Creating the right atmosphere

Preparation, awareness-raising, and information activities for the reception of refugees. The activities are organized
by the school and aimed at teachers, parents (local and refugee) and relevant stakeholders and members of the local community.

Steps

  1. The Principal and a team of teachers contact the Refugee Education Coordinator and are informed about the profile of refugee students in their area.
  2. The principal informs the Teacher Council of the profile of refugee students and their families. The council shall decide on and organize a training course/workshop to raise awareness of refugee issues. Suggested activities:  I didn’t come, I left or Refugee: Why is she here? or The “Hope” College.
  3. In cooperation with the Council as a whole, the team plans and organizes the next steps until the arrival of the refugee students (pratical, timetable, evaluation). Suggested activities: Creation and translation of signs/signposts, rules and/or Creation of an Action Plan. The council implements the actions in accordance with the timetable.
  4. The principal and the action coordination team contacts the students’ parents and guardians association and informs them about the refugee students and the school’s intended actions. In addition, an awareness-raising workshop for parents may be organized by the teachers’ coordination team. Suggested activities: I didn’t come, I left or 10 Fingers or Refugee: Why is she here?
  5. The Principal and the action coordination team invite the refugee parents and inform them about the practical issues at school and about the activities the school will carry out. Parents are invited to take part in a cooperation/information session with the Councilor for Refugee Education (or similar). Provisions are made for the presence of interpreters, if necessary.

Evaluation

Reflective discussion in the action coordination group. Reflective discussion in the group on the actions for the reception of refugee students – evaluation and planning of next steps

Duration: 4 weeks

Materials/ resources:

Contacting the Councilor for Education of Refugees of your country (for Greece here).

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More activities of the “Before” category

Exploring students’ perceptions of the school atmosphere in relation to inclusion

At the initiative of a group of teachers, the perceptions of the school’s students about the climate of their school in
relation to inclusion are investigated. The aim is to identify the students’ experience when the school will receive
refugee students.

To what extent are we a democratic and inclusive school community?

The school community (teachers, administration, students, parents) assess to what extent they are ready to welcome and include refugee students.

The butterfly of inclusion

School administration and teachers, after familiarizing themselves with the content of the Competences for
Democratic Culture model, and having tested it on issues of concern to their school, use it with parents and
refugee students.

The butterfly

School administration and teachers are getting acquainted with the content of the ‘‘Competences for Democratic Culture’’ model (Council of Europe, 2018) and are testing it on issues that concern their school.

The democratic school

Members of the school community (administration, teachers, parents) connect personal school experiences with democratic values and build a model of a democratic school based on their suggestions.

I participate-Do you?

The teachers identify the different levels of their own and their students’ participation based on the UNICEF scale “Children’s participation, from tokenism to citizenship” linking them experientially to the educational practice in order to reflect on their personal participation in the inclusion of refugee children in their school.