and for looking for… I: Was it easy to find that information? B: It was yeah, because you get it through word of mouth and through other things. I: Would you say you would rely more on word of mouth or would you go out and research it yourself? B: I can’t read or write so I would rely more on word of mouth. I did view a good few places before I found the right place.

Appendix 17 - Interview with Traveller Parent 4

Interview with Traveller Mother (Katie) At 12.59 pm on 20/03/2014

Background Katie has two children, two boys, aged 6 and 9 years. The older boy didn’t go to pre-school but the younger did at the age of three. Katie live in a different town when her elder boy was little and she didn’t have information about pre-schools. Then when her younger boy was little, Katie moved to another town and was offered a training course and needed childcare. Interview I = Interviewer K = Katie I: Tell me why you chose the particular pre-school to which you sent your children?

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K: Because I heard a lot of people talking about it. It wasn’t just for settled children like. It was mixed. I: Were there other Travellers there? K: There was yeah. I: And was it recommended to you? K: A few of the friends I was talking to was telling me about it. They had kids in it, themselves. I: In your opinion, what makes a good pre-school? K: I think it’s a good pre-school if it’s mixed, like. I think it’s good for the kids to mix and in that crèche, they were very good and they were very nice and all the kids were mixing like. And that’s the reason why I left him in it, I suppose, if I had to have a problem…. I: And how long was he there? K: He was there for two years. I: And did he get the free pre-school year? K: He did yeah I: What would have put you off sending your child to pre-school? K: No…. I think with the other lad, he was my first, I didn’t have any other kids like. I think that might have been the reason he never did go to pre-school. And then he started school when he was four and a half. I: What would encourage you to send your child to a particular pre-school? K: Good recommendations. Good mixed pre-school. I: Do you think that it was a good idea to close Traveller specific pre-schools? K: It’s hard to know, being straight like. That’s a hard question. I’m not sure like. I: Did you think you had enough information about pre-schools in your area? K: Yeah, I had plenty I: Even for your older boy? K: I knew, yeah, I didn’t have anyone else there. I was moving around a good bit as well like. Wasn’t really in the one place long enough.

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Appendix 18 – Focus Group with Young Traveller Women

At 10.27 pm on 24/04/2014

Background Seven young women were part of the group Margaret (M1) – no children yet Margaret (M2) – no children Donna (D) – no children Mary (M3) - I have a little girl and she’s two years Lynette (L) – I have a little girl and she is 8 months Tara (T) – I have a little boy and he’s 16 months Kara (K) – I have a three year old girl and a two year old boy. Interview I = Interviewer

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I: Did any of you go to pre-school? M1: I went to St Chiaran’s (A Traveller school with a pre-school attached) M2: I can’t remember D: I went to St Chiarans as well. I started when I was three. It was good. I cried for the first few days. M3: I went to Primary school straight. A mainstream school. I: And what about your little girl, do you think you will send her? M3: Yeah I will. L: I don’t remember anything about pre-school. Just Primary. I: And what about your little girl? L: Yeah, she’s a bit young for the crèche yet. She’s at home with my mother. When she’s well able for it, when she’s able to talk and all (I will use a pre-school) T: I went to a community pre-school when I was three or four. I: What do you remember about it? T: I remember it being fun like, I enjoyed it. I: What about your little lad? T: Oh my mother takes him. He’s too young as well. I: When he gets to say three or four, will you send him to pre-school? T: Yeah definitely. K: I just started school when I was five. I: And what about the kids? K: My girl went to a community pre-school but I took her out and sent her up to the Traveller specific schoo.. I: When will she be 4? K: November I: So she’s going up to the reception year, the year before school. Do they have many little ones up there? K: Not really. I: Tell me why you chose the particular pre-school to which you sent your children? K: Her father went there and a lot of her aunties and uncles are up there (in the primary school section) I: And why did you choose the community pre-school before that. K: Because a cousin of hers was there. But it didn’t work out because they were in different classes I: In your opinion, what makes a good pre-school? M1: Feedback T: How close it is to you. M2: You’d look into it like. L: The way they treat your children M2: I’d be afraid they’d get neglected or something I: Why would you think that? M2: It was on the news about it - you’d have to trust someone to mind your child like. M1: The better you know the person who’s running the crèche I: What about, if you thought the person in the crèche wasn’t qualified? M2: yeah M1: yeah D: yeah

