Background
Training is a vital aspect of being a university that welcomes and understands the needs of students seeking sanctuary. The current fast-moving global events and humanitarian crises means that awareness-raising about welcoming new arrivals to the UK is more important than ever.
In order to ensure people with sanctuary-seeking backgrounds have a positive experience at university, it is important to equip staff on all levels of the university with good training, so that they feel more confident about navigating immigration issues relating to complex statuses, educational access, entitlements and rights.
Whether there are sanctuary scholarships provided at your university or they are being developed, your university community likely already has students (or staff) with this background who may experience unique challenges due to their status. These challenges should be understood so that students feel supported by the university from the point of application to graduation.
Training Providers
There are currently three main providers offering training specific to Sanctuary issues in Higher Education:
University of Sanctuary training
A tailored offer to support HE institutions to identify ways of reducing barriers to HE for people seeking sanctuary. Aimed at practitioners in different parts of the institution, you will be equipped with tools to improve practice and policies to create a culture of welcome. For further information please visit:
www.scottishrefugeecouncil.org.uk/working-for-change/training/
REUK Practitioner Training
An engaging, interactive and practical four-hour introduction to access to HE for young asylum seekers and refugees, including terminology, entitlements and support options. Book a place online by clicking on the image above, or contact [email protected] to arrange in-house/bespoke training based on your university’s needs
University Staff Training Workshops
As the first UK-wide campaign organisation set up and led entirely by young migrants. We Belong provide 2 hour training workshops to HE staff on access. They focus on support for students with Limited Leave to Remain and those without settled status facing challenges in HE, but tailored courses can also be designed based on your needs. Please contact: [email protected]
Information to note:
- You may have great expertise in your local area from refugee support charities, local City of Sanctuary groups, and other grassroots organiastions. As a good practice, we highly recommend that you seek their expertise, and invite them to speak at the university, whether through an information event, a webinar, or a talk where a person with lived experience is invited to speak. This also helps to identify local needs and start positive and fruitful collaborations with the local community.
- There is also likely to be great expertise at your university by your legal team, law academics, and law centres or clinics who can provide useful information. Inviting internal colleagues to speak or train staff is recommended and greatly strengthens your internal university communication and networks.
- It is vital to think about the needs of the students and staff at your institution and the local context in terms of the type of support they need, the nature of the cases, and queries that different departments receive from students with sanctuary-seeking backgrounds. For example, does your university team need basic training around asylum processes, rights & entitlements? or more focussed topics about specific areas of their work?
One way to find out can be by completing a brief audit or simply asking support staff about areas of common challenges or topics they need more support with.
- Learning about issues affecting students with sanctuary-seeking backgrounds is a continuous process and subject to constant changes due to changes to immigration policies. Therefore, we encourage taking up training on an annual basis as a refresher and a good practice.
- The organisations mentioned on this page are providers we have worked with for many years. However, there may be other refugee organisations providing excellent information and training about the asylum process.
If you have any questions about information on this page: please contact [email protected]