« Previous | Contents | Next »
Listen
CHAPTER THREE STUDYING AND LIVING IN SCOTLAND: EXPERIENCES OF ASYLUM-SEEKING AND REFUGEE STUDENTS AND FAMILIES IN TWO CITIES
The two cities where the study was located present very different profiles in relation to people seeking asylum and refugees. City 2 has had a longer history of hosting these communities, but at the time of the study just 32 asylum-seeking and 33 refugee children were known to be enrolled in the city's schools. By contrast City 1 has the contract under the UK Government's dispersal programme to receive asylum seekers and so, since 2000, has seen large numbers of asylum-seeking families housed in the city, where previously few refugees had resided. Thus in 2005, 1,507 asylum-seeking and 397 refugee children were known to be enrolled in the city's schools 4. At school level this meant that while around 100 asylum-seeking and refugee children might be enrolled in a secondary school in City 1, just three might be found in a similar-sized school in City 2. Indeed, some schools in City 1 had changed almost overnight from being mono-cultural and mono-lingual to being multi-cultural and multi-lingual, mainly as a result of dispersal policies . In terms of cultural diversity more broadly, both cities had a higher proportion of minority ethnic communities than the average for Scotland (2%) at the 2001 census, but considerably lower than the UK average of 7.9%. The experiences of children and young people and parents in the two cities must therefore be understood in this context.
3.1 Experiences in City 1
'I am now a vice-captain of this school (..) the school really supported me. (..) Yes, the school treats all children equally - this is shown in the fact that four out of the five captains are asylum-seekers or refugees…' (16 year-old female student)
'I am now the school captain - the first Asian school captain, and as school captain I chair the school's Pupil Council. I am also the leader of the .. [city's] students' Council…' (17 year-old male student)
'I am a member of my children's School Board…' (parent)
The above statements are testimony to what asylum-seeking and refugee pupils can achieve, and what schools are able to do in including these communities in school life. They are taken from interviews with two students and a parent from two schools in City 1.
Case study schools, for the most part, have played a positive part in the lives of their students, but overall, life in City 1 for asylum-seeking and refugee children and their families provided a range of experiences, from the very positive to the very negative. Some of this range of experience, taken from interviews with children and young people and parents in the study, is discussed below.
Settling in: Most interviewees spoke positively about their initial welcome in school and support received with settling in. This is not to say that the process was completely untroubled, however. Primary-age children in particular reported finding their first day quite stressful. While stress at starting at a new school is not unique to asylum-seeking pupils, the trauma of the refugee experience and being in a foreign country could make that experience doubly so. Some children described what these difficulties could be:
I was really shy and I didn't have any friends at all and people didn't really like me, and they were like making fun of me… (girl, aged 11)
The teacher put me in primary 5 class and introduced me to my new classmates. It was very hard and I felt embarrassed, as I did not speak any English and did not understand what was going on. It was really difficult being in a new place. It was different. It took me 1-2 weeks to know my classmates' names and to make friends… (boy, aged 10 (translation))
One child, however, spoke of confusion when he initially reported to the school with his mother, who did not speak English. As information about a family's language needs is not provided to schools on a routine basis by NASS or the asylum-seeker project, an interpreter was not available, and the visit had then to be re-scheduled with appropriate supports in place.
The 'buddy' system used by schools was seen to be helpful in settling in by both primary and secondary-age students, easing difficulties and helping with making friends:
The teacher took me to the class and introduced me, and asked the class if anyone wanted to volunteer to take care of me. It was Hasan who volunteered, and became my friend…(boy, aged 11)
Everybody easily made friends. We've got a 'buddy' system - sixth years take you around the school, are nice to you, sort out your problems. I'm doing this right now for the first years…(boy, aged 17)
Parents similarly confirmed being happy with the support given to their children when settling in. One parent in particular commented:
First of all I would like to mention the teachers - they were very nice to our children when they were settling in the school…(mother, primary school children)
These responses suggest that students and parents alike appreciated efforts made by schools to settle students in and to ease this period for them.
