Section outline
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This area of our Moodle comprises a collection of links and resources that staff working with children and families who have come as asylum seekers or refugees might find useful, either to use in school or to signpost to parents/carers.
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EMTAS run phone lines in different languages each week during term time. These cover various languages. Details are on the EMTAS website https://www.hants.gov.uk/educationandlearning/emtas/supportinglanguages/emtas-phone-lines
Schools should note the following:
- Urdu speakers should try the Nepali phone line
- People from Ukraine may speak other languages eg Polish or Russian; we have phone lines covering both those languages. Note that our Russian Bilingual Assistant runs the Russian phone line; she is very happy to support families from Russia and Ukraine.
If you need a language and it's not currently covered on our phone lines, let EMTAS know and we will do our best to help. -
Schools should note that these three languages are mutually intelligible so a book written in Farsi will be accessible to someone who speaks Dari or Persian. Further, there is a GCSE in Persian which students who are Farsi or Dari speakers may also be able to access. From summer 2023, EMTAS is able to offer support with GCSE Persian.
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Kurdish speakers may originate from various countries including Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran. This factsheet, produced by 'Translators without borders', provides an useful-to-know overview of key features of the two main Kurdish dialects, Kurdish Kurmanji and Kurdish Sorani.
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practical activities to do with a child impacted by war and separation. Materials translated into Ukrainian, Russian, Pashto, Dari and Arabic.
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Step by step guide to the asylum seeking journeys of many displaced children and their families, from the Refugee Council, Jan 2024
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Home Office document dated 2023. Explains the asylum process. Aimed at Separated Minors.
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Written by the EMTAS Specialist Teacher Advisor team, this blog covers aspects of best practice when welcoming a refugee child into your school. It includes links to sources of further information and guidance too.
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9 year old Maryam was airlifted by the British military from Kabul airport on the 26th of August 2021, together with her parents and two younger brothers. This blog describes Maryam's experiences of leaving her home country and starting a new life in the UK as a refugee.
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Foundation House has produced a collection of trauma-informed publications and resources that aim to advance the health, wellbeing and human rights of people from refugee backgrounds who have experienced torture or other traumatic events.
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From Beacon House, this short animation might help staff in schools to better understand how to support children who have experienced trauma.
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PACE is an approach developed by Dr Dan Hughes, an American psychologist who works with traumatised children. PACE stands for Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity and Empathy. These principles help to promote the experience of safety in your interactions with young people. The link is to a downloadable leaflet that explains the PACE approach to practitioners.
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Useful toolkit resource for practitioners in schools and other educational settings, produced by the UK Trauma Council.
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Information for families seeking refuge from war or conflict in their home countries in English, Ukrainian and Russian languages. This first link is to the English version.
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Information for families seeking refuge - Ukrainian version
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Information for families seeking refuge - Russian version
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Two publications from The Bell Foundation are available in traditional Chinese, Ukrainian, Dari and Pashto, the latter two languages being widely spoken by people from Afghanistan:
1) Helping children learn: Guidance for parents of students who use English as an Additional Language
2) About the English Education system: Guidance for parents of children who use English as an Additional Language -
Currently available in Farsi, Serbian and Ukrainian and available as a free download.
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British red Cross guidance. Available in other languages via an app:
for iPhone: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/parent-guide/id1247444812
for Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.oxmond.familyguideapp
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Opora supports Ukrainians fleeing the war in rebuilding their lives sustainably in the United Kingdom through a range of activities including medicine, mental health support, education, rent and more.
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useful, comprehensive guidance for schools. Includes information about uniform, halal diets, fasting during Ramadan, PE lessons etc.
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Leaflet that covers some considerations around practice and provision that enable students of Muslim faith to participate fully in school life.
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BBC Learning - Seeking Refuge Series: Ali's Story - a young refugee from Afghanistan talks about their experience of leaving their country of origin with their family
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This link is to an American site comprising a selection of books suitable for children in Primary phase, all for free. Each book can be read on screen and there's an audio narration too. You can choose in which language to have the audio narration - the list includes Arabic and Farsi. Note that not all books are available with audio narration in all languages. Note also that some titles may be more accessible by an American audience eg there's a book called "It's Fall" about autumn and another about "ladybugs" where in the UK we'd call them 'ladybirds'.
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Various printable signs in Ukrainian and English for schools to put on display
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A collection of resources curated by Highland One World to help facilitate conversations, support learners' emotional wellbeing and action ideas on how to respond to conflict. The materials have been gathered on a padlet and content has been posted for all ages.
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Harry Potter books available to read online for free from Pottermore Publishing
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Available for free, Badger Books have translated and published online six dual language English–Ukrainian eBook PDFs for schools and families.
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Range of books suitable for younger readers/bedtime stories. Currently available for free in pdf format from KidKiddos.
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Polilino is a digital book service which is being made available for free to Ukrainian families who are here in the UK as refugees. Some of the free books are audio-enabled. They are suitable for younger children.
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Recipes shared by young people who now live in Leeds but who came to the UK as refugees. Useful source of ideas for anyone who teaches Food Tech.
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Large collection of titles available for free as audio books. Very good selection for older children.
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Extensive collection of 'foreign literature' including titles such as 'All My Sons', 'Jane Eyre', '1984', 'Lord of the Flies' and 'The Catcher in the Rye'. All available for free as audio books.
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Organisation that runs community aid projects for different groups who are in need of support. See in particular the project for schools on Afghanistan and the work with people from Ukraine.