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I: Someone mentioned earlier that it’s about the way they treat your children… K: When my daughter was going to the community service she was crying going in but when she went up to the Traveller specific pre-school she was much happier. She’s delighted every morning now. She can’t wait to get on the bus to go to school. I: And what do you think the difference is? K: It’s just the teacher up there is very, very nice. I: Do you know if the teacher is highly qualified? K: She’s been up there for years. M1: She taught me up there years ago. K: They just take it a step more to make the child comfortable. K: If they go out of their way…. I: On the other side then what would make a bad pre-school? M2: If they were neglecting your children. I’m not a mother but I’d say a mother could tell…. D: They would know their own child I: So is there anything else then that would make a bad pre-school? M3: If you go in and it’s all untidy or dirty I: What would put you off sending your child to pre-school? M2: Neglect M1: Hearing things about the pre-school D: Getting negative feedback L: That the child is too young M2: What’s been on the news about it. Make you trust no-one M1: And you’d be paranoid about it. L: Like you’re leaving the life of your child in someone else’s hands M2: If they (the childcare workers) have no time for them (the children) I: What would encourage you to send your child to pre-school? M2: To learn M1: To mix L: To be not stuck at home all day M3: To have a break I: What would encourage you to send your child to a particular pre-school? K: A lot of people I know and their father went to it M2: If it was good I: Would any of you pick a pre-school where you didn’t know anybody who was going there? T: It depends on the child. Some kids are good at mixing. Some kids are shy. But if you don’t know a child there (in a specific childcare service), they mightn’t go;

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I: If I told you that the best pre-school in Ireland was two miles away from you and it was free to go to, would you choose that pre-school M2: Well you’d have to investigate it L: You’d have to visit it D: Go on the website to find out more L: Talk to one of the staff M3: Have a look around M1: Check the qualifications I: Would you feel confident investigating it, going in and asking questions? M1: Yeah M2: Yeah T: Yeah M3: I don’t think I would be able to do it D: I would K: I asked a few questions I suppose, but my partner was asking more. I: Do you think the decision to close Traveller pre-schools was a good one? M1:M2: Yeah, Yeah M1: Travellers should mix with settled people more L: Everybody should be equal, treated equal M1: You shouldn’t just have a pre-school for Travellers like M1: You would feel like they were treating you different. Like when I went to pre-school I would have liked to have gone somewhere else. It was a good pre-school but I would have rathered…. Cos I went to a Travellers’ secondary school as well. It’s a better idea to mix. I: Do you think that Traveller culture is effected by the closure of Traveller pre-schools? M2: Me and my brothers went to ordinary schools primary and secondary and we still have our culture. So it doesn’t really matter about the school, I think (in terms of culture) K: I’m not a Traveller but I am with a Traveller (in a relationship with) and I don’t think that any child should be treated differently, they should be treated the same, but if they want if they want to go on the road or anything, that should be up to them. No child should be treated any different to any other child no matter what culture they are. M2: I think it all depends on the family – culture D: Not all Travellers are the same I: Do you have enough information about pre-schools in your area? I: Do you know where they are? M2: No T: Well, I didn’t know there was 40 in this town (laughs) I: Did you know that under the government funded ECCE scheme, your children can go to any of those pre-schools? I: Do you know where to look for the information about where those pre-schools are? M1: The Internet? M2: Just ask around

