Occupational Travellers
Occupational Travellers (circus and fairground families) arrive at pre-booked sites at specific times of the year, generally around holiday times, and provide entertainment for the duration of their stay. Ealing Common, Walpole Park, Acton Park and Southall Park are the most frequently used locations in Ealing.
Circus families, although sharing a common culture, can be from a range of backgrounds. Ealing Traveller Education Service (TES) has had experience of working with circus families from Australia, France, Germany, Spain, New Zealand, USA, England and Italy, as well as English families engaged in circus work for the first time.
Fairground families are generally of European background and groups who come to Ealing have frequently been from the West Midlands and the North-East of England.
Via comprehensive 'distance learning' arrangements, Occupational Traveller children are frequently linked to schools in areas where families stay during winter. Some circus groups use sophisticated satellite technology to link with educational institutions both in the UK and continental Europe. In some cases, families request short term school placements.