Assistance for students new to English: The emphasis placed by schools on providing structured support to students new to English was welcomed by both young people and parents. The way this was provided was also positively reported by most interviewees:
When I went up to the [bilingual] unit .. I felt good, like it helped me learn English, like it was good for me…(boy, aged 10)
I knew very little English (..) I got extra lessons from the primary 3 teacher - half an hour a day for about two months during my primary 5. The teacher gave me some sheets of paper with pictures and words in English and Kurdish. I am now in primary 6, and I still get help with my English from Miss 'X' by extra reading and writing. They are very helpful…(boy, aged 10 (translation))
The teachers were very nice (..) The teachers showed me round the school, then I was taken to the bilingual unit for assessment. (..) I stayed there for a week, after that I went into the mainstream class. (..) It was good to be in the bilingual unit because children there were from different countries and it was nice to be among them…(girl, aged 15)
My children could speak a little English when we came here, but not enough to understand what is taught in class. (..) So they were taught English in a separate class, they were taken daily for one or two hours to a separate class and taught English. This way was good…(mother, primary school children)
Among the many positive comments however, one child reported a negative experience, where a teacher displayed poor educational practice in a class of pupils new to English. This indicates a need for staff and schools to have high levels of awareness and sensitivity, and to constantly reflect on their own practice in supporting asylum-seeking and refugee pupils.
Whilst the initial support provided by schools for learning English was considered appropriate, a need for continuing support especially for homework, was identified by a number of primary students as well as their parents:
I need some help for my homework, I ask my mum for help, but she sometimes gets it wrong [mother is also new to English] …(boy, aged 7)
I sometimes don't understand some homework - mum and dad don't understand English, so I came to school and asked the teacher. She took a point off, she said, 'Why didn't you do your homework? You should have understood'. I felt sad, next time I'll have to ask my friends for help…(girl, aged 10)
I'm not able to do my homework very well, my older brother helps me, but not in everything…(boy, aged 10 (translation))
M1: .. they still need extra help, because it's not their first language -
M2: She [daughter] needs help with her homework - there's nobody to help her
M3: We're also learning English, when I don't understand his [son's] homework I have to phone my friends to ask if they know…
(group of mothers (translation))
Some case study schools did, in fact, have homework clubs, which were appreciated and used by a number of interviewees. Pupils from one school reported a homework club being available at a local library, though some pupils were not able to access this facility, due to perceived street danger (discussed further below).
The importance of English in young people's educational progress as well as for socialising has been underlined in previous research (see, for example, Candappa and Egharevba, 2000), and the good work done in schools in this area must be recognised. Similarly, support with English provided by a college of further education to young people over-16 was appreciated by interviewees. Whilst this study suggests that for the most part staff engaged in this area are dedicated and supportive, the one reported instance indicates that schools might need to keep this area under constant review.
Home-school relations: All parents interviewed reported taking a keen interest in their children's educational progress and their willingness to support this as far as possible. Schools' efforts to involve them in their children's education was much appreciated, and the availability of interpreters at parents' evenings, if required, was useful. For example,
Oh yes, interpreters are offered at parents/teachers meeting for parents who require them…(Urdu-speaking parent (translation))
All of the parents interviewed could hardly speak English… All parents were pleased that there are always interpreters available if they are invited to the schools of their children for parents evenings or for a talk…(Fieldnotes, group interview with Turkish parents)
However, parents complained that letters from school routinely arrived in English only, creating difficulties for those without the necessary reading skills, and making them reliant on their children, neighbours and friends for translation.
Friendships: All young people from study schools reported having a number of friends at school. Some indicated having friends from a range of ethnic and cultural backgrounds, including indigenous Scottish students. Schools recognised the importance of friendships in the children's lives, and various clubs were available in schools to encourage socialising. One child told of how her school made efforts to help her interact with her classmates:
Anisa is from Somalia and she was also in the [bilingual] Unit, and we could speak Somali (..) Anisa helped me a bit much, so much, so Miss said, 'she's got to learn to be with the others', so I became with the others…(girl, aged 11)
However, at another school, some parents complained that their children were not interacting with their classmates:
Usually all Somali children play together, they don't interact with other children. (..) The children do try, but it's hard. The children like to play with other children but other children don't want to play with them…(mother, primary child (translation))
The parent felt that the school was not doing enough to help the children interact with their peers.