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I: Say you wanted to find a particular pre-school, say Playtime Montessori, how would you find it? M2: Where’s that? I did work experience in a Montessori but I can’t remember the name of it. I: Did you? M2: There was child there, a little boy, there was something wrong with him, nothing serious, he had anger issues or something, and they left him out. I stopped doing my work experience there over that. They left him out and they locked him in the classroom upstairs while they brought the other kids around. He was screaming and crying an awful lot. I stopped going because of that. It was terrible. They were very lazy there. I: Was this work experience part of a childcare qualification? M2: No it was during school I: Do you think that experience would affect how you would choose a pre-school? M2: I can’t even look at the place when I am driving past. No way. It’s scary even the inside of it. When you walk in, it’s like you can feel it. That there’s something not right about it. I: So you would work on feelings. If you got a sense of someplace not being friendly or good or whatever. Going back to finding information on pre-schools, you said you would use the internet, ask other people and rely on your own personal experiences and feelings about a service. I: Do you have any questions for me? D: I think we have talked enough (laughs)

Appendix 19 – Interview with Childcare Provider 1

Interview with Owner/Manager of a private full day care facility At 10.00 am on 12/06/2014

Background This full day care service has been owned and run by the current manager for 8 years since 2006 It is based in a rural area about 1 kilometre from the nearest small town The service can accommodate 50 children at any one time. Full day care, part time care, the free-pre-school year, Montessori pre-school and after school care are the childcare options available at this service . Including the manager there are 8 full-time staff. There are 23 free pre-school year children on the books of this service though not all children attend every day. Three of these children are Travellers. One of the three comes from the local town, the other two come from two other towns that are both within a 3 mile radius of the service. These 23 children have two optional extras that they may avail of

1. A hot meal every day for €19 a month

2. A Stretch and Grow class once a week for €3 a week

Most of the 23 children, including the 3 Traveller children avail of the optional extras.

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The service has a policy of not taking deposits to secure places and does not ask for a voluntary contribution from families. Interview I = Interviewer M = Manager I: Tell me what about the pre-school part of your service would attract Traveller families M: Being Friendly and Welcoming. Giving help to parents filling out forms and reading and explaining what’s on forms. Being honest with them and being upfront even asking “Can you read and write?” I: Do you think that’s an easy question to ask? M: Well it is for me. I believe in being upfront. I grew up with Travellers. A family moved to my area when I was young. I went to school with them. My parents never made any fuss that I hung around with Travellers. It’s all about having normal conversations with them about everyday things. If you hide from them, they’ll hide from you. I: Is there anything else that would make Traveller families use your pre-school? M: Word-of-mouth. One Traveller family might tell another Traveller family. I: Tell me what things about your pre-school would put Traveller families off applying to come here. M: Pauses… I can’t think of anything. Maybe the only things would be that we are full-day care and private I: What do you think Traveller families are looking for in a pre-school? M: A welcoming manager who will introduce them to the staff who will be with the child because they (Travellers) have a fear of their child not being looked after ‘cos of who they are. I: Do you think the decision to close Traveller Pre-Schools was a good decision? M: Yes, it was a good idea cos now they have a choice of where they go.

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Appendix 20 – Interview with Childcare Provider 2

Interview with Owner/Manager of a private pre-school

At 10.00 am on 13/06/2014

I = Interviewer

O = Owner

Background

This service has been owned and run by the current manager for 15 years

The service can accommodate 20 children at any one time.

The free-pre-school year, pre-school and after school care are the childcare

options available at this service.

Including the owner there are 3 part-time staff.

There are 18 free pre-school year children on the books of this service though

not all children attend every day. No Traveller children attend.

These pre-school children are not charged for optional extras but children may

stay for an extra half an hour at a cost of €20 per week.

More than half of the 18 children avail of the optional time.

