Blog post Part of special issue: Refugee education: Challenging stereotypes and deficiency approaches
From ‘late’ arrival to equal thriving: Listening to the voices of young refugees to rethink inclusive refugee education in the UK
Education is the cornerstone on which the majority of people build their futures – and yet for many refugee and asylum-seeking teenagers, the right to education is far from guaranteed (). Too often, when refugee children have fled conflicts or persecution, their hosting education systems view them through a ‘deficiency lens’ – focusing on what they lack rather than what they bring. While language proficiency challenges, trauma and gaps in subject-specific knowledge due to interrupted education should not be minimised, these children also often bring high levels of determination, resilience and ability into the classroom.
Recent research by Refugee Education UK () for the Bell Foundation highlights a disheartening reality: those who arrive ‘late’ into a new education system (aged over 13, entering at key stage 4 or above) face a complex web of systemic barriers that risk treating them as problems to be managed rather than students to be nurtured. To truly support these teenagers, we must challenge stereotypes and shift from crisis-based responses to classroom approaches that recognise value and potential.
‘Teenagers who arrive “late” into a new education system face a complex web of systemic barriers that risk treating them as problems to be managed rather than students to be nurtured.’
Beyond the ‘medicalised subject of trauma’
There is a tendency in both policy and research to depict refugees, and refugee children in particular, as ‘medicalised subjects of trauma’ (). While many children and young people have indeed experienced acute levels of turmoil, grief and loss, focusing exclusively on their trauma can mask their resilience. Young people themselves are clear: they ‘experienced hard things,’ but they are ‘not broken’ ().
A deficiency approach often results in the misidentification of needs. For example, teachers and other education practitioners report struggling to distinguish between English as an additional language (EAL) needs, the manifestations of trauma (such as dissociation or hypervigilance), and special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) (). This can lead to either underdiagnosis of disabilities or the overmedicalisation of language barriers, both of which hinder a student’s ability to thrive ().
The ‘no-man’s-land’ of late arrival
These ‘deficiency approach’ challenges are particularly acute for those arriving mid-year in year 11. These teenagers often enter a ‘no-man’s-land’, where schools are unwilling to accept them because peers are already deep into GCSE revision, yet they are too young for further education (FE) colleges (). This leaves bright young people, who have already missed out on months or years of education (due to conflict and dangerous journeys), sitting at home, isolated and vulnerable to exploitation – for up to a year ().
At these critical moments, external factors including overcrowded accommodation, material poverty and dispersal policies disrupt education further. Displaced children and young people are often relocated with little notice, which can entirely negate the benefits of the progress they have made ().
What teenagers need: Safety, belonging and succeeding
According to young refugees, and as documented in research, thriving in school requires an environment of safety, belonging and succeeding ().
Safety means more than physical security; it is an environment free from prejudice where a student can be themselves. Belonging is fostered through meaningful relationships cultivated, for example, by initiatives like buddy systems pairing new arrivals with peers to help navigate unfamiliar school cultures. And succeeding is a dynamic concept not limited to grades, but rather encompassing having a clear sense of purpose, and seeing one’s achievements – big or small, academic or otherwise – recognised and celebrated ().
Promising practices: From deficiency to assets
At we work with around 2,000 forcibly displaced children and young people each year. Across the country, we see pockets of brilliance that challenge the deficiency model. Leeds City Academy uses a small-group intervention that integrates intensive language support with mainstream subjects like art and maths, allowing students to transition smoothly into regular schedules. In Nottingham, the (NEST) provides a full-time, holistic curriculum that prioritises psychosocial support alongside formal qualifications. In London, Newman Catholic College has developed an innovative GCSE package with built-in EAL support. Other schools now encourage students to take GCSEs in heritage languages, validating existing linguistic abilities. This not only boosts confidence but helps students see a ‘sense of progression’ from the moment they arrive.
As a result of these and many other initiatives, children and young people begin to thrive – and teachers in these institutions continuously emphasise the importance of taking an asset-based approach (essentially recognising the skills these students already possess).
Conclusion: A call for sustainable inclusion
To give newly arrived teenagers the best chance to thrive, the government and local authorities must work together to create a coordinated, sustainable strategy. This includes targeted funding uplifts to support specialist work, ensuring schools are not financially penalised for accepting in-year arrivals, and explicitly considering educational impacts in all dispersal decisions.
By shifting our perspective from what refugee students lack to what they contribute, we move closer to a system that not only upholds the right to education for every child but gives each child the chance to flourish within that system.