EAL coordinator Lois Ashcroft shares her school’s experience of welcoming refugee children from Ukraine and shares some tips on how to better support them

As the war continues in Ukraine, Ukrainian children continue to seek refuge in the UK and join our schools. Each individual child responds and reacts to this trauma differently. What is heartening is that for some camaraderie and friendship with Russian peers is possible, whilst for others this may be a source of tension.  What is our role in this? We begin by welcoming refugee children into our schools. I then turn to a teaching colleague at our school, who herself experienced this trauma as a young person and reflect on how her experience could inform our own provision. I then turn to Pupil Voice, asking our brave pupils to share their insights and experiences in the hope of providing them and others with the support, care and love they need in these most trying times. 

With over 10,000 displaced Ukrainian children arriving in the U.K., our School has welcomed nine Ukrainian pupils since March and our Foundation (The School is part of the Mill Hill School Foundation, encompassing seven schools) has welcomed sixteen Ukrainian pupils. Some of the pupils are self-funding, siblings of former or current pupils, and others are resident in the UK. However, others are being sponsored by families of pupils in the Foundation under the government’s “Homes for Ukraine” scheme. Some have arrived mid-year and several have fathers, who remain in Ukraine. Many will have friends and other family members still in the country.  Although their families’ primary concern is to ensure their safety and that they receive some continued education, I would like to use this opportunity to discuss how we might help these pupils and any future refugee children who may join our schools. Simich et al. (2002) note that when stressful situations post-migration are reduced, “the more likely (refugees are) to have more successful outcomes and sustained wellbeing in the future.” We, therefore, have a duty to these pupils to ensure as stress free and as fluid a transition as possible to the school environment, with language playing a central role to that mission. 

Towards an Inclusive Education

Lord Dubs notes that “(O)nce safe, refugee children, … need opportunity and a sense of belonging if they are to be able to thrive”, adding that “(E)ducation is undoubtedly the answer”. Taylor and Sidhu (2011) confirm that “practices (in schools) can assist refugee students in acclimating to a new environment through inclusive education”. Of late, “inclusive education” has featured heavily in Ofsted Inspection preparations and is at the forefront of school policy.  However, despite this, “inclusion” has arguably not included refugee children in any meaningful way. The resounding consensus amongst academics is that children who have experienced forced migration should be included in regular classes with native speakers (Kennedy and Dewar, 1997; Leung, 2002; Loewen, 2004; Mohan et al, 2001; Waite, 1992). However, equality does not mean that our Ukrainian arrivals should be treated the same, and should instead, certainly in the short-term, be provided with a safe place for social and emotional healing so that their ability to learn can be restored, as a traumatised, fearful and anxious child cannot learn.

Unlike some other refugees, these children are physically not as easily identifiable as being non-native to the U.K. The fear and distrust perpetuated in the British media towards other refugees are also markedly absent. The U.K. government seems, if possibly only superficially, to be welcoming Ukrainian refugees, who they stress share our European values and cultural norms. Deemed “culturally closer” they are therefore welcomed more openly than others whom the U.K. is actively preventing from coming to the U.K. However, although their migration process differs and consequently may appear “easier”, they have suffered the trauma of displacement, separation and many have direct experience of war. Some of the children at our school are   “involuntary migrant(s)” and are uncertain as to whether they can ever return to Ukraine or not. Although Edward Said’s notion of the “pathos of the exile” is still currently absent, at least in that a “homecoming” remains a hope, leaving our pupils in a state of limbo.  Gunderson (2000) notes that “(t)o be successful in school means immigrants must surrender great parts of their language and their culture.” For pupils still hoping one day to return home, this may be a sacrifice they are unable to make. 

Flexibility and Success Criteria

If we are to provide truly inclusive education, we must recognise that “the ways in which educational spaces, the planned, enacted and lived spaces of schools and schooling need to become more fluid if they are to accommodate the needs of new arrivals.” Anderson et al. (2004) state convincingly that “(I)t is important to emphasise that adaptation is a mutual process. Not only will the child be required to adapt, but schools, teachers and existing students will also need to adapt to the child”. This may involve providing a bespoke programme, with flexible timetabling and access to the most appropriate courses, which probably are dominated by EAL support initially. 

Kohli (2014) rightly acknowledges that for the many refugee children

 “once in an educational setting… there is a sense of time running away from them- and that time spent acclimatising to the education system is time wasted as they watch their peers born into this new context progressing towards qualifications that will unlock the next stage for them”. 

In a setting where success is measured in terms of external examination results, such a measure is not equitable, negating any “participatory parity.” We must therefore reassess our success criteria for those who enter the system so late ensuring our systems do not disadvantage them. For these Ukrainian refugees the route may be different and may take longer and this should be explained to them and their families clearly and in a way that mitigates stress. McIntyre (2021) argues persuasively that the focus on the new arrival should be on “feeling valued and being able to recognise their own individual strengths.” A holistic assessment should be made academically and pastorally on arrival and one which focuses on what these children bring rather than what they lack. Kohli (2011) argues that such holistic assessments enable refugee children “to use their talents and capacities to grow “webs of belonging””. 

Multilingualism

A pupil’s first language (L1) is fundamental to their identity and research has shown that proficiency in L1 is a precursor to proficiency in English as an Additional Language. Schools therefore should strive to celebrate the Ukrainian mother tongue. Our school is moving closer to being a community which celebrates our plurality of cultures and languages, aware of the importance of culture and language to a pupil’s identity, self-worth and ultimately Maslow’s link between belonging and self-actualisation (Maslow 1987). Loewen (2004) also notes that a pupil’s “inability to communicate in their new surroundings can compound the emotional trauma already experienced by refugees”. Given how strongly a language impacts on an individual’s sense of identity, it is imperative that Schools do not solely rely on Russian as a lingua franca but instead take the time and effort to ensure Ukrainian is used as widely and as appropriately as possible with our new arrivals.