The above might be contrasted with an example from another school. This is a secondary school that has a range of clubs to provide extra-curricular support and encourage socialising. In discussing friends at school one student stated,
.. all [my friends] are internationals and most of them are from the bilingual unit - Scottish are schoolmates only…(boy, aged 17)
In this example the young person seemed to choose his friends from among other international students, whereas in the previous example one ethnic group seemed to have been excluded from joining in. The second statement also has resonance with a comment made by refugee girls in a previous study. In discussing friendships many of them spoke of 'being friendly' with most of their classmates. But in 'being real friends' often religious and ethnic factors would play a key role in understanding one another and developing close friendships (Candappa, 1998). These examples illustrate that while (i) people exercise choice in making friends, (ii) exclusion of whole groups from play is not about choosing friends but more about discrimination. Schools can play a crucial role in encouraging interaction and promoting inclusion among its pupil population, particularly away from the classroom, through sports and social activities.
The question of friendships outside the school was also explored in the interviews. Here the study found that while most children had some friends outside the school, and particularly from among their neighbours, there were factors that restricted the developing of friendships. For instance,
I have some Scottish friends but I don't play with them outside school - they are bad people, they swear and say bad words…(boy, aged 11)
Here friendship was affected by behaviour considered unacceptable by parents. A similar issue was raised by a child from a different school:
..language [(English) makes it difficult to make friends] .. Also we live in a bad neighbourhood and there are a lot of bad young people hanging around. We are not allowed to go out without supervision. We only go out with my dad. (boy, aged 10 (translation))
Many of the parents interviewed confirmed their concerns for their children's safety outside the home, as discussed in the section below on street danger and life outside school.
The question of friendships was also discussed with unaccompanied minors. They all attended special English classes for young people like themselves who are new to English, and all confirmed having friends at the college. But apart from two students, these did not include Scottish students. One young person who reported not having problems with Scottish students but nonetheless not having them as friends, was able to relate to her teacher however, and stated, ' just my teacher is my [Scottish] friend'.
Curricular and career issues: Most young people in the study reported being able to cope with the school curriculum once they had a grasp of English, but for a number of primary school children English reading and writing still seemed to be presenting difficulties. A need for continuing support with English was noted above. One pupil who was experiencing particular difficulties reported receiving extra help.
Most concerns in this area related to career issues, however, and were reported by older children and young people. For example, one 17 year-old male unaccompanied minor, who wanted to train as a welder, commented that he had not been given sufficient information by his college about how he might pursue this career. Unaccountably, he seemed to have been given information about university options and a career in medicine or engineering, options not generally open to asylum-seekers, since most universities do not accept applicants of this status, and medicine and engineering require high entry qualifications which he did not have.
Some young people expressed anxieties regarding their careers in light of their status as asylum seekers. One young man who has ambitions to be a mechanical engineer, just studies English for the present, because many options are not open to him. Similarly, a school student who has been in the country with her family since 2002, stated:
I want to study Pharmacy (..) but asylum-seekers can go to college, not to university. Pharmacy is taught only at university…(girl, aged16 )
Similarly, an unaccompanied minor who arrived in 2004, currently at secondary school and wanting to pursue a university career, expressed concern about what might become of her when her schooling was finished. She remarked that she does not have the (immigration) status to allow her access to a university education. Another unaccompanied minor stated:
I would like people like me who come to this country to be given a chance (..) to get training and work…(young man, aged 17)
Indeed, asylum-seeker status limits career choices open to young people, and having to live with uncertainty while planning for the future is a feature of asylum-seekers' lives.
Street danger and life outside the school: Perceived street danger was reported by one girl and two boys from one primary school located in a deprived area, and by one boy from another primary school. In addition to the child quoted above, other comments included:
We live in a bad area, I'm not allowed to go out alone…(boy, aged 11)
Another boy described violence and intimidation in the block of flats where he and his family are housed, and the family's concerns for their safety. A girl told how perceived street danger prevents her accessing help with homework at the local library:
..there's no homework club in school - we are allowed to use help at the library, but it is too far. I can't stay because of drunks around. They shout, come and talk with you - I feel scared…(girl, aged 10)
Similarly, a parent who lives in a large tenement block, noted her concerns for the safety of her children and herself, stating that a number of local youths hang around the stairwells, shouting racial and threatening abuse. These youth are said to offer lone children cigarettes and drugs, hence parents keep their children indoors. This situation also affects the children's ability to access out-of-school services local to the school, such as a homework club and swimming facilities, because she lives some distance from the school and has concerns for their safety if travelling late. She has not been able to identify more local services that she could access. Keeping children at home because of street danger was also mentioned by other parents interviewed.