The service has a policy of not taking deposits to secure places and does not ask

for a voluntary contribution from families. Interview I = Interviewer

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O= Owner I: Tell me what about the pre-school part of your service would attract Traveller families O: Being open and treating all children the same. We have children from all backgrounds here and would never give one child preference over another. I: Is there anything else that would make Traveller families use your pre-school? O: I don’t know if advertising works because we do a lot of that. Maybe some other way of reaching the families. Maybe linking in with family support workers who work with the families. I: Tell me what things about your pre-school would put Traveller families off applying to come here. O: Maybe where we are or maybe they don’t know where we are. I: What do you think Traveller families are looking for in a pre-school? O: The same as everyone else, I suppose. A safe, high quality place where their children will be enabled to develop socially and academically, getting ready for school. I: Do you think the decision to phase out Traveller Pre-Schools was a good decision? O: Yes, I think it was but has it really happened? There is still a Traveller pre-school in the area. But if they are being phased out, I agree with it because all children should have the same opportunities and experiences. After all, we don’t send Polish children to Polish pre-schools and we don’t send African children to African pre-schools. They are helped within our pre-school system to develop their language and other skills and they don’t lose their connection with their backgrounds.

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Appendix 21 – Interview with Childcare Provider 3

Interview with Manager of a group of community childcare services

At 10.25 am on 16/06/2014

I = Interviewer

M1 = Manager

Background

This group of community childcare services is spread across 7 locations and

offers sessional care, breakfast clubs and after school services to in excess of

200 children and has been doing so for over 20 years.

The sessional or pre-school part of the service caters for 80 children across two

sites. One of the sites has both a morning and an afternoon session (26 + 30 +

24). 51 of the 80 children are part of the ECCE scheme and the others would

predominantly avail of the CCS scheme (This scheme provides subsidised or

free childcare for eligible families based on need which is evidenced usually by

the parents’ receipt of a social welfare payment)

The percentage that would be Traveller children would be quite small. 7 or 8

out of the 51 are Travellers (around 14%). This figure is high because of

location of the service and the profile of families in the area. The service is

located in a RAPID area which indicates high disadvantage.

If the children come and do a CCS year, they usually stay to do the free pre-

school year afterwards, so they get a two year pre-school experience and I

would say for most Traveller families that has been a big departure over the last

few years. The completely free pre-school year has probably opened Travellers

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more to pre-school education and once that’s happened the subsequent siblings,

cousins and other family members, they see that they can also have the CCS

year. Not only has it been an improvement in the amount of traveller children

starting and ending with a free pre-school year, it means that more have two

pre-school years. So its more than just the free year, also the subsidised year

(CCS) has made a big difference. For traveller families, it has opened it and

made it more familiar to them. The concept of sending their children early to

school which for a lot of traveller women has been a step to get over because

most would feel that what their function is, is to look after their young children.

For the most part the mums here would be stay-at-home mums. The other thing

is we have more Traveller men bringing their children and understanding the

whole idea of pre-school education and over the last two years that has been a

huge change. Some of it has to do with the changes in Welfare benefits where

especially the young women can get part-time work and the Traveller men are

still not working in the official economy and they would be the ones dropping

the children into pre-school.

I: What is it about your service that would attract Traveller Families?

M1: The big thing is familiarity and trust that builds up over a lot of years so

maybe even Traveller families who would never have sent their children to pre-

school, they have sent their children to homework club. So they might have had

older ones in homework club and then the free pre-school year (ECCE) came in

and they might send younger children or their grandchildren because the service

is someplace they trust for the care of their children. We would have built a

rapport with Traveller families over the years as well as other families who

would have other difficulties, who live in the area and I was very interested

when the Free Pre-school Year (ECCE) came in to see if these families would

send their children to other services but it hasn’t happened.

I: Is there anything about your pre-school that would put traveller families off

applying for admission?

M1: (Pauses) Not applying for admission, but what puts Traveller families off is

the structure of it. The fact that we do expect the children to come every day,

that we expect them to be in for the curriculum at nine o’ clock, that if they are

not going to attend on a regular basis, we hassle them about it. They are the

things that are the niggles between the service and the families and their culture.

The service would be fairly attractive to Traveller families generally.

I: What do you think Traveller families are looking for in a pre-school?

M1: I think they are looking for a pre-school that’s not judgemental, or not

having any pre-conceived ideas about how their children are going to behave or

how they are going to perform and I think very often they would like a pre-

school where they are going to be talked to. It has to be face-to-face

communication, the note or the text won’t do.

