Further resources:

• A Day of Welcome is running two free live author webcasts for KS2 pupils on Friday 16th June. Dina Nayeri, author of The Waiting Place, will be sharing her experiences of seeking sanctuary, as well as the experiences of some children who live in a refugee camp in Greece where her book is set in an event for pupils aged 7-9. Omar Mohamed and Victoria Jamieson will be talking about their award-winning graphic novel When Stars are Scattered in an event for pupils aged 9-11.
• Explore themes of belonging, home, identity and welcome in a free online interview with acclaimed artist and author Edmund de Waal on June 21st, where he will share his family’s story of displacement and answer children’s questions. Suitable for pupils aged 9-11.
• Best-selling author Tom Palmer will be creating and sharing five new instalment stories exploring the plight of refugees through the ages to be used throughout Refugee Week 2023. Copies of the stories will be available to download from the National Literacy Trust website, along with a teacher guide and worksheets to inspire pupils aged 10-14 to write their own responses. There will also be an online Q&A event with Tom Palmer on Thursday 22nd June.
• Join author Na’ima B Robert and illustrator Nadine Kaaden on Monday 19th June for a free online storytelling and drawing event based on their book A Child Like You from the National Literacy Trust. Suitable for pupils aged 5-8.
• Register your school to take part in the Read for Refugees Sponsored Read in aid of UK for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency’s UK national partner. Supported by the School Library Association, the sponsored read is designed to to help schools promote reading while helping young people take positive action in troubling times. The sponsored read will run until the end of September and participants can also enter a number of competitions.
• Download a teaching resource for EYFS pupils based on the picture book Lily and the Polar Bears from the National Literacy Trust. Available with their free membership.
• Watch author Bessora and translator Sarah Ardizzone discuss their graphic novel inspired by the refugee crisis, Alpha: Abidjan to Gare du Nord, here. (Suitable for KS3-5.)
• For primary aged children, CLPE, Books for Topics (KS1 and KS2), the National Literacy Trust, BookTrust (younger and older readers) and Scottish BookTrust (3-5 year-olds, 9-11 year-olds) all have booklists that explore the issues faced by refugees and asylum seekers.
• You can find recommended booklists for secondary school pupils from BookTrust (older readers and teenagers) and Scottish BookTrust.
• Enter pupils aged 7-11 into this year’s LoveReading4Kids Poetry Prize on the theme of ‘Refuge’. The deadline for all entries is 29th July.
• The Story Seekers is a free, fully-resourced oracy and creative literacy project from the National and Unicorn Theatres for pupils aged 6-11 based around finding, telling and sharing stories from around the globe.
• Find bookmaking projects that encourage children to celebrate their lives and the lives in their communities in the All Our Stories resource from the British Library.
• Explore a range of teaching resources, assemblies, refugee stories and training opportunities from the Schools of Sanctuary network.
• Watch a recording of the Building Sustainable Provision in Schools for Refugee Children webinar from The Bell Foundation, one of several recorded webinars looking at ways to support refugee children and EAL learners on their YouTube channel.
• Watch this free webinar on ‘How to Talk to Children and Young People About War: Understanding and Supporting our Refugee Children’ in which Dr Tina Rae, Educational and Child Psychologist, and Educational Consultant, outlines practical strategies to support refugees and create a welcoming and safe space in schools.
• Find more resources to support EAL students here.