Conceptualising educational provision for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in England

The right to education for all children, including asylum-seeking children, is enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. However, there is little research available to describe the educational provision provided to unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) in England. Crucially,...

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Main Authors: Ott, EM, O'Higgins, A
Format: Journal article
Language:English
Published: Routledge 2019
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author Ott, EM
O'Higgins, A
author_facet Ott, EM
O'Higgins, A
author_sort Ott, EM
collection OXFORD
description The right to education for all children, including asylum-seeking children, is enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. However, there is little research available to describe the educational provision provided to unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) in England. Crucially, it is not known whether the educational needs are met by the provision available to UASC. In the most recent figures, the number of UASC in England has risen by 130% since 2013, to 4,480. Schools, ‘virtual schools’ responsible for children in care, social workers, and policymakers wish to know how this population is currently being served and how they might better serve them. This paper presents the findings from a mapping exercise on education available to UASC in England including 12 semi-structured interviews with virtual school heads, teachers, social workers, and charity education providers; document analysis; a workshop at the Department of Education with key stakeholders; and summary statistics. It highlights gaps in data and provision; conceptualises types of provision into bespoke, mainstream, and English language; and analyses how provision interacts with assessment and support needs. What emerges is a framing of provision through an integration lens and an agenda for future research and practice.
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spelling oxford-uuid:fa5a3f60-5924-4b3e-97bc-d5b31655b9d42022-03-27T13:05:05ZConceptualising educational provision for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in EnglandJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:fa5a3f60-5924-4b3e-97bc-d5b31655b9d4EnglishSymplectic Elements at OxfordRoutledge2019Ott, EMO'Higgins, AThe right to education for all children, including asylum-seeking children, is enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. However, there is little research available to describe the educational provision provided to unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) in England. Crucially, it is not known whether the educational needs are met by the provision available to UASC. In the most recent figures, the number of UASC in England has risen by 130% since 2013, to 4,480. Schools, ‘virtual schools’ responsible for children in care, social workers, and policymakers wish to know how this population is currently being served and how they might better serve them. This paper presents the findings from a mapping exercise on education available to UASC in England including 12 semi-structured interviews with virtual school heads, teachers, social workers, and charity education providers; document analysis; a workshop at the Department of Education with key stakeholders; and summary statistics. It highlights gaps in data and provision; conceptualises types of provision into bespoke, mainstream, and English language; and analyses how provision interacts with assessment and support needs. What emerges is a framing of provision through an integration lens and an agenda for future research and practice.
spellingShingle Ott, EM
O'Higgins, A
Conceptualising educational provision for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in England
title Conceptualising educational provision for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in England
title_full Conceptualising educational provision for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in England
title_fullStr Conceptualising educational provision for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in England
title_full_unstemmed Conceptualising educational provision for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in England
title_short Conceptualising educational provision for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in England
title_sort conceptualising educational provision for unaccompanied asylum seeking children in england
work_keys_str_mv AT ottem conceptualisingeducationalprovisionforunaccompaniedasylumseekingchildreninengland
AT ohigginsa conceptualisingeducationalprovisionforunaccompaniedasylumseekingchildreninengland