Teaching the asylum seekers

By Justin Parkinson
BBC News Online education staff

Asylum-seeking pupils are receiving a better welcome in UK schools

Being a young asylum seeker is not easy.

Often thousands of miles from their homelands, children have to grow up in a confusing and scary situation.

A new language to learn, poverty, hostility from local people and the trauma of being separated from friends and family - all this makes learning tougher than for pupils born in the UK.

Many also have to deal with a parent suffering the after-effects of imprisonment and torture.

Schools, according to the education watchdog Ofsted, are doing their best to welcome asylum seeker children.

Buddies

But it has called for a more concerted effort to ensure they get the same treatment all over the UK.

The Salusbury World project is trying to achieve that end in Brent, north-west London, a borough with around 3,000 asylum-seeking children.

Primary school pupils receive extra English tuition and join an after-school club.

They are paired with British children - "buddies" - to make them feel more welcome.

Meanwhile, two full-time assistants also help parents cope with adjusting to a new way of life.

Unsanitary conditions

Project manager Sarah Reynolds said: "A lot of the pupils have made many, many moves within this country since they've arrived.

"They may get shifted from one temporary home or hotel to another, which makes them feel uprooted.

"In the hotels, they may be four or five to a room, sharing their washing and cooking facilities with other families.

"All this makes it difficult for children to do their homework. There's so little privacy, with unsanitary conditions and crime to deal with.

"It's also difficult for them to have friends round or go out and play.

After-school clubs give asylum seekers a chance to play

"Our after-school club mixes all ethnic groups, who learn they can get on, whatever their origins. This helps their self-esteem no end.

"With all these problems, we take a holistic approach. We talk to the families too. Whatever benefits the child benefits them, and vice-versa."

The Ofsted report notes that schools in large cities, with their diverse ethnic groups, are better at welcoming asylum seekers than those in small towns and villages.

Salusbury Primary, where the Salusbury World project is based, looks after pupils who speak 45 different languages.

Ms Reynolds thinks this gives the flexibility to deal with up to 100 asylum-seeking pupils at a time, from as far apart as Somalia, Iraq, Albania and Afghanistan.

She said: "The situations we deal with vary enormously. This is a tolerant area and there's no racist name-calling among the pupils, but you still need help integrating people.

"Some of the parents have spent time in jail abroad for their political activities or beliefs. They may be traumatised, which trickles down to the children.

Family breakdowns

"The simple fact of being uprooted and leaving a whole life behind, with the family and support network, is hard for children.

"A lot have had to go through a terrible experiences to get here. The parents' relationship may have broken down as a result, adding to their sense of unrest.

"So moving around the UK all the time is not really good for anybody. It would be much better for the children and their families if they could be given adequate housing and they could stay in one place."

Last year, 110,700 people applied for asylum in the UK, a rise of 20% on 2001. Most applicants were under the age of 30.

Apart from children's psychological wellbeing, they face adapting to the academic demands of English schools, despite wildly varying experiences.

'Unique'

Ms Reynolds said: "Some have had no education whatsoever, such as girls from Afghanistan, who were excluded from schools under the Taleban.

"Others have had a patchy education, in places like Pakistan. Even those who have been well taught have usually had lessons in a language other than English.

"The situation is far from simple or unusual, but our project is unique. We want people elsewhere to try similar things."

With that end in mind, the Salusbury Project, together with the charity Save the Children, is publishing a schools' guide to dealing with asylum seekers.

Called Home from Home, it will offer advice on welcoming children and setting up clubs and activities for them.

Ms Reynolds said: "Quite often people haven't got the whole picture or an accurate picture.

"This is a result of ignorance, not prejudice. Once a school knows what to do, the children's self-confidence and self-esteem grow before your eyes.

"They develop friendships whatever their origins and have a good time. Surely that's the least they deserve."