In sum, fear of danger on the streets, particularly in deprived areas, has had a negative impact on these asylum-seeking and refugee children's lives outside the school, which could in turn impact on their educational progress.
Racism and bullying: Racism and bullying and schools' responses to these issues were discussed with students in the interviews. All students confirmed that their respective schools had anti-racist and anti-bullying policies, reflecting the survey finding of the availability of anti-racist and anti-bullying policies in their respective education authorities. Many young people reported their schools taking a stern view of bullying. For example:
..there's no bullying in school .. teachers say it's bad to bully (..) At assembly they say you should stop bullying (..) if you don't say, you'll get more into trouble… (girl, aged 11)
Teachers say there's rules about bullying, nobody bullies… (girl, aged 11)
.. they take it [bullying] seriously.. they may even exclude the person who bullies other children… (boy, aged 17)
However, in one school, when asked if the school was good at dealing with bullying, a student reported:
I don't think they are good, but a little bit. Bullying is still going on… (girl, aged 11)
The child had been helped by ChildLine in relation to one incident. Another child from this school also indicated that a lot of bullying went on there; teachers were said to be aware of the problem and to have spoken to the bullies, but the problem continued.
Racism was also reported to be taken seriously by schools. But interview data suggest that racism sometimes goes unreported, particularly verbal abuse, for fear of compounding the problem. However, it was clear from interviews with students and parents that racist attacks are experienced by them more frequently outside the school. For example, a ten year-old boy reported racist bullying both inside and outside the school because he is ' not native'. Turkish parents reported racist abuse from local people as they walk in the park. One parent told of refugees being spat on by Scottish children, who verbally abuse them using racist language. The children are reportedly often accompanied by their parents, who do not intervene, but sometimes even laugh. The parent commented,
I cannot imagine that there is no racism in the schools, because the children who attack our children racially outside the school go to the same schools with our children… (translation)
The problem seemed particularly acute for students and parents of a school located in a very deprived area. There, Somali parents reported being verbally abused and stones being thrown at them outside the school. As one parent commented:
..so what's to stop kids doing this in the playground? We can't complain - we're asylum-seekers. What can we do? (translation)
Racist abuse was also experienced, and on a regular basis, by unaccompanied minors who attended a college of further education. These incidents reportedly did not take place at the college, but outside - in the city centre and on buses. Young people talked about being subjected to degrading racist insults and accusations of having taken advantage of the country's hospitality, as they went about their business. One young man stated that he had attempted reporting to the police, but sometimes found the police racist as well. Another young person commented:
..they call me[racist] names ... I do not respond. Sometimes I feel no freedom because people abusing us. [Researcher: Do you report this to the police?] Report? - how many [do] I report? (man, aged 17)
However, racist intimidation and abuse of asylum-seeking and refugee communities does not appear to be restricted to indigenous White Scots. Interviews provided examples of inter-ethnic racist bullying between different groups; intra-faith racist bullying between different ethnic groups; and inter-faith bullying of minority-faith groups of asylum-seekers by majority-faith groups of asylum-seekers. For example, inter-ethnic racism seems to operate between Scottish-born ethnic minority groups and asylum-seeking/refugee groups. A headteacher commented:
.. we have had occasional difficulties, for example with relations between a small group of asylum-seeker programme pupils, who are Black African, and a small group of Scottish-born Asian students - they've been at each others' throats. There are racist overtones and territorial aspects as well…
Racist bullying was also reported between different asylum-seeking and refugee ethnic groups, as an Asian child, for example, noted:
..a Turkish boy.. says Sri Lanka is not good, talking bad about my family (..) I get angry… (boy, aged 10)
A Black African Muslim girl reported being bullied by a Muslim girl of Pakistani origin who attended her school, after they both attended sessions at their mosque:
.. this girl said, 'You are not a Muslim - how can you be Muslim if you are Black?' (girl, aged 11)
This had reportedly continued over a period of time. The child stated that parents had got involved, and it had been reported to the mosque, but it was ultimately resolved by the school, when a teacher had brought the girls together and threatened them both with detention if they did not sort the problem out and if the bullying continued.
A particular concern is the reporting of inter-faith bullying by different groups. One family of mixed Muslim-Christian background and of south-Asian origin reported bullying of their children by other children of similar country background who are Muslim. Concerned by the level of bullying and their children's safety, they had provided their daughters with mobile phones to ensure they could call their parents for help when necessary, but the children then began to receive racist phone calls and text messages on their phones. The matter has been referred to the police, but they were not aware if any action has been taken.
