Transcript Teaching EAL new arrivals

ITE session
Understanding the experiences and
needs of refugee children and young
people
Aims
To increase awareness of diverse
backgrounds and experiences of refugee
children and young people
 To develop understanding of how the wellbeing of refugee learners may be affected
by their experiences and circumstances
 To consider how schools can fulfil their
duties to safeguard and promote well-being

Pre-session activity
discussion feedback
‘Home to Home’ animations made by
young asylum seekers in Canterbury:
 Kamran’s Story
 Coming to England
 Our Country
 Small Rabbits
Activity 1
Refugee Kids
Activity 2
Who are refugees?
Definition of refugee
A refugee is someone who has had to leave his
or her country and who is afraid to return
there
‘owing to a well-founded fear of being
persecuted for reasons of race, religion,
nationality, membership of a particular
social group or political opinion.’
(1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of
Refugees)
 A person with refugee status is protected from
being returned to their country of origin

Asylum seekers
An asylum seeker is a person who has
crossed an international border and is seeking
safety or protection (recognition as refugee) in
another country
 An asylum seeker is someone who declares
themselves to be a refugee but whose claim has
not yet been determined

Unaccompanied asylum
seeker children
Children under 18 years of age who are
outside their country of origin and not
accompanied by a close relative
 Every year around 3,000 unaccompanied
children, aged 17 or under, apply for
asylum in the UK

World Refugee Survey 2008
More than 14 million refugees in the world
 1 million people fled their homelands in 2007
 Iraq is the source of most new refugees
 Almost two-thirds of all the world’s refugees are found
in just two regions: the Middle East and Africa
 The least developed countries in the world host the
majority of the world’s refugees - over 90% live in
Africa, the Middle East, and South and Central Asia
 Under 4% of the world’s refugees live in Europe

www.refugees.org
Asylum applications in Britain
24,000 asylum applications in 2007
 Applications have fallen by more than 70%
since 2002
 Countries accounting for most applicants in
2007 were Afghanistan, Iran, China, Iraq,
Eritrea,Somalia and Zimbabwe and - all
countries in conflict or where there are
human rights abuses
 Highest numbers of unaccompanied asylum
seeker children came from Afghanistan, Iraq,
Iran and Eritrea

Refugee children in school
An estimated 100,000 school-age
refugee children in the UK
 65% live in Greater London
 At least 6% of London schoolchildren
are from a refugee background
 The largest group of children are from
Somalia

Refugee children are a
diverse group
Diversity of languages, cultures and countries of
origin
 They have different experiences of persecution and
journeys to safety
 Their exile experience in the UK are also very
varied
 Like adults, children vary in how they cope with
adversity
 Most refugee children are highly resilient despite
their experiences
 Important to avoid stereotypes and generalisations

A model of refugee children’s
adaptation and development



Refugee children need to adapt to abrupt and
major changes in almost all aspects of their lives
Key feature of model is distinction between
 Pre-migration factors
 Trans-migration factors
 Post-migration factors
At each of the three phases there can be dramatic
tensions due to ‘atypical’ conditions which impact
on the child
Educational interventions for refugee Children: Theoretical
perspectives and implementing best practice (2004)
Richard Hamilton and Dennis Moore
Model of refugee adaptation and development
Post-mi gration ecology
Trans-migration ecology
Pre-mi gration ecology
Educational Interventions for Refugee Children
Richard Hamilton and Dennis Moore (2004)
Activity 3
Experiences and
transitions
Pre-migration experiences
Violent death of parent or family members
 Witnessing murder, torture or injury
 Separation
 Child soldier activity
 Bombardments/shelling
 Witnessing parent fear and panic
 Physical injuries
 Scarcity
 Disruption of normal routines and functioning of
society (such as health services, schools etc)

