A NEW video and DVD takes an inside look at the way travelling families can get involved in education.

The Traveller Education Service (TES) supported 631 children during the past year as well as offering advice and support to hundreds of families.

And the Lancashire County Council video and DVD, "Getting Involved", aims to encourage travelling families to think about their children's education and shows the flexible help on offer.

The film includes scenes of on-site teaching, travelling children being taught in mainstream schools and fun opportunities for their parents to get involved in education.

Travelling communities will be shown the video to promote the value of education as well as being used in-house to train new staff.

The TES, set-up in 1986, is manned by a 24-strong team, including teachers, education access officers and learning support assistants who not only support travelling families in the Lancashire education boundary, but also in the independent Blackburn with Darwen and Blackpool boroughs. Head of the service, Jeanne Kenyon, said: "We encourage parents to get their children into mainstream education, but that's not always possible and we often teach children on-site.

"Our biggest target is to help the most mobile children who can be difficult to keep track of as they move from site to site.

"The video shows just how varied our work can be and will hopefully encourage more travelling families to think about getting involved in the education of their children.

"We want to show families that education can be fun."