Agenda item

The Committee received an update on education support for refugees from Ukraine. This was the second update provided to the Committee.

Officers highlighted the ongoing support for those displaced by the conflict in Ukraine, emphasising collaboration with various organisations, including schools, and the provision of housing by resident hosts in the borough. The Committee was informed about the extensive efforts to ensure that displaced families successfully integrated into the community.

Officers outlined support arrangements, with a particular focus on St Mary's provision. St Mary's, a Ukrainian School, played a crucial role in providing education support. The Education Improvement Team collaborated with schools to offer advice, guidance, and training to support Ukrainian children, especially those with trauma or suspected special educational needs. Importantly where English was an additional language, information was provided in different languages including Ukrainian.

Several support services were noted, including an educational psychology offer, school support, and a two-year service offer for an additional language and speech service available to all schools in the borough. Hub schools and a mentoring program for Ukrainian refugees were also highlighted.

The range of support available had reflected conversations officers had had with schools, particularly those in the south of the borough, about some of the need, not just about Ukrainian refugees, but in general.

Hillingdon employed three people on fixed term contracts with the funding including the program manager, who was a lawyer and a refugee parent; and another member of staff was also a refugee parent.

Some of the families from Ukraine were actually Afghani and so there were a group of Afghani refugee families from Ukraine who had been displaced twice and the program manager and a number of others actively worked with Afghani support groups across West London.

Officers expanded on St Mary's provision, explaining the collaboration with the Ukrainian school and the introduction of education support workers trained to address trauma and health pathways. The team successfully supported families, identified Ukrainian children in schools, and facilitated access to various services.

Members enquired about the long-term plans for St Mary's provision and the potential impact of Oak Wood School's full capacity (St Mary’s Ukrainian school had opened a supplementary school based at Oak Wood School). Officers shared information about the initial one-year arrangement and the need for future discussions about funding continuation.

The Homes for Ukraine group were the sponsored group for funding. In total there had been 118, and currently there were 64 children under this scheme. Members enquired about the capacity of St Mary's provision, and officers provided information about the fluid situation. St Mary’s had identified 148 Ukrainian children in Hillingdon schools, not all of whom were under the Homes for Ukraine programme, some were under the Friends and Family scheme. Support for Ukrainian children was advertised in every school and a number of key documents were translated into Ukrainian. Families did not want documents translated into Russian.

The Committee discussed the potential return of Ukrainian families to Ukraine and the availability of online learning for Ukrainian children. The education psychology offer was explained, whereby 32 days of support was commissioned to work with Ukrainian children including support for health pathways for those who have been identified with trauma and individual schools who need some support in supporting and assessing children with suspected undiagnosed special education needs.

Members expressed support for Ukraine and asked about the challenges faced by young people returning to Ukraine. The Committee discussed maintaining contact with families, supporting children's qualifications, and addressing their needs. The LEAP portal was used for resources and communication. Via the virtual Ukrainian school some children had continued their education directly with schools in Ukraine.

On qualifications, parents had fed back that they were happy with the qualifications that their children were working towards. Creative subjects were not as valued in the Ukrainian education system and so parents were happy with the subjects available.

Members enquired about the regularity of contact with settled families, and officers explained the case-by-case approach based on the families' needs. Placement in schools was discussed, with assurance that there were no known pressures on finding school places for Ukrainian children in the borough.

Members asked about the utilisation of available funding by schools. Officers explained the initial lack of awareness and the ongoing efforts to encourage schools to use the funding for targeted support. The Committee discussed potential future funding and the extension of the support model to other refugee groups. For other groups of refugees such as Sudanese and Afghanis who were supported with funding, officers were working with an organisation called Trinity for a similar model of support, although the grant funding did not extend into all of the same areas that it did for Ukrainians.

Members asked about contact between the Council and voluntary sector partners with those who had settled in Hillingdon. Officers worked with Trinity and worked with people on a case-by-case basis, for example new arrivals or those who need to make connections or might need extra support. Once this initial support had been provided, many families were happy to move on.

Members asked about the 12 children attending out-of-Borough schools, and whether this was down to capacity or personal choice. Officers stated that there was not a known issue with accommodating children. It may depend on where the families were being hosted.

Members asked about available funding and the possibility of additional funds for the increasing number of Ukrainian families. The allocation of funding depended on the visa scheme on which the family arrived (e.g. Homes for Ukraine). The Government had confirmed that funding for hosts will continue and this would aid stability. Members asked about the flexibility of unused funding, and officers clarified that it was ring-fenced for Ukrainian children but encouraged creative ways to utilise it for effective support.

RESOLVED: That the Committee noted the information presented within the report and asked questions about the support being provided to children