This report has identified the barriers that asylum seekers and refugees encountered when accessing education for their young children. This report has also revealed the strategies that organisations and schools put in place to overcome these challenges. There are three resounding lessons to learn from the experiences of those interviewed for this project:
Firstly, digital access came up again and again as the most difficult barrier to overcome and that, once people had devices, internet connection and the skills to be able to use digital technology, they were more independent, and able to find things out and apply for services themselves. Organisations, schools and services are seeing the benefits of maintaining some provision online, therefore the question of digital access does not solely belong to the Covid-19 pandemic. Rather, digital inclusion is an ongoing need that continues to be of importance.
Developing relationships with vulnerable families was, and is still, an essential component in ensuring that their basic needs are met, that referrals are followed through, and that everything is in place to support their children to thrive. The outreach activities that took place during the Covid-19 pandemic demonstrated outstanding examples of communicating pro-actively with families. The positive impact of these efforts were felt deeply by the families who received phone calls. In addition, families had a named, trusted person they could talk to candidly about their needs and this was far better than having to phone up a general number and speak to a stranger.
In addition to communication with families, relationships and collaboration between different schools, groups and organisations was key to ensuring that all the families’ holistic needs were met. Many success stories were shared in the interviews where people from different parties came together to help asylum seekers and refugees overcome their challenges. Despite these efforts, nearly all participants identified the ongoing need for greater understanding about the challenges of how to connect and engage with each other in the first place.
The final component of successfully supporting refugee and asylum- seeking families with young children during the pandemic was the capacity to be flexible. The participants from schools and organisations spoke of ‘thinking on their feet’ and adapting to the evolving circumstances. There was a consensus that small, local organisations were able to make decisions for themselves and react much quicker than larger, national or international organisations. Indeed, while schools and each of the organisations maintained their broad remit, within that, they were able to prioritise their activities and make decisions on how to go about providing these.