New data published today (9 June) shows the phenomenal effort
from schools and local authorities all over the country in
welcoming children driven out of Ukraine by Russia’s invasion.
Once the parents or guardians of children arriving from Ukraine
have put in an application for a school place it is for the local
authority or school to offer a suitable place for each child
within 15 school days. Schools and councils across the country
have stepped up to the challenge and 9,900 places have been
offered to pupils from Ukraine.
In Darlington, Carmel College has welcomed four Ukrainian
students and their students have been supporting each other to
learn Ukrainian and teach them English. In Crewe, Beechwood
Primary School has also welcomed a Ukrainian child, Ivan, and
teachers and staff have done a brilliant job to ensure he has
been welcomed.
The statistics also show a sizeable number of Ukrainian children
who have arrived in this country have not yet applied for or been
offered school places.
The Government wants parents with children arriving from Ukraine
to be able to apply for a school place and have their children
start school as soon as possible, rather than waiting until the
start of the new academic year in September. The best place for
children to be for both their education and to help them
integrate, is in school.
Education Secretary, said:
I cannot praise enough the herculean effort made by schools and
local authorities to support Ukrainian families fleeing from
their home country, and I would urge them to keep going.
I am determined that children who have been forced from their
homes by war – as I was when I was 11 – do not have their life
chances spoiled as a result and that’s why I want to make sure
they are able to continue their education in our schools.
This data is encouraging but more importantly it shows us how we
can do better for these children and ensure that all children
arriving here have access to a good education.
Some areas have a higher concentration of Ukrainian families. For
example, the 10 local authorities with the highest number of
offers contributed over a quarter of the total school places
offered. In those areas with higher concentrations, the
department maintains an open dialogue, to ensure that it can
understand better the pressures in those Local Authorities and
support them to resolve any issues they may be facing.
The data also shows areas with a lower concentration and will
help us to monitor whether local authorities need to scale up
operations so they can quickly offer school places in-year.
In March, the Education Secretary, , committed to providing
children with a school place and mobilised the Oak National
Academy to roll out auto-translate function across all 10,000 of
its online lessons, as part of the UK’s offer to Ukrainian
children coming to the UK.
Lord Harrington, Refugees Minister, said:
These children have been through unimaginable hardship and I’m
proud of the welcome they have been given in the United Kingdom
Education is key to help them settle, integrate and make new
friends in their communities. I’m therefore delighted thousands
have started their schooling and am grateful to the teachers,
school staff, pupils and council workers who have made this
possible.
More than 65,700 people have arrived through both our
schemes, but we know there is still more to be done, which
is why we will continue to work across government to bring more
to safety and help them access work and education.
The new data also shows the number of places offered to pupils as
part of resettlement scheme for pupils from Hong Kong and
Afghanistan.
Parents (and sponsors) of Ukrainian pupils should apply to their
local authorities for a school place. The Department has produced
a helpful guide in both English and Ukrainian so new arrivals
know what they should do and what is available to them: How do families arriving
from Ukraine apply for a school place and childcare? / Як
родинам, що приїжджають з України, подавати заяви на отримання
місць у школі та допомоги з оплати послуг з догляду за
дитиною?
