Positive relationships and friendships

Young refugee children may arrive in early years settings at various times during the year. They may be new to a local area and may not have developed any friendships and relationships with other children. Refugee families may also be socially isolated and can also experience prejudice and racism.

Accessing early education settings can help young refugee children and their families feel a sense of security and belonging. Having opportunities to make positive relationships and friendships with children and adults from their own and from the host community will support integration.

The foundation stage curriculum has a major part to play in ensuring that the personal, social and emotional needs of young children are met. Successful personal, social and emotional development is critical for very young children in all aspects of their lives and gives them the best opportunity for success in all other areas of learning . The foundation stage curriculum helps young children form constructive relationships with their peers and with adults, as well as developing a respect for diversity.

Good practice

By supporting young refugee children to make positive friendships and relationships, early years educational settings can help them settle and feel a sense of belonging.

Develop a holistic approach throughout the setting

Strategies to develop positive relationships and friendships should involve all children, parents and practitioners in the setting. Activities and approaches will work best when implemented in the context of other good practice such as supporting access, promoting emotional well-being, parental involvement and celebrating diversity.

Work together to support respect and understanding

Both practitioners and parents in early years settings share the responsibility to support a climate of mutual respect and understanding that celebrates and acknowledges differences. Children learn from adults as guides and role models in the setting, and so develop positive relationship skills and anti-discriminatory attitudes. Practitioners should therefore give particular attention to establishing constructive relationships with children, with other practitioners, with parents and with workers from other agencies that take account of differences and different needs and expectations.

The Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 requires early years settings which are directly run or maintained by local authorities, and day nurseries run by social services departments of local authorities, to promote equality of opportunity and good relations between people of different racial groups. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (.pdf) provides guidance to assist early years settings meet their duties under the Act. The QCA Pathways to learning for new arrivals website also provides guidance on Race equality issues in early years settings.

Teach social, emotional and behavioural skills

The Excellence and Enjoyment: social and emotional aspects of learning (SEAL) resources provide a structured framework for primary schools and early years settings. The Red set booklets are designed for use in the foundation stage. They include ideas to develop the intended learning outcomes for the SEAL resource through adult led activities and by enhancing child-initiated learning. Themes covered include Getting on and falling out and Relationships.

Develop positive relationships and friendships through working together

Being with the same adults and children within an early years setting gives children time and opportunity to develop relationships that promote social competence. By working as part of a group or class, taking turns and sharing fairly, and understanding that there need to be agreed values and codes of behaviour for groups of people, including adults and children, to work together harmoniously, refugee children and their peers will build positive relationship skills.

Establish a warm and welcoming environment

Children and parents from all cultures and backgrounds should feel safe and included in the setting. Colourful posters, displays, multi-lingual information and positive images of the school’s diversity all contribute to creating an environment where refugee children and parents can feel accepted and make friendships. MantraLingua produces welcome posters and playgroup signs in different languages as well as a multilingual Nursery Welcome Booklet CD ROM. Lingua publishes over 60 commonly used school signs in 28 languages

Develop children’s befriending skills

Giving children opportunities to welcome, befriend and help new arrivals will benefit the new child as well as developing important social skills in the befrienders. Through story, children can explore feelings about being new to a setting and identify ways to be friendly and welcoming. Suitable books for early years are:

• Sam’s First Day (Mantra) ISBN: 1852696346
• The Gotcha Smile (Orchard) ISBN: 1860399517
• My Friend Bear ( Walker Books) ISBN: 1844284794.

Oxfam’s Cool Planet for teachers website provides a Lesson plan, A special friend, that aims to get children to talk about what makes a friend, what friends do for each other and how to be friendly to new children in the class.

Develop circle time activities

Circle time activities can help children express themselves and develop skills of empathy and listening to others. Establishing ground rules to create a safe, relaxing environment can increase the confidence of pupils to share feelings and experiences. When children share their experiences with peers and practitioners, they need to encounter empathy and active listening. By sharing emotions and responses during activities and experiences, they develop sensitivity to the needs of others and begin to learn about the value of and need for trust, honesty, support and reliability.

Circle Time for the Very Young and Enhancing Circle Time for the Very Young provide a wealth of strategies and activities for practitioners working with 3 to 7 year olds.

Quality Circle Time provides a range of resources and activities for early years settings.

Partnership with Refugee Community Organisations (RCOs)

RCOs frequently run educational and recreational activities to support children’s development and progress. Early years settings can put new arrivals and their families in touch with these activities. This can enable new arrivals to make friends with people in their own community. RCOs may have few resources and may therefore benefit from the opportunity of using a setting’s facilities. This can further promote good relations between refugees and their host community.Some RCOs also run befriending programmes and may be able to offer support and friendship to newly arrived children and families.

To obtain information about the work of RCOs in your area contact agencies and services that work with refugees.

Information Centre about Asylum and Refugees in the UK (ICAR) is developing a series of nationality-based navigation guides to refugee populations in the UK. The contacts section at the back of each guide has information on country-specific groups and organisations. In Yorkshire and Humberside and Liverpool regions, the Directory section of the refugee access site has some RCOs contact details.

Some Regional Community Development workers in either Refugee Action or the Refugee Council have information about the work of RCOs in their areas. 

Praxis are developing an online map of RCO locations in the UK and the Evelyn Oldfield Unit keeps information online about RCO groups affiliated to them, and to their projects in London.

Case Study

Sandyhills Play Park: promoting friendships and integration (.PDF)

Sandyhills, in Glasgow, is the home to large numbers of families with young children. Some flats are occupied by refugee families. A play park provides opportunities for local children and families to mix and develop positive relationships. The case study describes how the community was involved in developing the facility, and how it is contributing to the integration of refugee families.