Inter-faith tensions and bullying was also reported by a student from a Christian family, who talked of harassment by asylum-seeking youth of other faiths. Such examples suggest that racism and bullying experienced by people seeking asylum and refugees seem to be multi-faceted, and can negatively impact on students' educational progress.
Overall, study data demonstrate highs and lows of life in and out of school for asylum-seeking and refugee children and young people in City 1. These data also indicate areas where good work done by schools can be celebrated, and areas where further work is necessary to enhance the educational experiences of these students. However, since schools do not operate in isolation, issues outside the school that impinge on students' well-being, discussed above, need to be urgently addressed.
3.2 Experiences in City 2
In the city's schools, asylum-seeking and refugee students form a very small minority of the school population, as noted above. Thus, whilst educational issues such as support for students new to English and pastoral care issues could have similarities to those in schools in City 1, social life for students in City 2, both in and out of school, can be expected to be very differently experienced. The experiences and perceptions of students, from interview data, are considered below. Issues raised by parents in City 2 relate mainly to over-arching matters rather than those specific to schooling in the city, and will be discussed in the sub-section that follows.
Settling in and assistance for students new to English: Most students spoke positively about the welcome they received at their respective schools and reported being helped and supported by their teachers. Some students were pleased to have been helped by their classmates as well; a few students talked of feeling upset on their first day, because of their inability to speak in English. For example,
I felt shy and couldn't talk to other children… (boy, aged 11)
I felt shy because I couldn't speak English and didn't know anyone in my class (boy, aged 13)
All interviewees reported receiving support with learning English, for short periods usually in a separate class for students new to English. Some children indicated receiving continued support in mainstream classrooms from bilingual support staff. 5 One child stated that help from his classmates would have been useful:
I was taken to a class with another boy to get help with English.. then I went out with other children to play… Sometimes this [separate class] was helpful.. people say difficult words that I can't understand. The teacher was helping with reading and writing… [but] I wanted to get some help from my friends… (boy, aged 11)
These data suggest that students are made to feel welcome in their schools and receive the support of teachers. Interview data also indicate the value placed by young people on peer support with settling in and in learning.
Home-school relations: Most students interviewed had no comments with regard to home-school relations. One student reported that while his father, who is competent in English, usually liaises with the school, he (the student) was able to interpret for his mother if she attends parents' evenings. Some students' comments suggest that they did not perceive it as general practice for interpreters to be available at their school for these sessions.
The two parents interviewed (who were not connected to the students referred to in the previous paragraph) were competent in English and self-confident. They took a keen interest in their children's education and reported providing them with support as necessary. They also reported feeling comfortable approaching the respective schools proactively, and discussing relevant issues with the head or staff.
Friendships: The issue of whether asylum-seeking children and young people are being included in friendship groups in school has long been recognised as important. In individual schools in City 2 asylum-seeking and refugee children do not have many of their own number from whom to draw mutual help and support, making the issue the more important, though as study data above indicates, this could be a double-edged sword.
All students interviewed reported having friends in school, and from different backgrounds, including White Scottish, suggesting that schools have been successful in including these children within their populations. Some primary-age students reported not having friends outside school, however. A child who lives in a large block of flats stated that it was hard for him to make friends outside school because he does not know any other children in the neighbourhood. Whilst a case of racist bullying outside the home was reported by one child (see below), in general, danger on the streets was not raised as a factor that restricted friendships by interviewees.
Curricular and career issues: Interviewees from City 2 reported being able to cope with the school curriculum once they had acquired the necessary language skills. None of the students reported having access to homework clubs, but no-one noted needing help with homework either. The comments of one student suggest he can be considered a successful learner within his school:
In science, if some can't understand things, they ask me, because I always finish first… (boy, aged 14)
Career issues did not raise concerns for the secondary-age students interviewed. All these young people had either gained refugee status/leave to remain, and interviewees were able to speak with confidence about their hopes and aspirations for the future.
