IES provides advice and support to newly arrived families who remain within the Asylum or Refugee Resettlement process for weeks and months, until they are settled into the NI Education System. An asylum seeker is someone who has left their country and is seeking protection as a refugee, but their claim hasn't yet been processed. A refugee is someone who has been formally recognized as needing protection, often after their asylum claim has been approved ‘in-country’ or prior to travel.
Refugee status is granted by the Home Office and those with ‘refugee’ status include both asylum seekers who are granted the right to remain and become ‘refugees’ as well as those communities who are included in formal ‘resettlement schemes’ such as the Afghan, Syrian and Ukrainian schemes. Resettlement schemes are much larger and more formal than the individual family numbers acquiring ‘refugee’ status each year. Across the Education Authority additional support is provided to asylum seekers and refugees including the allocation of any additional short-term temporary funding to schools from the central authorities including the Home Office and the Executive Office.
- Initial ‘settling-in’ advice on the Northern Ireland education system, including how to apply for a school place
- Interpreting support to help families understand their school choices and what is required to submit a school enrolment application
- Advice around how to apply for any benefits you might be entitled to including free school meals, uniform grants and free home to school transport (if eligible)
- Referrals to special education advisers, health service colleagues and voluntary sector partner organisations, who have additional specialised advice, support and guidance, including potentially free resources
Support
Parental Support
The ASR Support Team can help parents to access education for their children and can assist with applications for school places, free school meals and uniforms, and transport as well as providing information around procedures to help children and young people with additional learning needs. Each asylum-seeking family with a school aged child is provided with a laptop device to aid home-school engagement and learning. You can request support directly for your family, or on behalf of a family by completing an online form.
School Support
We can support home/school engagement, and can advocate for children and young people during school meetings when necessary and appropriate. We provide advice to schools and other educational settings on how best support the learning and integration of pupils from an ASR background. This often involves reminding schools of how to use the contracted EA Interpreting and Translation Services.
Training
The ASR Support Team have produced self-directed training available through the EA’s online training portal. This training is aimed at schools or educational professionals who work or are likely to work with children from an asylum-seeking and refugee background. It includes information and guidance about how to develop a trauma-informed approach in your setting to support these pupils. Access using the code t2840y.
Support for Ukrainian Newcomer pupils
School Placement Process for Children seeking Asylum/Refuge
Resources
With support from UK Home Office funding, the Intercultural Education Service has produced several resources to support pupils from asylum seeking and refugee backgrounds.
The Kitabna Resource and Asylum Seekers and Refugees Information Booklet can be found on our Intercultural Resources page.
ASR Support Team Contact
If you wish to log a query or a request for support for a child or young person from an ASR background, you can do so via the IES Helpdesk.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between an Asylum Seeker and a Refugee?
A person seeking asylum:
- flees their home;
- arrives in another country, whichever way they can;
- makes themselves known to the authorities;
- submits an asylum application; and
- has a legal right to stay in the country while waiting for a decision.
A refugee:
- has proven that they’d be at risk if returned to their home country;
- has had their claim for asylum accepted by the government;
- has permission to stay in the UK either long term or indefinitely; and
- Refugees have a right under UK and international law to bring their immediate family members to join them.
You can read some important myth busting facts about Asylum Seekers and Refugees on the Children’s Society website.
What is the Afghan Refugee Resettlement Scheme?
This scheme is due to start resettling Afghan citizens in Northern Ireland. It is anticipated that the scheme will be operated in a similar fashion to the VPRS (see above), with comparable levels of support for families provided in education, health and social care, housing and access to work and benefits. It is also likely that additional, ring-fenced funding will be made available to schools that register children and young people who arrive through the scheme.