Why we care:

At Equal Education, we are committed to providing quality 1:1 tuition support for the most vulnerable and underprivileged children and young people. Including, Children Looked After (CLA), those with Special Educational Needs & Disabilities (SEND) and Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children (UASC).

The number of Children Looked After (CLA) continueS to rise

At 31 March 2022, there were 82,170 children looked after in England, up 2% on 31 March 2021 (DfE, 2022). ‘Abuse or neglect’ continues to be the primary need for coming into care (66%).

The number of Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children (UASC) continueS to rise

The Department of Education defines UASC as children, who have applied for asylum in their own right and are separated from both parents and/or any other responsible adult. Local authorities have a legal duty to provide accommodation for these children.

The statistics

1. The number of UASC are up 1,430 (34%) on last year, however, there was a large decrease (of 18%) last year which was likely due to the pandemic. The 5,570 UASC on 31 March 2022 is an increase of 10% on the number on 31 March 2020 (prior to the pandemic).

2. UASC are a distinct group of CLA and currently represent around 7% of all CLA, up from 5% last year (and up slightly from 6% in 2018).

3. UASC are generally male - 95% - this has increased from 92% last year and in 2018.

4. UASC are also generally older - only 13% were aged under 16 years, this is the same as in 2020 but down from 19% in 2018.

5. 88% of UASC have a primary need of 'Absent parenting' - 7% were in need due to abuse or neglect and 4% due to the family being in acute stress.

6. The ethnicity of UASC has been changing - the majority of UASC are from ‘Other ethnic groups’ and this has been increasing - 45% in 2022 up from 35% in 2018. (Note: ‘Other ethnic groups’ include some people from the Middle East, North Africa and the Far East - more detail can be found in the Appendix 4 of the CLA data collection guide). Over the same period, the proportion who were White has been decreasing, down to 4% this year, from 6% last year and down from 11% in 2018.

   Source: DfE Children looked after in England including adoptions July 2023

How can we support?

Education, including 1:1 tuition, is central in effectively safeguarding children and young people as when some children are missing education it can be an indication of vulnerability, such as abuse and exploitation. In addition to the increased serious safeguarding concerns, Children Missing Education (CME) affects attainment levels. Therefore, Equal Education can be commissioned to support UASC in different ways…

1. We can provide Alternative Provision (around 15 hours of 1:1 tuition a week) to provide interim education for the child/young person who has newly arrived in the country and is without a school and/or college place;

This Alternative Education provision is particularly important as a study by Codina (2021) demonstrated that “Local Authorities in England are rarely able to find a school place for newly arrived unaccompanied sanctuary seekers when the young person arrives in their locality aged 15–16”. 

Further, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) reported that;

Not one region of the UK has met the twenty-day target for accessing education for all of the UASC in their care. The most significant delays occur at the secondary and further education levels, where up to a quarter of children have had to wait over three months for a school or college place. (Gladwell and Chetwynd, 2018)

2. We can provide English as an Additional Language (EAL) tuition with our specialised tutors, in order to build up the confidence in speaking, writing and reading English;

Case studies

We have many years of experience in supporting UASC across the UK. The NTP recently published our case study with a school in the West Midlands, providing 1:1 EAL tuition for multiple UASC.

Specifically, the school was looking to build pupils' confidence and English speaking skills in time for September through commissioning us for English as an Additional Language (EAL) tuition. In addition, we also delivered some Maths tuition to further boost confidence and reduce the attainment gap. These children were new to the country and not yet able to speak English, so this 1:1 personalised tuition was imperative to their success and understanding throughout the rest of their schooling. Further, with UASC, it was impertinent that our tutor took a trauma-informed approach, building rapport and resilience helped them to learn grammar, pronunciation, and build their confidence and speaking skills.

Lessons consist of student centred learning, where our tutors take time building a comfortable environment and good rapport with students. Our tutors set out with a specific topic to accomplish by the end of the lesson and assist the student in this however they can. A past example of this is seen when teaching reading comprehension. The student is asked to read an article then answer several questions by referring to texts and images in the article. In doing this the student is learning new words and phrases, as well as developing reading and comprehension skills. This all is key to building students' confidence in their English language abilities. 

In mid July, we received a referral form for an unaccompanied asylum seeker from Afghanistan. The student’s first language is Pashto, with identified communication, interaction, cognition and learning needs. The student had low academic performance and was a Child Looked After. Erdington Academy requested an in person EAL tuition, beginning in the summer. All throughout the summer tuition ran very well, the tutor built a strong connection with the student and they worked well together. Learning was focused on short passage/text and drew upon a range of literature. As our tutor gained further understanding of the pupils' interests he was able to begin incorporating these into the students' lessons. For example, this student took a particular interest in the sport cricket. The tutor was able to source reading passages on this topic, further increasing the students interest and engagement in his lessons. Tuition was running so well Erdington Academy requested that it continue into the Autumn and Spring terms. Throughout these terms the student displayed consistent and excellent engagement with the sessions, making steady progress in advancing their english. 

“My tutor was very nice and helped me a lot.” – NTP pupil.

“I enjoy reading questions. I enjoy answering questions. I enjoy tutoring because it helps me more than what I learn in school. Tutoring has helped me read and write.” - NTP pupil.

“The tuition is at regular set times and we have formed a nice routine. [The tutor] is happy to take time to provide me with detailed feedback which is something I really appreciate…[The pupils] don’t usually like school but are happy to attend their lessons with them.” - Carer of NTP pupil.

“[The tutor] also provided the most amazing resources so they have things to work on at home. Tuition has moved face-to-face…and both students are making great progress [and] never miss a session.” Carer of NTP pupil. 

“I have found everyone at Equal Education to be of the highest standard. They can't do enough to help.” - Teacher.