Racism and bullying: Most students interviewed indicated that their schools had effective anti-bullying and anti-racist policies:
I've not heard of anyone being racist… (boy, aged 14)
bullying and racism are not tolerated, even in a joke… (boy, aged 13)
However, as against the above, bullying does go on, and was reported as having been experienced by four of the eight students interviewed. For example, a secondary-age child reported having been subjected to racist bullying:
..he annoyed me, he was punching me and that, and I got angry and punched him back. Then he called me a racist name … (boy, aged 14)
The child spoke of firm action taken by his school, after which the bullying stopped. At another school, action taken by the school against bullying had not been effective, and the bullying was said to continue. The case of one student raises concerns regarding appreciation of cultural sensitivities:
This child is a boy of 11 years. He gets upset when children deliberately mispronounce his name to make it a female rather than a male name, which he could be experiencing as undermining his maleness. The perpetrators are punished when he reports them, but the problem continues. Sometimes when he tries to report the bullies, he finds the teacher engaged in conversation and not giving the matter due attention. The problem continues. (fieldnotes)
Most students interviewed had not experienced racism or racist bullying outside the school; some children indicated living in quiet residential areas and not encountering racism. However, one child who lived in a block of flats reported serious racist bullying by young people in his neighbourhood. He stated that he has been followed, had money taken off him, and been subjected to verbal and physical abuse. His home has also been subjected to racist attacks. The child commented:
.. it is just because we are Black people.. I don't like them because they annoy us (..) I don't like the place where I live now because many bullies live there.. When I asked one boy why he bully me he said, 'I did that because I want to be bad and happy'.. I felt angry and sad.. I felt that was unacceptable… (boy, aged 11)
The school had been made aware of these incidents and the headteacher reported concerns for the child and his family. She commented:
The City .. needs to look at more and larger houses in the centre of town, and not send refugees out to peripheral estates, because they are targeted. The centre of town has a good mix of different nationalities….
The City Council had been approached for re-housing the family to a safer neighbourhood.
3.3 Overarching issues in supporting asylum-seeking and refugee pupils in the two cities
Interviews with students and parents across the two cities highlighted issues relevant to the education of all asylum-seeking and refugee pupils, and not specific to one or other of the case study cities. These are outlined below.
Withdrawal from mainstream: There was some discussion by a few young people about withdrawal from the mainstream for learning English and the effect of this on socialising and forming friendships. After considering the matter, one young person stated, ' mainstream is better for making friends, but it is difficult to make friends if you don't know English', pointing to key issues education authorities would have to consider when developing policy. The issue was also raised by one of the parents in interview. This parent acknowledged a possible need for withdrawal from mainstream if a child's English is weak, but asked if this could not be done in a way that does not indicate the child's difficulties with the language as synonymous with failure, another issue to be addressed in developing policy. These issues are further discussed in the next chapter.
Misinterpretation of effects of refugee experience as lack of competence in English: A parent pointed out that schools often seem to see an asylum-seeking or refugee child's learning difficulties as simply stemming from an insufficient command of English. That effects of trauma endured in the refugee experience could impact on a child's learning was said not always to be recognised.
Low teacher expectations: Some parents suggested that teachers sometimes have low expectations of asylum-seeking and refugee students. As an example, a parent told of how he had been informed that his child was progressing well. However, the child's report indicated that grades achieved were not good. The parent stressed that each child should be supported to the level of his/her abilities, and not just seen as bilingual learners. The point made by the parent here is acknowledged. However, it was not possible to establish within the terms of this study whether the example given represented poor communication between teachers and parents, or of institutional racism. It does suggest the need for schools to develop and maintain good communication with parents, and provide good quality of information on their child's progress.
Manifestations of aggression and refugee experience: Some parents noted that schools do not always recognise that trauma associated with the refugee experience could manifest itself in disruptive or aggressive behaviour. This view was confirmed in the experience of one student interviewed, whose aggressive behaviour had not been recognised in his first school in Scotland as a symptom of trauma he had experienced. He had been excluded five times for this. The young person stated that the aggression just ' faded away' after a time.
Insecure immigration status and effects on educational performance: A number of parents stated that asylum-seeking families live under constant stress because of their insecure immigration status. They pointed out that this stress could have negative effects on a child's educational performance.
Placement and support for unaccompanied minors: An unaccompanied minor aged under-16 in the care of social services, reported being the only Black child in the children's home where she was placed. She also told of her embarrassment at parents' evenings, when she would be accompanied by her White carer and would receive strange looks from fellow students accompanied by (same race) parents or carers.
Education authorities and schools will need to consider these issues in developing policies and practice for asylum-seeking and refugee pupils.
« Previous | Contents | Next »