Celebrating diversity

The distribution of refugees throughout England means that many people are aware of their presence in the local neighbourhood, school or college. Although some people know of the benefits refugees can bring, others lack familiarity with people from other cultures and can be distrustful and hostile to their presence.

Refugee students and their families need to feel safe and secure if they are to overcome the many obstacles they face when rebuilding their lives. People in host communities need opportunities to develop understanding of the experiences of refugees, their needs and how refugees can contribute to their communities. Refugees can contribute to all aspects of community life much more effectively once they feel welcome and supported.

Schools and colleges play an important role in helping refugee students and their families feel welcome in local communities. By supporting refugee young people’s access and enrolment and by offering peer support and friendships, they are also helping refugee students to contribute to many aspects of community life.

The Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 places a duty on education institutions to promote good race relations. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (pdf) provides guidance to assist further education settings meet their specific duties under the Act.

Diverse school or college communities are an important resource for all students to develop the skills they need to succeed in an increasingly global society. By celebrating diversity, and acknowledging the contribution people of all races and cultures make, schools and colleges are increasing awareness of refugees and tackling racism. For guidance see:

Putting the World into World-Class Education: An international strategy for education, skills and students’ services (.PDF) is part of the Government’s five-year strategy. Instilling a ‘strong global dimension into the learning experience of all young people’ is regarded as a real contribution to one of the strategy’s key goals.

Developing a global dimension in the school curriculum (DfES 2005)

Shows how a global dimension can be incorporated into the curriculum and the wider life of the institution. It outlines the benefits a global dimension can bring to young people, with guidance provided showing the many opportunities for building a global dimension into all subjects.

Schools and colleges can use the issue of refugees as one of many relevant topics to explore global interdependence, conflict resolution, diversity, human rights, social justice and institutional and individual responsibilities in many contexts.

Citizenship education offers opportunities for learning about refugees and learning about British society. It teaches students about the UK economy, democratic institutions and values and encourages respect for different national, religious and ethnic identities, and develops students’ ability to reflect on issues and take part in discussions. Citizenship aims to enable young people to exercise social responsibility, and to extend their political effectiveness, by active participation in their education and training environment and in their communities.

Border and Immigration Agency website provides information on applying for naturalisation to become British citizens and the knowledge of life in the United Kingdom that applicants must demonstrate.

Good practice

Learning about refugees can be a relevant topic to many subject areas, for example the study of war and conflict, migration, human rights and engaging students in topical critical analysis of media coverage. All students need to develop skills and understanding to succeed in an increasingly global society. Celebrating diversity means all students’ backgrounds can be valued, strong and positive relationships can grow between students from different cultural backgrounds and everyone can develop a sense of belonging to the school, college and the wider community.

Curriculum opportunities to value diversity

Capitalise on opportunities across the curriculum to acknowledge and promote all students’ heritages and to connect with other cultures. Learning materials need to reflect the school’s, college’s and wider society’s diversity.

Global Gateway provides access to comprehensive information on how to develop an international dimension to education.

Provide opportunities to learn about refugees

Provide opportunities in the curriculum for students to hear or read about the experiences of refugees at first-hand. Work with Refugee Community Organisations (RCOs) which can provide speakers, put up displays and provide information for students about global events and refugees. Bear in mind that there is a great diversity in the experiences of different groups of refugees. Take care not to imply that the particular experiences described by one group are true for all groups.

Websites that provide 16-19 learning activities include:

Student Action for Refugees (STAR) youth programme visits schools and colleges to raise awareness about the issues facing refugees. Their workshops are free to 16-18 year olds. They also have numerous resources for use in schools and colleges.

Haringey Refugee Education Resources provides schools and colleges with learning materials to promote refugee awareness.

CEA@Islington's EMAS provides guidance on teaching about refugees.

Escape to Safety Global Link exhibition, based in the North West of England. An example of a multi-media, multi-sensory, interactive refugee exhibition available to schools and colleges.

Why Refugees? Produced by Team Video, is a filmed account of a group of 6th form students’ investigation into why there are refugees, why they come to the United Kingdom and what happens to them when they arrive. The students investigate the role of the media, the law and the position of the political parties, talking to politicians, lobby organisations, lawyers, journalists, historians and refugees.

