Children and the teacher wearing facemasks during a school lesson in London
(Picture: PA)London schools stand ready to take in children from Ukraine and are well prepared to help pupils who are traumatized after fleeing war zones, school leaders said on Monday.
But they will need support with mental health services, language assistants, teaching materials in Ukrainian and English and transport arrangements, they said.
Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi has said Britain is ready to take 100,000 Ukrainian children and educate them in schools. Online classroom Oak National has translated its lessons into Ukrainian so children arriving in the UK can access education in their native language.
Geoff Barton, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “Everybody in the education sector stands ready to help support refugee children displaced by the barbaric actions of the Russian regime in Ukraine.”
He said refugee children may require extra pastoral support because of the trauma they have experienced. He added: “Schools and colleges have good systems in place to provide this support but may also need to draw on wider services including access to specialist mental health support.”
Clinical psychologist Dr Martha Deiros Collado said it was important schools make sure the new arrivals have basics including pens, books and gym kit, and set up a “buddy system”. “Let’s teach our children that love and compassion is more valuable than hatred and violence,” she said.
It comes after Sam Parrett, London South East Colleges principal, called for more support to help staff cope with the rising number of lone child refugees starting courses. Many from countries such as Afghanistan and Syria have had “unimaginable experiences”, she said.
