Improving education for refugee background students: research findings

This research aimed to understand the experiences of refugee background students (RBS) in secondary schools and colleges in order to support their progression to Higher Education. The research focused on the refugee students’ experiences of arriving in, and moving through, the education system. Additionally, the research looked at the aspirations of young refugees, how these are being met and their perceptions of the difficulties and challenges they face in moving through the education system. The project worked in partnership with The Hummingbird Project, a charity supporting young refugees and unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in Brighton, and Sanctuary on Sea, part of the national network, City of Sanctuary, whose objective is to make cities more welcoming for refugees and migrants. The project also worked in collaboration with an Advisory Group of partners from schools, colleges, the University of Brighton and the University of Sussex, Brighton and Hove City Council and representatives of refugee communities (See Annex 1). The group met three times over the course of the project. Alongside general oversight of the research, the group contributed their invaluable professional and practice-based perspectives, these have helped to shape the findings presented here. Two peer researchers with refugee backgrounds were recruited to help with data collection. They were trained in a two-day workshop on research methods at the University of Sussex led by the principal investigator. Peer researchers also contributed to the Advisory Group with their own experiences of education in the UK.