36 pages
209mm x 209mm
ISBN-10: 1 85856 351 8
ISBN-13: 978 1 85856 351 0
September 2004

'…will be essential reading for anyone concerned with Traveller Education over the next few years.' - Multilingual and Multicultural Development
'essential reading for schools and services working with Traveller communities and other mobile groups, and those who wish to keep abreast of new developments in e-learning'. - Educational Review

This report is the outcome of the E-Learning and Mobility project (E-LAMP) which was sponsored by the Nuffield Foundation and coordinated by the National association of the Teachers of Travellers. Many Circus, Fairground and Gypsy children miss out on schooling opportunities during their travelling seasons. E-LAMP set out to explore the potential of developments in ICT to enhance distance learning provision for these children.
The study looked at the role of LEA-based Traveller Education Support Services and schools in supporting these children as well as examining e-learning developments for other children in out-of-school situations, such as children with medical needs and excluded pupils. This exercise suggested growth points for future development but also highlighted important practical and policy issues which will need to be addressed if progress is to be made, particularly within the secondary sector.

The report contains suggestions and recommendations from the E-Lamp steering group and also includes an interim evaluation of an important new project, E-LAMP2, and a parallel project in Leicestershire. Both projects are exploring the use of laptops with data cards which can link young Traveller learners to the internet and to their schools.

The author Ken Marks is a research Associate within the 'Inclusive Education and Equality Research Centre' which is part of the structure of the Department of Educational Studies at the University of Sheffield. He has been working with the department for the past eight years and has a particular interest in the use of new technologies to support Traveller children. Most of his work has had a European focus, supporting initiatives developed by the European Federation for the Education of the Children of Occupational Travellers (EFECOT) until 2003 when its operational role ceased.