Meeting the needs of all pupils

Schools have a responsibility to provide a curriculum that meets the specific needs of individuals and groups of pupils, including refugees. The Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 places a duty on schools 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. The Equality and Human Rights Commission provides guidance to assist schools to meet their duties under the Act.

The duty to promote race equality: A guide for Schools (.PDF)

This guide supports the Code of Practice on the Duty to Promote Race Equality and has been written mainly for the governing bodies of maintained schools and other educational institutions maintained by local authorities (LAs), which are also bound by the duty.

The National Curriculum statutory inclusion statement explains how schools can make the curriculum more inclusive by:

Setting suitable learning challenges
Responding to pupils' diverse learning needs
Overcoming potential barriers to learning and assessment for individuals and groups of pupils.

Refugee pupils come from a wide variety of backgrounds. Contextual information on the previous experiences of new arrivals from more than 40 countries can be found on the QCA Pathways to learning for new arrivals website. Refugee pupils 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 school.

Good practice

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

Resources to support curriculum induction

Crofton School in the London Borough of Lewisham has set up an online course to help all new arrivals . Crofton New Arrivals website includes information about the school and a virtual tour, the testimony of new arrivals about their experiences, accounts by buddies about why they found helping new arrivals rewarding, induction activities that can be used in some lessons to support immediate needs and integration, and some English, mathematics and science activities.

Initial assessment

QCA Pathways to learning for new arrivals website which includes Initial assessment of language and curriculum skills and guidance on Modifying and adapting the curriculum

The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) Key Stage 3 National Strategy guidance assessment of pupils learning English as an additional language on the effective assessment of EAL learners. The focus is on how assessment data can inform planning, teaching and learning.

Beginners in English as an additional language funded by Slough EAZ and Equality Services, provides help to teachers and support staff. Early assessment can help identify pupils who may need extra support, including pupils who may have special educational needs (SEN). Staff can then plan to overcome any barriers the pupil may face.

Information about prior learning on admission

The supporting access and enrolment to school area of this website includes information about admission procedures and suggests ways of ensuring good communication with new arrivals on admission. Schools can gather important information at the admission meeting with new arrivals and their parents, including the pupil’s prior learning. Some schools have developed certificates of prior learning to acknowledge pupils’ prior attainment and recognise achievement.

Have high expectations of refugee pupils

Place refugee pupils in learning groups that help them reach their potential. Being new to English does not mean they cannot attain high grades in other subjects. Refugee pupils who are literate in another language can, for example, access mathematics and science assignments by using a bilingual dictionary. Bilingual dictionaries are available from a range of sources.

The Subjects area of the QCA Pathways to learning for new arrivals website includes links to organisations which produce bilingual dictionaries that support different curriculum areas.

Monitoring progress

Some schools deploy Ethnic Minority Achievement (EMA) teachers, induction mentors, learning mentors, teaching assistants or other support staff to track and monitor progress. Settling-in forms can be developed to track progress, filled in after each lesson by teachers, reviewed daily by the Head of Year, and then taken home to parents each evening. The Ethnic Minority Achievement (EMA) teacher or school-home support can also check on the young person’s progress and well-being.

Examples of settling in and review of progress forms (.PDF) developed by one secondary school in Islington can be found on CEA@Islington’s EMAS website .

The induction mentor’s toolkit in appendix (1) of the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF): Managing Pupil Mobility: A handbook for induction mentors (.PDF) provides free downloads of settling-in reports, tracking forms and progress review forms.

Set short-term academic and social targets to help accelerate attainment and identify areas where additional support is needed. One Islington primary school has developed success criteria to inform its review of new arrivals’ progress. This review form (PDF) can be downloaded from CEA@Islington’s website and adapted by staff tracking the progress of refugee pupils who have joined a secondary school.

Assessment for learning can also assist in determining new pupils’ strengths, areas of development, preferred learning styles and learning potential. The Assessment for learning area of the QCA Pathways to learning for new arrivals website provides guidance.

Initial assessment

Initial assessment should enable teachers to plan to meet the needs of individual pupils. They can then ensure each pupil experiences success by modifying the curriculum to ensure their access and participation. For guidance see:
QCA Pathways to learning for new arrivals website which includes Initial assessment of language and curriculum skills and guidance on Modifying and adapting the curriculum

New Arrivals Excellence Programme: Primary and Secondary National Strategies (NAEP) . The NAEP website offers guidance, provides answers to frequently asked questions and provides links to other useful websites. The following guidance can be downloaded from the website.

NAEP Guidance

This document for primary and secondary schools aims to support schools in developing their provision for newly arrived pupils; whole school planning, welcoming, initial assessments, teaching and learning strategies and promoting children’s participation.

NAEP resources

New Arrivals Excellence Programme: DVD and case studies - a resource to support the development of induction procedures for new arrivals. The DVD is available on request.

Provide effective pastoral support

The supporting access and enrolment to school, multi-agency working and promoting emotional well-being areas of this website suggest ways of ensuring new refugee pupils and their families access support for their immediate and wider needs. As refugee pupils may have multiple social needs, schools need to ensure their staffs are trained in understanding the range of potential needs and responding to them. Agencies working with refugees, such as Local Authority (LA) Ethnic Minority Achievement Services or the Refugee Council, can offer training to school staff. Refugee community organisations can also offer help and advice to schools.

Case studies

Induction mentoring (.PDF)

In Hounslow Manor School, in West London, the majority of new arrivals are refugees. This case study explores the role of the induction mentor and demonstrates how new arrivals are welcomed and effectively supported.

An induction course for newly arrived pupils (.PDF)

The Minorities Achievement Project (MAP) in Barnet Local Authority has developed in-school induction courses for new arrivals at key stages 3 and 4 in five secondary schools. This case study describes how the course provides students with intensive English language tuition and differentiated work on different curriculum topics. The course lasts for up to 12 weeks, providing a two-hour session once a week. Each session focuses on one curriculum subject.

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