Entitlements

For children who come to the UK, education is one of the first and most critical services they need access to. Children resident in the UK will normally have the right to attend state-funded schools (see Types of school: Overview – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) for information on different types of schools in the UK).

This includes unaccompanied children, children who are dependent on an asylum claim of a family member or children who have been recognised as refugees, who are entitled to access a school-based education. The outcome of their claim will not affect their entitlement to attend school. As stated in the Department for Education (DfE) guidance on School applications for foreign national children and children resident outside England – GOV.UK, they do not need to ‘prove’ their status as a person seeking asylum or refugee to apply for a school: they have the same rights to a school place as any other children resident in the UK.

Unaccompanied children who will become looked-after by the Council will be entitled to the same provision as any other looked-after child. Assessment and care provisions for the child should commence immediately, as it would do for any looked-after child, irrespective of whether an application (e.g. an asylum claim) has been submitted to the Home Office.

DfE has produced guidance on Promoting the education of looked-after and previously looked-after children – GOV.UK.

Refugee Support Network has produced the Access to education for refugee and asylum seeking children – UNICEF UK report for UNICEF, that provides an up-to-date overview of the scale and impact of the difficulties facing child refugees and asylum-seekers in the UK. It highlights the barriers they face in accessing, remaining and thriving in education, and proposes recommendations for national and local decision-makers and service providers.