NIESR: Schools help integrate EU migrant pupils and their families, in & out of the classroom

27 Mar 2019 11:51 AM

NIESR research published yesterday revealed the pivotal role schools can have in integrating migrant children and their families, creating an inclusive school environment and optimising the performance of pupils who might need additional support, especially with English. Through case studies of 15 schools across England the report, funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, identifies good and promising practices towards successful integration across all areas of learning and school life. In particular it finds:

The report makes several recommendations, including:

NIESR’s Associate Research Director Heather Rolfe, who co-authored the report with NIESR’s Chiara Manzoni, yesterday said:

"Anti-immigration sentiments played a decisive role in the decision of many to vote for the UK to leave the EU but many who are opposed to immigration have little contact with migrants. It is known that people who have more contact with migrants are more positive but opportunities for mixing can be limited. Yet as our report shows, schools are ideally placed to offer such opportunities, for pupils and for parents.

Notes for editors:

The report, entitled ‘How Schools are Integrating New Migrant Pupils and their Families’ is available here.

For more information or to speak to the authors, please contact the Paola Buonadonna in the NIESR Press Office via email on p.buonadonna@niesr.ac.uk or by telephone on 0207 6541923.

NIESR aims to promote, through quantitative and qualitative research, a deeper understanding of the interaction of economic and social forces that affect people's lives, and the ways in which policies can improve them.

Further details of NIESR’s activities can be seen on http://www.niesr.ac.uk or by contacting enquiries@niesr.ac.uk Switchboard Telephone Number: +44 (0) 207 222 7665