Trans-migration experiences






Transitions through several countries
Long and often dangerous journeys
Separation for parents and other family
members
Refugee camps
Risk of exploitation
Settlement and schooling in other countries
before arrival in UK
Post-migration experiences
Family stress
 Loss of status
 Asylum seekers banned from working
 Asylum process
 Poor quality and overcrowded housing
 Racism and public hostility towards asylum
seekers
 Isolation
 Some families at risk of being detained in
immigration removal centres
 Difficulties in accessing services, including health
services and school

Summary of interacting factors, both past and current
that affect refugee childrenÕswellbeing
PAST EXPERIENCE S
loss and separation
oppression/v iolen ce
ASYLU M STATUS
HEALTH
AGE AND
DEVEL OPMENT
ISSUES
OF
IDENTITY
CHILD
FRIENDS
SCHOOL
FAMILY
progress in learning
social relations
support in schoo l
past experiences
family tension s
chang es in
status and rol es
attitudes to
integration
generational
issues
SOCIAL
housing
poverty
work
safety
racism
community link s
In the midst of the whirlwind (1998)
Naomi Richman
Every Child Matters outcomes
Being healthy
 Staying safe
 Enjoying and achieving
 Making a positive contribution
 Achieving economic well-being

How Am I Different Seeking Asylum
Activity 4
Barriers to achieving ECM
outcomes
The importance of school
“It is no exaggeration to say that refugee
children’s wellbeing depends to a major degree
on their school experiences, successes and
failures....School policies are a powerful tool for
helping refugee children feel safe and normal
again, and begin to learn.”
Naomi Richman, In the Midst of the Whirlwind - a
manual for helping refugee children, 1998
Starting again (2002)





Research undertaken by Save the Children and Glasgow
City Council
More than 700 young asylum seekers from 27 schools
were questioned
More than 75% ranked school as the best thing about
living in Glasgow
Children and young people said that going to school
helped the to feel normal, make friends and learn
English
Children and young people also said it was easier to
make friends at school than in the community where
they live
Things that refugee young
people say help them
Having friendships and people to trust
 Caring, supportive and friendly teachers who are
confident and interested in teaching children and
young people from diverse backgrounds
 Being included in all activities
 Opportunities to do activities with refugee and nonrefugee peers, both in and out of school
 Being in a school that values and celebrates other
cultures

School and local authority
responsibilities
Refugee children should be given the same
opportunities as all other children to access
education
 Local authorities have a legal duty to
ensure that education is available for all
children of compulsory school age in their
area. This duty applies irrespective of a
child's immigration status
 There is a statutory duty on schools to
safeguard children and to promote their
well-being (Education Act, 2002)

School and local authority
responsibilities



Schools must not discriminate against refugees
and have a duty to promote good relationships
between children from different backgrounds (Race
Relations Act, 1976 and Race Relations
(Amendment) Act, 2000)
Schools have a duty to promote community
cohesion (Education and Inspections Act, 2006)
Local authorities must promote the educational
achievement of looked after children (children in
care), including unaccompanied asylum seeker
children
School and local authority
responsibilities

The National Curriculum (2000) sets out the
entitlement to the curriculum for all pupils.
The statutory NC inclusion statement offers
three key principles for developing an
inclusive curriculum:
 responding to pupils’ diverse learning needs
 setting suitable learning challenges
 overcoming barriers to learning
QTS standards



Q18: Understand how children and young people
develop and that the progress and well-being of
learners are affected by a range of developmental,
social, religious, ethnic, cultural and linguistic
influences.
Q21 (a): Be aware of the current legal
requirements, national policies and guidance on
the safeguarding and promotion of the well-being
of children and young people.
Q21 (b) Be able to identify and support those
whose progress, development or well-being is
affected by difficulties in personal circumstances.
Further activity

Prepare a short PowerPoint presentation on
the lives and experiences of one group of
refugee children in the UK. Include:
 Information on the country of origin
 Information about language, culture and
beliefs
 Information about particular needs they
might have
 Some suggestions for how teachers can
support them, including useful resources