Our school plans to develop “A New Arrivals Welcome Book”, which ensures we meet our obligations under Keeping Children Safe in Education Government guidelines to keep such children safe. This will be translated into Ukrainian and Russian, using an outside translation agency. Likewise, the School Counsellor will begin to use Ukrainian Interpreters for any therapy to be more meaningful and effective. In time, these pupils themselves may be able to act as “Young Interpreters” were future Ukrainian pupils to arrive. Working in an international school where subject teachers are attuned to the needs of EAL learners, the risk of teachers taking a “deficit perspective” is somewhat mitigated. However, research(Loewen, 2004)  evidences that second language learning needs emerge as “representing a lack of intelligence or academic potential” for some teachers and pastoral staff. Continued training on the needs of EAL learners is of fundamental importance in ensuring these children’s needs are met in School. 

Belonging

Studies by Hoerstring and Jenkins (2011) illustrate that “more positive perceptions of self-esteem in young adults are directly related to an increased sense of belonging.” To ensure that these pupils feel as though they belong in our community, activities and mechanisms for creating a sense of belonging need to be deliberate and considered. For a pupil to belong, they must have friends and a concerted effort should be made to ensure that the Ukrainian refugee pupils are engaged in activities, accompanied to mealtimes, have appointed “buddies” and attend weekend activities and trips. Although arguably artificial, the school should encourage this so as to ensure that opportunities are created for these new possibly in-year arrivals to make friends. The “Circle of Friends” approach, has been used successfully in a School of Sanctuary, and this is a strategy other schools could adopt moving forwards, which provides wonderful enriching opportunities for reciprocal learning and “convivencia”, the term used by ICAM to describe the community towards which we should be striving both in schools and, I propose, the wider world. 

Conclusions

In conclusion, all school policies should be reconsidered in light of our new arrivals and should be recrafted as necessary, to ensure the safety, belonging and success of these pupils in a truly inclusive manner.

References

A Brief Guide for Schools Welcoming Ukrainian Children to their Community. Retrieved from: https://www.icamproject.eu/a/

Culbertson, S. and Constant, L. (2015). The Education of Syrian Refugee Children Book: Managing the Crisis in Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan. Retrieved from:  https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7249/j.ctt19gfk74.10

Cummins, J. (1979). Cognitive/ Academic Language Proficiency, Linguistic Interdependence, the Optimum Age Question and Some Other Matters. Working Papers on Bilingualism, No. 19. Retrieved from: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED184334.pdf 

Education Inspection Framework: equality, diversity and inclusion statement May 2019, No. 190023. Retrieved from: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/821069/Education_inspection_framework_-_equality__diversity_and_inclusion_statement.pdf

Edwards, T. K. (2017). From the Editorial Board: Refugees and Inclusive School Practices in the Face of Intolerance. The High School Journal, 100, No.4. pp. 223-225. University of North Carolina Press. 

Fraser, N. (2003). Social Justice in the age of Identity Politics, in Fraser, N. and Honneth, A. (Eds) Redistribution or Recognition? A Political-Philosophical Exchange. London: Verso.

Gunderson, L. (2000). Voices of the teenage diasporas. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy. 43, No.8, 693-706.

Hamilton, R. and Moore, D. (2004). Educational Interventions for Refugee Children. Theoretical perspectives and implementing best practice. Routledge.

Hoerstring, R.C. an Jenkins. S.R. (2011). No Place to Call Home: Cultural homelessness, self-esteem and cross-cultural identities. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 5, No 1, 17-30. 

How to Welcome Ukrainian Arrivals in UK Schools. The Bell Foundation. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YS7imlESFx0

ICAM (The Including Children Affected by Migration programme: Welcoming and Including Refugees Ukrainian Children in a School Community: Urgent Support for Schools. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lx3Zzvy9NZw

McBrien, J.L. (2005). Educational Needs and Barriers for Refugee Students in the United States: Review of the Literature. Review of Educational Research, 75, No.3, pp.329-364.

Resources to help support children and young people arriving from Ukraine. Retrieved from: HTTPS://WWW.GOV.UK/GOVERNMENT/PUBLICATIONS/HELPING-UKRAINIAN-STUDENTS-IN-SCHOOLS/RESOURCES-TO-HELP-SUPPORT-CHILDREN-AND-YOUNG-PEOPLE-ARRIVING-FROM-UKRAINE

Rossen, E. and Cowan, K.C. (2014). Improving Mental Health in Schools. The Phi Delta Kappen. 96, No.4, 8-13.

Said, Edward (2000). Out of Place: A Memoir. Vintage.

Shuyab, M. and Crul, M. (2020). Reflection on the Education of Refugees Children: Beyond Reification and Emergency. Refuge: Canada’s Journal on Refugees/Refuge: Revue Canadienne sure les refugies., 36, No. 2. Pp3-8. Centre for Refugee Studies, York University. 

Sprio, J. and Crisfield, E. (2018). Linguistic and Cultural Innovation in Schools: The Languages Challenge. Palgrave Macmillan. 

Taylor, S. and Sidhu. R. 2012. Supporting Refugees Students in Schools: What constitutes inclusive education? International Journal of Inclusive Education, 16, No.1 , 39-56. 

Thousands of Ukrainian refugee children offered school places around the country. Retrieved from: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/thousands-of-ukrainian-refugees-offered-school-places-around-the-country