Introduction to the project

This site contains resources that aim to support the work of practitioners working with migrant communities in the UK. Four practice issues are considered:

• Communication Barriers.

• Avoiding Cultural Assumptions.

• Working with People from Different Cultural and National Backgrounds.

• Complexities of the Immigration System and Entitlement.

These practice issues were identified by a range of social care practitioners and members of migrant families during the ESRC funded project ‘Everyday Bordering in the UK’, The impact on social care practitioners and the migrant families with whom they work. The resources provided are the subsequent product of three consultation events with 50+ practitioners from diverse sectors, with varied levels of seniority. During these events, practitioners agreed that training resources should consider the four practice issues identified, but said that existing training provision is ‘boring’ or an isolated ‘tick box exercise’ that does not support reflection in practice.

Instead, they identified a need to create a network to enable information sharing, to allow them to reflect on their responses to the training resources provided here, as well as issues they face in practice. This website therefore also hosts an ‘online community’ to facilitate the development of this network.

The consultation events described and training resources produced were funded by the The Higher Education Impact Fund and delivered as part of a partnership between: The University of Sheffield; The Goodwin Development Trust (Hull); Chilypep (Sheffield); The University of Hull, Department of Midwifery and Child Health; and The Humber Coast and Vale Commissioning Partnership.

How the website works

This website provides a space for practitioners to access resources that build on the knowledge and skills that they already have, either as an individual or as part of a team. It is also a space where practitioners can come together to reflect on their responses to the resources provided, share knowledge and experiences, and ask questions about working with people that are part of migrant communities.

This website therefore has two separate, but connected functions:

1. To provide resources related to the four training themes

All users can view and/or download these resources by following the ‘training themes and resources’ link in the left hand menu, and then clicking on one of the specific theme links. For each theme, users will find background information to the theme, guidance about how to use the related resources and training materials, including: videos, case study activities, tools for working with individuals and families, and information sheets.

The training resources are not targeted at one particular profession and are intentionally created to allow practitioners working in different professions and communities to apply their own professional perspective and experience.

These resources are ‘stand alone’ and can be used for individual and/or group professional development.

2. To host an online community

This function supports engagement with other practitioners, and provides a space where users can share their responses to the resources provided, exchange their experiences, ask questions and add new content, for example, useful links, professional tools or additional case studies. This creates a virtual opportunity to collaborate with other professionals, and to create a space that changes and develops in response to the needs of migrant families and individuals.

Each training theme has a designated thread within the online community (which can be found at the top of each theme page), and users can create additional threads. We have, for example, created a thread for Hull and Sheffield for each training theme; the places where the consultations were conducted.

Please follow the link to find out more about using the online community, including how to protect your anonymity, if you so wish.