Initiative: Inclusive practices for refugee students in early years

Organisation: Acorn Nursery

Location: England

Overview 

Acorn is a nursery in Brighton, and is part of the Nurseries of Sanctuary network. To foster an inclusive and diverse environment for refugee and asylum-seeking families, Acorn initiates a range of endeavours that can be categorised into three sections: 1) staff training 2) community building 3) inclusive learning and communication.

The initiative conducts training for staff on unconscious bias, racism and unique challenges faced by refugee and asylum-seeking families. To celebrate and facilitate learning on different cultures, the initiative created “home corners”, where students could learn about different countries and cultures. These corners included food, fabric, and other cultural symbols that represented the diversity in the classroom, and helped foster an environment of learning and welcome. 

Recognising that building relationships with parents helps them feel confident about sending their children to the nursery, the initiative has worked to intentionally engage with parents in their setting. They reported how simple actions like checking in on the parents and asking them how they were doing, went a long way in building trust and helped the child build secure attachments in the setting. Parents are encouraged to share their cultural traditions and inform the nursery about any upcoming celebrations, allowing the nursery to provide support and participate in these cultural events.

The initiative prioritised an inclusive learning approach. They have intentionally built their reading rooms to include books in a range of languages and with pictures that reflected the diversity of children in their classroom, as well as using makaton (a visual form of communication that uses signs and symbols) and visual images to communicate with children with limited language skills. The initiative also shared an example of ‘poverty proofing’. On World Book day, instead of asking children to come dressed as a character from a book, they asked all the children to come dressed in their pyjamas and pick books available in the school to read together. The intent was that all children should be able to access all activities. Working closely with a  local charity ‘Pelican Parcels’ they give school uniforms to children leaving at  the end of the summer term ready for starting Primary school. More recently they have started a new initiative giving books to the nursery to share with families for our most vulnerable families, they can read and keep or return and swap them for a new book. This is new and   works alongside the free Bookstart packs the nursery shares provided by  the book Trust.  Staff at Acorn work closely with Health Visitors and together they can signpost families to local charities and food banks. We have a cohort of children who can access the nursery with their 15 hour 2 year funding, this is increased when they are 3 years old. This means children can attend Acorn Nursery at no financial cost to the Family. 

Outcomes

Acorn reported on the benefits of providing trauma- informed training to their staff and the positive impact it had on staff attitudes in the classroom and beyond. Staff who underwent the training shared that it helped them identify their own prejudices and made them more empathetic to the circumstances of refugee and asylum-seeking learners and their families. The initiative reported on the positive results of building relationships with the families, which included improved attendance and participation in activities that were being organised at the nursery. Further, these positive relationships have helped the nursery understand the needs of individual families and provide the required support.  Prioritising an inclusive approach, had knock-on benefits on the entire nursery, with students and families feeling a sense of community and belonging. The initiative shared an instance of writing up the values of the nursery by taking in inputs from students and families 

 Approach taken 

As a part of the sanctuary network where all members are committed to creating a culture of welcome and inclusion for refugees and people seeking asylum, Acorn Nursery has embedded learning in a welcoming environment. The nursery also shares what they have achieved and learned with other peer institutions to promote this culture.  The initiative also works with Ethnic Minorities Achievements Service (EMAS) to build diversity and inclusion into their practices. 

Lessons learned 

A valuable lesson learned is the importance of investing in families that have experienced trauma. The nursery has successfully built strong relationships with refugee parents by welcoming them and providing emotional support to recognise the trauma they have experienced. Another important lesson learned that has informed their practice is acknowledging where refugee families come from, what they've been through, and how they can best support or guide them. The nursery has connections with other support networks, and is equipped to provide guidance as needed.