Every month there are pupils arriving in our schools from abroad as refugees and the Russian war in Ukraine means this issue is at the forefront of our minds. Suzanne O’Connell considers how schools can support newly arrived pupils, and how they might prepare and plan for longer-term integration

 

Refugee children have the same right to schooling as any other child. Those children arriving from the Ukraine will be subject to the same school admission arrangements as other refugee children.

Schools and communities will have been highly sensitised to the reasons for families and children arriving and, as such, this particular group of refugees come with the support behind them that other refugees may not always have experienced.

That aside, the impact of moving between countries in the circumstances that they have will be colossal and schools will be keen to ensure that they provide the best short-term welcome and longer-term prospects that they can. The advice in this article is intended to be appropriate for any group of refugees.

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