Peel Brow School

The children were treated to a storytelling session by Jean Swanson on Wednesday 3rd June which was followed by an arts and crafts session. Jean brought along a specila barge built by Bury schoolchildren to enhance the experience for the children. After the story the children painted and decorated their plates and horses.

The month of June was identified to mark and celebrate the diversity within Britain in terms of Traveller families. These include English and Scottish Gypsies, Travellers of Irish heritage, Fairground Travellers (Showmen), Circus Travellers, Bargees , Roma and New Travellers.

These families are different from each other but share cultures and traditions that are built upon a history of travelling for work and strong extended families . Today, Circus children may still travel for the majority of the year and may therefore receive their education through a base school, Distance Learning and the assistance of Traveller Education Services. Other children travel for parts of the year or not at all but their families’ traditions, language and culture are continued.

In recent years, Roma families - who share Indian roots with Gypsy Travellers - have arrived in Britain from Europe seeking employment . These families have been “settled” in housing for several generations but have often experienced discrimination.

More Traveller children now receive a full education than 40 years ago; their own parents and grandparents often had fragmented and negative school experiences . In this context the written word was, and often still is, far less important than the spoken one. Storytelling and music are community strengths and provide ways of transmitting and celebrating their culture and beliefs.

For all children, storytelling provides rich opportunities for making sense of the world, understanding different emotions and different cultures, extending language and building confidence.

The children all really loved the day and showed a really good understanding of what life was like for Romany travellers.

Danny Mellor (headteacher) said, "This was a new experience for many of our children and it certainly helped them understand what life is like in modern day Britain. The way Jean delivered the story and craft was really engaging. The children were completely enthralled."

Dawn Wight (HLTA) said, "The children loved the session. They learnt a great deal and listened attentively the whole time. They really enjoyed making the horses."

Tillie Raswtron (aged 5) said "I didn't know that people lived on boats. It was very interesting."