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So there’s that, and all of the usual things with any parent, to know their

children are safe, that the staff are nice to them, all the normal everyday things,

the same as any parent, there’s nothing different, but for Travellers, in

particular, once, they’ve committed to a place, unless something goes wrong….

We have had, on occasion, issues with child protection, where you would lose a

whole extended Traveller family, if a child protection referral was made. They

will just withdraw from the service. What we have found over the years is that

they might withdraw for a year and within the year they would come back.

Pragmatically, it (the service) suits in other ways.

Again, these are the issues that would impact upon Travellers when looking for

or using a pre-school.

I: Do the Traveller families who attend the pre-school all live locally?

M1: The vast majority do, but we do prioritise some Traveller families. We

have on our application form, that people would be in the catchment area,

because we serve the two RAPID areas, but nevertheless, we also look at

siblings who previously attended and any other issues that we feel are pertinent,

so, on occasion, we have had families who have moved from the area, but who

would still want the children to continue coming here. But nevertheless, the vast

majority who attend here are local and within walking distance of the service.

I: Do you think the decision to close traveller pre-schools was a good decision?

M1: I’m not really sure that it has actually happened, first of all.

I: There are a couple still open…

M1: It seems to me that if they had closed all Traveller pre-schools, I would

think that it would be a good decision because it would integrate Traveller

children better for their transition into mainstream school and it has given

parents a better choice. Unfortunately there are gender related issues. Because a

lot of traveller families in my experience, are more willing to send their girl

children to mainstream school than their boy children and for a variety of

reasons, maybe behavioural issues, and sometimes a boy will spend two or three

years in a mainstream school and then move into a Traveller school. So I do

think it’s a good idea to close Traveller pre-schools, but a situation where you

have a limbo… for example, on two occasions this year, we have had children

who haven’t been attending well here but getting on terrifically in terms of their

development and learning but they haven’t had the consistency in terms of

lifestyle and parenting to have the child here 5 days a week. Because the

consistency of attendance was an issue, the families then opted to move to local

Traveller pre-school, which to me seems to be a second best option for the

child.

I: I know of a really successful Traveller pre-school in another area, which uses

the Highscope method, where attendance levels are good and where numbers

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transitioning to mainstream primary school are very high… So where Traveller

pre-school work, they work.

M1: If they work, in terms of transitioning to mainstream primary school, that

would be good.

M1: In terms of the decision to close Traveller pre-schools, I am sure Traveller

parents would be ambivalent because everyone wants their child to be

welcomed. No matter how much you want to promote and hold on to your

culture, you don’t want your child to feel even slightly different. The main issue

for us is that we would make differences of all children a positive. What we are

trying to do, is not homogenise the whole group of children in pre-school. What

we do is, because lots of children in our service have different cultures and

backgrounds, we look at these aspects of their home life and make them into

positives, such as language. We don’t try to smooth it all out into one

homogenised group.

I: Is there anything striking that you have seen or experienced in terms of

changes in how traveller families access pre-school in the past 4 years or so?

M1: I think the only other thing that I haven’t mentioned already would be the

perspective of parents. Like any other group in society, you have a huge

variations in what a Traveller is. We have a lot of young parents now, who have

been through our services themselves, for example homework clubs. They are

from Traveller families, but they are so integrated into society now that they

really aren’t identified as Travellers and they don’t self-identify as Travellers

either. That is a big difference. These young Traveller parents are more likely to

integrate with the other parents. They discuss their children more openly. They

have a more integrated approach to their child’s life. The reason for this, I think,

is that they are able to step back from the Traveller culture. It’s a hard one to

identify but you can see it. The Traveller parents who have been through our

childcare services themselves are much more open to advice and support.

Sometimes, the previous generation of traveller mothers, would not want to

speak to me (as manager). The “high woman” is not someone, they would have

wanted to speak to but they would speak happily to the staff.

I: We have come to the end. Thank you for your time and consent.

M1: You are welcome

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Appendix 22 – Ethics Consent Form