Peer support and friendships

Refugee children may have had recent experiences where they felt anxious and threatened. Many of them will also have experienced significant disruption to their lives and the loss of their social and family networks. This can affect their confidence and self-esteem at a time when they are adapting to a new environment and perhaps learning a new language. Refugee children and their families can also experience racism .

Going to school enables refugee children to feel safe and secure, reassured by a warm welcome and effective support. The opportunity that school gives refugee children for positive relationships and friendships with peers from their own and from their host community supports integration.

Good practice

By supporting refugee children and young people to make positive friendships and relationships, schools can help refugee pupils settle and feel a sense of belonging.

Establish a warm and welcoming environment

The supporting access and enrolment to school area of this website gives guidance on helping children and families feel safe and included. Colourful posters, multi-lingual welcome signs and positive images of, and messages about, the school’s diversity all contribute to creating an environment where refugee children can feel safe.

Provide new arrivals with a ‘buddy’

‘Buddies’ can help refugee children settle quickly and become familiar with the school’s routines.

Managing Pupil Mobility: A handbook for induction mentors (.PDF) (DfES 2003) provides guidance on setting up a buddy scheme. Some schools provide new arrivals with a ‘playground buddy’ and a ‘classroom buddy’ to support their integration in the first few weeks.

A Guide for the official class friends, published by Newham Education Action Zone (EAZ). Newham EAZ have given permission to Portsmouth Ethnic Minority Achievement Service (EMAS) to make this available on their website as a downloaded document. A certificate to reward buddying (.PDF) can also be downloaded from the same website.

Develop friendship-building activities

Friendship-building activities can take place in the classroom, at break-times and as part of after-school activities. Some schools have established lunchtime clubs providing new arrivals with access to recreational activities and opportunities for friendship.

Develop peer support

Peer support for new arrivals can be linked with existing good practice. Many schools have already established peer support schemes where pupils are consulted, trained, supervised and resourced to offer support to their peers.

Setting up a peer support scheme (.PDF), published by ChildLine, provides guidance for practitioners.

Peer Support Networker provides schools with information, guidance and networking opportunities to develop peer support schemes.

QCA Pathways to learning for new arrivals includes guidance on Peer support and demonstrates the opportunities in personal, social and health education (PSHE) and citizenship for pupils to learn about the diverse communities in which they live and to develop the skills of respecting and including new arrivals.

Westminster EAZ has published ‘A Welcome Experience: a PSHE and Citizenship Programme of Work for Key Stages 1 and 2.(Tel. 020 7641 2096)

Peer support can also be developed through curriculum activities. The celebrating diversity area of this website gives guidance on raising awareness about refugees.

Provide mentoring support

Some refugee children and young people may have special difficulty settling in and making friends in the school and may find it helpful to have the guidance and support of a mentor. Schools and the voluntary sector can work together to set up mentoring schemes.

A guide to setting up mentoring schemes for young refugees can be downloaded from the Save the Children website.

Build partnerships with local Refugee Community Organisations (RCOs)

RCOs frequently run educational and recreational activities to support children’s development and progress. Schools can put new arrivals and their families in touch with these activities. This can enable new pupils to make friends with children and young people in their own community. RCOs may have few resources and may therefore benefit from the opportunity of using school 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 refugee community organisations in your area contact agencies and services that work with refugees. Refugee Forums in some cities have collated directory information. For example:

Manchester Refugee Support Network has produced a Manchester RCO directory.

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 projects.

In Yorkshire and Humberside and Liverpool regions, the Agency Database section of the refugee access website 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.

Evelyn Oldfield Unit keeps online information about RCO groups affiliated to them, and to their projects in London.

Case study

‘Be a friend’: welcome to Liverpool (.PDF)

The ‘Be a Friend’ project developed from a partnership between Liverpool City Council’s Ethnic Minority and Traveller Achievement Service, the Dingle Granby Toxteth Education Action Zone (discontinued), and the Liverpool Asylum Seeker and Refugee (LASAR) Development Partnership. The case study describes how children in nine primary schools were trained and supported to become ‘class friends’ to newly arrived refugee children.

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

A play park in the Sandyhills area of Glasgow provides opportunities for local children and families to mix with and develop positive relationships with refugees. The case study describes how the community was involved in developing the facility, and how it is contributing to the integration of refugee families.

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