It is helpful to connect the teaching directly with some refugee students’ experiences. Useful websites include:

Country Reports produced by the Border and Immigration Agency

Country Profiles produced by the BBC

QCA Pathways to learning for new arrivals: Country information

Amnesty International

Human Rights Watch

Be sensitive to the presence of refugee students

Tutors will need to exercise careful judgements about how to address the topic of refugees in light of the circumstances of the school or college and current local issues. Asking young people to share their experiences can be very effective in promoting understanding and empathy from peers and has the potential to enhance the self-esteem and confidence of the speaker whose story is listened to and understood. It is however essential that great care is taken to ensure students don't feel threatened or 'labelled' as the young person always being asked to tell their story, which can be discomforting for some.

Enable all students to discuss issues safely

It is important to create a supportive environment so that all students can discuss issues safely, and where each student’s identity is valued. Codes of conduct and respect for students’ cultures and experiences need to be taught explicitly. Collaborative strategies can be used to promote understanding and build trust. For example learning activities can use drama to create a safe space for students so that genuinely held positions on refugees can be expressed. This can increase students’ empathy and understanding.

Celebrate Refugee Week

Refugee Week is a nation-wide programme of events that promotes understanding about refugees. It usually takes place in June each year. Refugee Week is an excellent opportunity for schools and colleges to celebrate cultural diversity and promote positive images of refugees.

Myth-busting facts produced by the Refugee Council offers information that challenges some common negative perceptions. Schools and colleges can organise curriculum activities and assemblies. A wide range of artists, theatre groups and writers are collaborating with education institutions across the UK to celebrate the event.

Refugee Week website provides information and advice on organising Refugee Week activities, with free educational resources available for download.

Involve local community organisations and parents

When organising activities or special events to celebrate diversity, involve RCOs. Activities can be enriched by the participation of a broad section of the community, including ethnic minority and refugee groups. QCA Pathways to learning for new arrivals website for schools provides guidance on working with Community groups that staff working in further education may find useful.

Share success stories

Nominate refugee students for awards that recognise their contribution to their schools or local communities. Useful websites include:

Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Award recognises the contribution of young refugees. Local media are often very interested in running positive stories about refugees.

Community Newswire, a Press Association (PA) and Media Trust initiative funded by the Home Office, helps community and voluntary groups who currently have little contact with the media, to make their voices heard.

Let’s talk to the media, produced by the Refugee Media Group in Wales, is a practical guide on working with the media for refugee community organisations and other practitioners.

Tackle racist behaviour

Develop curriculum work to tackle racism. Resources are available to schools and colleges to challenge racism and promote racial harmony. These include:

A Safe Place video pack on the Show Racism the Red Card website

Trial and Error materials to address racism, diversity and identity issues in the classroom. It is the outcome of a DCSF-funded project to produce a teachers' resource to support the citizenship curriculum at key stages 3 and 4. There is much in the key stage 4 materials that can be adapted for 16-19 learning.

Racist Incidents, Schools Reporting & Monitoring Procedures Leicester LEA guidance for schools that can also be helpful to further education settings which should ensure race equality policies are in place and that staff and students are aware of procedures to report racist incidents. It suggests:

• A six-point response to an alleged racist incident.
• Monitoring patterns of racist incidents
• The importance of identifying victims’ support needs
• Dealing with incidents
• A list of national agencies and organisations that offer advice and information.

Citizenship education’s emphasis on students’ active participation in their communities can ensure refugee students have opportunities to contribute. For further guidance, resources and example citizenship programmes and activities, go to:

Citizenship area of the teachernet

post -16 citizenship The post-16 citizenship development programme is delivered by the Learning and Skills Development Agency

QCA Play your part: post 16 citizenship gives guidance on developing, implementing and managing high-quality post-16 citizenship. It is for any organisation interested in offering citizenship, including youth and community organisations, schools, colleges, employers and training providers.

The Citizenship Foundation

Local Government Association

British Youth Council

UK Youth Parliament

Consultation can ensure that activities are widely supported and can promote positive relationships. The involvement of minority ethnic groups of students helps make sure the school or college is appropriately sensitive to all aspects of their cultures and situations. The promoting students’ participation area of this website gives guidance on this issue.