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Collection includes downloadable mats comprising everyday phrases in English with Ukrainian or Russian translations, depending on which mat you choose. Only down side is the use of stereotypical images on some of the mats - luckily not an issue on the Ukrainian one.
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Organised by Grade (Year group), a collection of teaching resources in Ukrainian for subjects like maths, science and Ukrainian literature. May be useful to parents who want their child to continue with their studies in first language outside of school hours.
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Lots of texts available here for free, read online (you can't download). In order to see the selection, and if you don't read Ukrainian, allow your browser to translate the page into English after clicking on the link and then go to "Foreign Literature" for the full list of titles available. There is a page for Shakespeare texts William Shakespeare — full texts of works. List of works in the library (ukrlib.com.ua) for example. Be aware that the list is organised alphabetically using Ukrainian phonics so things might not be in the place you'd normally expect eg James Joyce is in the same place as Charles Dickens. Some titles have not translated perfectly either eg "Much ado about nothing" is "A lot of hype from nothing" and some author's names might be spelled differently eg Mark Haddon has become Mark Geddon, author of that well-known novel "Mysterious night dog incident" but it's a big collection and it's available free.
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Graded readers with audio in a range of languages, including Ukrainian, Russian and Kurdish Sorani. To get the full list of languages, scroll to the bottom of the 'more languages' list and click on 'more languages'
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The Hampshire School Library Service has an eBook and AudioBook platform called Sora. This includes 136 titles in Ukrainian. Schools with an SLA with the School Library Service can give a login to each of their pupils which can then be used to access the books at school and at home. If you are a school and you don't have an SLA, contact Hampshire School Library Service (hants.gov.uk) to make enquiries about getting one.
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Wordless ebook from 'Beyond Words' that can be used as a starting point for conversations about the war in Ukraine.
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Letter to schools from Rt Hon Nadhim Zahawi MP Secretary of State for Education dated 4th May 2022. Includes links to resources in Ukrainian that families might like. Mentions also that whilst these may complement provision in schools, they should not be used as a substitute for the mainstream curriculum.
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From the International Rescue Committee, useful information about schools in Ukraine. The section on children's responses to trauma is useful, as are the following sections on ways of building trust with families and healing classrooms.
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From the International Rescue Committee, an overview of aspects of Ukrainian culture.
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Information about the education system in Ukraine which may be of interest to schools who have taken Ukrainian children on to their roll.
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Supporting your child if they see upsetting content online about what is happening in Ukraine
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Help for teachers and families to talk to pupils about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and how to help them avoid misinformation.
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Advice from Dr Sheila Redfern, Consultant Clinical Psychologist at the Anna Freud Centre, on talking to your teenager about the situation in Ukraine
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'Top tips for talking to your young person about the events in Ukraine' is a blog on the Young Minds site
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Available in Russian, Ukrainian and English, this resource was published by Rochdale Educational Psychology Service. Click on the link for the English language version.
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Available in Russian, Ukrainian and English, this resource was published by Rochdale Educational Psychology Service. Click on the link for the Ukrainian language version.
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Available in Russian, Ukrainian and English, this resource was published by Rochdale Educational Psychology Service. Click on the link for the Russian language version.
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In English, Ukrainian and Russian, this information explains what a B-ELSA is and how they work with children in schools.
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How and when to talk to children about war, according to a parenting expert. Register for free to read the full article.
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Talking with Children About War and Violence in the World: Educators for Social Responsibility has prepared this guide for adults who are concerned about how to communicate with young people about difficult issues in the world.
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Tips for parents and caregivers on media coverage of traumatic events.
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From Winston's Wish, information about childhood bereavement in several different languages including Arabic and Polish
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Free helpline: 0800 148 8586
During this very distressing and uncertain time, children and adults will need continued support.
In response to this, following discussion with the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain, Barnardo's have set up the Ukrainian Support Helpline to provide a holistic support service. The Helpline is available to anyone fleeing the conflict in Ukraine.
Get in touch if you need support with:
Therapy with a qualified psychotherapist – delivered via the phone or online, with access to interpreters
Advice on a range of issues e.g., housing, accessing key health services, education, employment and more via our trained helpline support workers
Practical support - access to digital devices to ensure families stay connected to loved ones during this worrying time, as well as stimulating toys for children, vital baby items and more (subject to demand)
All services include access to interpreters in Ukrainian and Russian.
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Free guidance on dos and don'ts when talking to children about war and conflict
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Free webinar presented by Dr Tina Rae. She highlights specific strategies to use to support refugee children as they transition, to ensure that they feel safe and welcomed. Includes a number of evidence-based strategies that can easily be adopted and shared. Dr Rae identifies ways in which we can prepare the children who are in our school communities to welcome their refugee friends and identifies the best and safest ways to discuss the war with our children and young people.
Tina discusses the following:
- How to talk to children and young people about war
- How we recognise trauma -related behaviours make use of ‘watchful waiting’ to identify vulnerability factors.
- The need to recognise that all refugee children are different, many will be resilient and not require a bespoke therapeutic intervention – (this may be needed later).
- The importance of treating every child individually and listening to their voice – as one refugee child said ‘I wish they’d asked me about the football team I supported rather than my journey to this country. It just re-traumatised me.’
- How we build and reinforce resilience factors recognise the strengths of individual children and young people.
- Using writing, physical, and calming approaches.
- How we create safe spaces and make use of anxiety reducing easy wins.
- How we ensure schools as sanctuaries in which we build connection, safety, and opportunities for regulation.
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