Refugees and asylum seekers speak out, England
Rachel Morris
The Welcome Charter was put together by 20 young people, all refugees or asylum seekers aged 11-18 years living in Manchester. This activity was part of the Leading Edge Project – a national initiative by the Children’s Society, which aims to help all young refugees and asylum seekers enjoy and achieve within education.
We wanted to hear from young refugees and asylum seekers about their experiences of education in England and what they wanted from their schools and colleges. They came up with 8 principles and designed a poster to explain them. Implementing these principles in schools will take effort, but the young people felt such changes would make a huge difference to their lives and education.
The Welcome Charter poster provides schools in Manchester with a tool to create a more welcoming and inclusive environment for all of their students.
Rachel works on the ‘Safe in the City’ project, a project for young people in Manchester. ‘Safe in the City’ works with young people who are at risk on the streets, unaccompanied young asylum seekers, young refugees and asylum seekers in education, and young people who are at risk of sexual exploitation.
Contact:
Safe in the City,
The Children’s Society,
166 Plymouth Grove,
Longsight,
Manchester M13 0AF,
UK
rmr@childsoc.org.uk
www.childrenssociety.org.uk