Topic outline

  • 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 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 able to offer support with GCSE Persian.
    • Kurdish Kurmanji and Kurdish Sorani File

      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.   

    • Bear us in Mind - psychological toolkit for use with children URL

      practical activities to do with a child impacted by war and separation. Materials translated into Ukrainian, Russian, Pashto, Dari and Arabic.

  • This topic

    Support for families around Halloween and Bonfire Night

    Not available

  • Generic Guidance

  • Resources for parents and children - some available in other languages

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

  • Guidance for schools with Muslim pupils on roll

  • Resources for use with children in schools and at home

    • 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'.    

    • 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.


    • Ukrainian books - Harry Potter URL

      Harry Potter books available to read online for free from Pottermore Publishing

    • Ukrainian books - Badger Publishing URL

      Available for free, Badger Books have translated and published online six dual language English–Ukrainian eBook PDFs for schools and families.

    • Ukrainian books - younger children URL

      Range of books suitable for younger readers/bedtime stories.  Currently available for free in pdf format from KidKiddos.

    • Ukrainian books for younger children - free for families URL

      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.

    • Food is home URL

      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.

    • Audio books in Ukrainian from 4read URL

      Large collection of titles available for free as audio books. Very good selection for older children.

    • More audio books in Ukrainian from 4read URL

      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.

    • Bridge to Unity URL

      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.

    • Classroom words and phrases - language mats URL

      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.

    • curriculum content in Ukrainian URL

      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. 

    • Orwell's Animal Farm in Ukrainian URL

      Access to a downloadable PDF of 'Animal Farm' in Ukrainian

    • Texts in Translation into Ukrainian URL

      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.

    • Story Books Canada URL

      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'

    • School Library Service - Ukrainian books on SORA URL

      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.

    • When the war came File

      Wordless ebook from 'Beyond Words' that can be used as a starting point for conversations about the war in Ukraine.

  • 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.

    • Working with Ukrainian children URL

      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. 

    • Background information: Ukrainian culture URL

      From the International Rescue Committee, an overview of aspects of Ukrainian culture.

    • Overview of the education system in Ukraine File

      Information about the education system in Ukraine which may be of interest to schools who have taken Ukrainian children on to their roll.

  • Resources on the situation in Ukraine

  • EMTAS Bilingual ELSA (B-ELSA)

  • 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

    • Barnardo's Ukrainian Support Phone Line URL

      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.  


    • Beacon House resource: Talking to children about war and conflict File

      Free guidance on dos and don'ts when talking to children about war and conflict

  • 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.