Ukraine
Photo by Olga Subach on Unsplash
By Easter of 2023, 75,000 Ukrainian Refugees are in Ireland. For all who come here Ireland is a place of sanctuary. Those who are arriving are predominantly women and children as all healthy men between the ages of 18 and 60 must remain to defend Ukraine and for this reason families are not together and all are worried, stressed and perhaps traumatised. So how can we help?
Many children are now attending local schools and as is usual the entire school community rises to the challenge by extending a heartfelt welcome. Below we offer some links and resources that teachers (and their school communities) may find useful in assisting our new visitors and also in explaining the concept of war to children who may indeed be anxious about the news that they are witnessing.
If by chance you have resources / links / suggestions that can be added to those below then we would love to hear from you on info@globalcitizenshipschool.ie
Below you will find:
Finding Charlie's Voice a Free Poster for schools to help with communication with our incoming Ukrainian Students.
Ukraine for Kids: All you need to know: Geography, History and more.
INTO Ukrainian Support Page (recording of Webinar to support Ukrainian Students)
Primary Resources: Yellow Flag Programme: Diversity in the Classroom.
Regional Language Supports for Ukrainian Students.
Understanding and Preventing Racism.
The Ukraine Crisis explained for older children (video)
How to talk to your children about Ukraine (Irish Times)
Citizen's Information: Ukrainian support Page.
Talking to children about war!
The Irish Refugee Council - Ukraine Support Page (regularly updated)
Padlet Resource was compiled and prepared by Eadaoin Kelly (St. Mary's NS)
Pledging? The what and how?
Not Re-Living but Living: A Psychological First Aid for Refugee Care
Looking for work?
Pryvit.ie (Means hello in Ukrainian) Businesses and how they are helping.
https://twitter.com/FindingCharlie
Finding Charlie's Voice have produced this Posters for all. It's READY - Our Ukrainian/English Classroom Communication Board! We are donating these in POSTER FORMAT to schools in Ireland that may need them to support children entering into their classrooms from UkrainePhoto by Tina Hartung on Unsplash
The INTO recently hosted a webinar for members who will be welcoming Ukrainian children to their schools over the coming weeks.
The webinar, which you can watch below, features a panel of speakers including Jessica Farnan, Manager, CDETB Youth and Education Service for Refugees and Migrants; Charlotte Byrne, Education Officer with the Irish Refugee Council and Aoife Merrins-Gallagher a primary school teacher and PhD scholar at DCU, Institute of Education who is passionate about supporting children with EAL, bilingualism and inclusive educational practice. This session also featured input from principals and teachers who have experience of welcoming Afghan children and Syrian refugees in recent times.
Information on the webinar and participants is available here.
Supporting the Wellbeing of Children from Ukraine in your School – Guidance for primary schools
Departmental correspondence to schools on support measures to support influx of Ukrainian pupils
EAL resources list from the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment
Supporting Children and Young People in a time of War Advice for School Staff
Minister Foley announces the establishment of Regional Education and Language Teams for Ukraine
As part of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) Grant, the INTO organised a series of three online workshops to support teachers on tackling racism in primary schools which culminated last week.
Due to high demand the workshop series was fully booked. If you missed out, you can register an interest in attending a new online workshop series here. If there is sufficient demand, respondents will be contacted by email with a new date(s).
The Ukraine Crisis explained for older children
From Minute 1:35 - 5:17
This Padlet Resource was compiled and prepared by Eadaoin Kelly and contains a raft of helpful ideas from a range of providers and organisations.
Department of Education and Science and NEPs
Zoom Webinars
PDST Supporting Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Learners.
Supporting Refugee Children who have experienced trauma. (English Language Support Teachers Association ELSTA)
Mother Tongues Ireland
Finding School Places - Tusla
Yellow Flag Programme
A group of mental health professionals has also compiled a guide for those who will be in contact with refugees fleeing the war.
In the April Issue of the INTO InTouch Teachers Magazine Pages 22 & 23 have some great information for teachers who will have Ukrainian children as students in their classrooms. The insert below is just a sample of what can be found.
We encourage people to provide donations to organisations who are working on the ground with emergency response teams in the Ukraine or in border countries.
The Irish Emergency Alliance is made up of of ActionAid, Christian Aid, Plan International, Self Help Africa, Tearfund, Trócaire and World Vision.
The following organisations are coordinating offers of assistance with accommodation for refugees coming to Ireland:
Read our latest Statement on the Russian Invasion of Ukraine