Meeting the needs of all students

When planning provision, further education institutions need to be mindful of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 that places a duty on schools, education institutions and local education authorities to work towards the elimination of unlawful racial discrimination and the promotion of equality of opportunity and good relations between persons of different racial groups.

Refugee students come from a wide variety of backgrounds, with many different experiences. The Who are international new arrivals? area of the QCA Pathways to learning for new arrivals website provides background information on some newly arrived groups . Refugee students may have literacy skills in other languages, and may already have attended school in the UK and other countries. Some may never have attended school or may have gaps in their learning. They may be managing difficult transitions at home as well as at their place of learning.

Success for All is a programme that seeks to promote a flexible and responsive education system that provides coherent 14-19 learning to meet the needs of all young people. To ensure all young people have the opportunities to maximise their potential, the Government are promoting a 14–19 approach to education that personalises learning and allows more freedom for young people to follow learning programmes that meet their individual needs and aspirations. The supporting access and enrolment and 14-19 curriculum areas of this website give information about this.

Meeting individual needs This QCA guidance describes how the 14-19 phase will be characterised :

• Young people equipped to plan at 13 or 14 for a goal at 19, without decisions being irrevocable
• The availability of diverse opportunities, matched to individuals
• High-quality teaching and learning
• Differentiated progression into and through the phase
• Coherent learning programmes suited to the individual
• Secure progression routes in all learning pathways, and movement between them.

QCA provides guidance to assist schools and colleges adjust their curriculum and practices. By clicking on the left menu you can access guidance on:

• Individualising the curriculum
• Pace and progression
• Learning and teaching within a flexible curriculum
• E-learning
• Guidance and support for 16-19 students

Good practice

Schools and colleges that have high expectations of all students, ensure their progression and engage them actively in the learning process, will be best placed to meet the needs of refugee students.

Resources to support curriculum induction

The meeting the needs of all pupils area of this website gives information about work developed to support the induction of refugee new arrivals. Colleges will run induction programmes, perhaps of varying length in relation to the courses being studied. Enlisting students to welcome and guide new refugee students, especially those who are new to studying in the UK, can help newly arrived students to feel welcome quickly, supported and aware of social and friendship opportunities. Access to information about their new environment and aspects of school, college and local life may also be helpful. The supporting access and enrolment area of this website gives information about this.

Initial assessment

Initial assessment of language and curriculum skills can assist tutors to consider new arrivals’ needs and plan for their inclusion and achievement. Even if refugee students have already attended school in the UK, they may have experienced frequent disruption to their education, including missing schooling for long periods, and their needs may not have been thoroughly assessed. Gather information about each student’s previous education, attainment and background experiences. Collaboration with students’ previous schools, for example through partnership or progression agreements, can increase understanding of the needs of new students. Early assessment can help identify students who may need extra support, especially with English or those who may have special educational needs (SEN). For guidance see:

Key Skills Support Programme provides guidance on initial assessment.

Read Write Plus This DCSF ESOL pack has assessment materials available to download.

Information about prior learning on admission

Provide extra support to refugee students when making their choices. They need information and guidance, based on knowledge of them as individuals, that takes into account their previous learning, areas of strength and weakness, their preferred learning styles, and their interests and aspirations.

High expectations of refugee students

Refugee students’ confidence may have been affected by frequent disruptions to their schooling and by being new to the environment. Place refugee students in learning groups that help them reach their potential. Being new to English does not mean they cannot attain high grades in other subjects.

QCA Pathways to learning for new arrivals The Subjects area of the website includes links to organisations that produce bilingual dictionaries that support different curriculum areas. Refugee students who are literate in another language can, for example, access mathematics and science assignments by using a bilingual dictionary.

Design courses to respond to the needs of refugee students

Greater flexibility and differentiation in the 14–19 phase means a greater range of general and specialist courses and qualifications can be developed, covering a wide range of subjects and skills.

14-19 learning This is QCA guidance on individualising the curriculum by identifying the needs of individual students and student cohorts, developing a curriculum to meet student needs, helping students to access the curriculum appropriate to their needs, tracking student progress and providing for progression.

Work collaboratively to provide programmes that widen students’ choices and improve the match of each student to learning programmes. For example, schools and colleges can collaborate to make up viable study groups . ESOL provision is a key area for development for refugee students and QCA English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) guidance provides information about accredited ESOL courses.

Enable students to study community languages and, if possible, to take examinations in the languages. The supporting language and learning area of this website provides information on this.

Provide guidance and support

Develop support systems and guidance to meet the needs of refugee students. Schools and colleges are developing their support systems to ensure each student receives the help they need to achieve their potential.

Guidance and support for 16-19 students This is QCA information on a range of support strategies, including using the Progress File, student decision making, matching students to courses and tutoring. Students are often assigned a personal tutor or learning adviser, an individual plan and a tutorial group. Tutorial programmes can include help with study skills and tackling other barriers to learning such as personal issues. Tutorial programmes frequently involve regular progress reviews, action planning, and preparation for higher education or employment.

Ensure that refugee students access the study support programmes they need to complete their courses and achieve their potential. The enrichment and study support area of this website gives more information on this.

Provide effective support for refugee students’ wider needs. Work with other agencies to offer refugee students additional support. Refugee Community Organisations (RCOs), youth workers and counselling are examples of services that have developed effective partnerships with schools and colleges to support refugee students. Other areas of this website that provide guidance on this are:

Multi-agency working

Supporting access and enrolment

Promoting emotional well-being

As refugee students may have multiple social needs, schools and colleges need to ensure their pastoral staff are trained in understanding the range of potential needs and responding to them.

Agencies working with refugees, such as ethnic minority achievement services or the Refugee Council, offer training to school and college staff .

Monitoring progress

• Review the progress of newly arrived students at regular intervals in the initial weeks
• Set short-term academic and social targets to help accelerate attainment and identify areas where additional support is needed. Induction programmes often develop an individual plan with each student, setting targets for learning.
• Provide ongoing assessment through teacher, peer and self-assessment. Use a variety of methods to ensure the potential of each student is recognised, for example through end of term examination, by portfolio, by oral tests, by practical assessment, by coursework, or combinations of these.
• Analyse data to consider if refugee students’ needs are being met. Schools and colleges may be able to consider whether any ethnic or language groups, in which refugees are represented, are underachieving. Identifying aspects of organisation, teaching and learning and support that contributes to achievement can contribute to developing improved provision for refugee students. Information can be supplemented by the views of refugee students and their tutors about what helped achievement and progression.

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