Topic outline

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  Asylum Seeker and Refugee Support

  • Announcements Forum

    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.
  • Language support for home-school communication Forum

    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 and Pashto 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.
    
  • Dari, Farsi and Persian languages Forum

    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 hoping to offer support with Persian GCSE.
    
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  Generic Guidance

  • NEU publication "Welcoming refugee children to your school" URL

    teaching resource

    
    

  • Hampshire EMTAS Blog "Welcoming refugee children and their families" URL

    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.

  • Hampshire EMTAS Blog "From Kabul to a school in Basingstoke: Maryam's Story" URL

    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. 

    
    

  • Foundation House, Victoria, Australia URL

    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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  Resources about schools in the UK for parents and children - various languages

  • Information for parents about the UK school system URL

    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

    
    

  • Starting school in the UK - resource for children and young people URL

    Currently available in Farsi, Serbian and Ukrainian and available as a free download.

  • Guidance for refugee families File

    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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  How schools can support the language learning needs of refugee children from Afghanistan

  • Bell Foundation blog URL

    Useful tips and links to further sources of advice, support and guidance

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  Guidance for schools with Muslim pupils on roll

  • MCB Guidance for schools with Muslim pupils on roll File

    useful, comprehensive guidance for schools. Includes information about uniform, halal diets, fasting during Ramadan, PE lessons etc.

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  Resources for use with children in schools

  • Ali's Story - a journey from Afghanistan URL

    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

    
    

  • Unite for Literacy URL

    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'.    

  • Russia's invasion of Ukraine: how to adapt your curriculum URL

    From 'The Key for school leaders'

  • Poster for schools welcoming Ukrainian pupils File

    Various printable signs in Ukrainian and English for schools to put on display

  • Refugee Support Plan - top tips File

    From 'Evidence for Learning' website

  • STRIDE - Global Citizenship Magazine for Schools URL

    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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  Family Profiling

  • Profiling - Family Information (English) File

    This form is designed to collect information about children from Afghanistan who have come to the UK as refugees with their families.

  • Profiling - Family Information (Pashto) File

    This is a Pashto version of the Family Profiling form.

  • Profiling - Family Information (example completed in English) File

    This is a model of a completed Profiling form.  

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  Resources specifically about Ukrainian Refugees

  • Secretary of State for Education - letter to schools URL

    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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  Resources on the situation in Ukraine

  • Childnet link aimed at parents/carers URL

    Supporting your child if they see upsetting content online about what is happening in Ukraine 
    

  • DfE Education Hub URL

    Help for teachers and families to talk to pupils about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and how to help them avoid misinformation. 
    

  • British Psychological Society URL

    Advice from Professor Vivian Hill of the Division of Educational and Child Psychology on supporting children who may be anxious about the situation in Ukraine

  • BBC Bitesize - Parents' toolkit resource URL

    Advice from Dr Sheila Redfern, Consultant Clinical Psychologist at the Anna Freud Centre, on talking to your teenager about the situation in Ukraine

  • Young Minds resources for parents URL

    'Top tips for talking to your young person about the events in Ukraine' is a blog on the Young Minds site
    

  • Supporting children through a traumatic experience: advice for parents (English) File

    Available in Russian, Ukrainian and English, this resource was published by Rochdale Educational Psychology Service. Click on the link for the English language version.

  • Supporting children through a traumatic experience: advice for parents (Ukranian) File

    Available in Russian, Ukrainian and English, this resource was published by Rochdale Educational Psychology Service. Click on the link for the Ukrainian language version.

  • Supporting children through a traumatic experience: advice for parents (Russian) File

    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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  War and international violence: resources for schools and families

  • The Independent, February 2022 URL

    How and when to talk to children about war, according to a parenting expert.  Register for free to read the full article.
    

  • ABC News, Australia URL

    How to cope with traumatic news - an illustrated guide aimed at families
    

  • Family Education, US URL

    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.

  • The National Child Traumatic Stress Network, US URL

    Tips for parents and caregivers on media coverage of traumatic events.
    

  • Resources on bereavement URL

    From Winston's Wish, information about childhood bereavement in several different languages including Arabic and Polish

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  Training opportunities

  • How to Talk with Children and Young People About War URL

    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.