Refugee Education

Learn about supporting refugee students in schools.

This online learning module has been developed by the Chartered College of Teaching and funded by the Charity of Sir Richard Whittington (part of the Mercers’ Charitable Foundation). The module is specifically designed for school leaders and focuses on developing inclusive school policies for refugee students. The aim of the module is to combine research evidence with high quality practice so that school leaders can learn from the best available evidence and discuss their approaches and experiences with peers.

The module is split into five sections:

Section 1 introduces you to the online learning platform and allows you to connect with other participants on the module.
Section 2 provides some contextual information on refugees and asylum-seeking people, from both a global and a UK perspective, as well discussing definitions of refugee education, its aims and its purpose. The framework of safety, belonging and success is introduced and this framework forms the basis for the structure of the remainder of the module.
Section 3 focuses on the concept of safety. In this section, legal obligations for schools and local authorities relating to refugee and asylum-seeking students are presented, age disputes and potential safeguarding issues are discussed, and approaches to collecting important information about refugee and asylum-seeking children are shared.
Section 4 deals with establishing a culture of belonging in your school. It discusses the importance of social inclusion and presents practical approaches to supporting the mental health and wellbeing of refugee and asylum-seeking students.
Section 5  focuses on students’ academic success and especially the role of language development and balancing high expectations with alternative definitions of success.