Migrant Action

Empowerment Advocacy Justice

No children left behind this summer: an update on the ‘No Child Left Behind’ initiative

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As we approach September, two volunteers involved in Migrant Action’s educational support project reflect on their experiences of e-tutoring over the summer

The closures of schools as part of the government’s Covid-19 lockdown measures raised concerns that school closures would disproportionate adversely impact the futures of children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Such children are more likely to attend schools that are unable to offer supplementary online schooling, may be unable to afford textbooks or access internet learning tools. The risk that children from disadvantaged backgrounds fall behind in learning poses potentially long-lasting impacts on their educational and future job prospects.

As a grassroots organisation, Migrant Action witnessed daily the impact of the lockdown and school closures play out in the lives of children and families. In response, it set up the ‘No Child Left Behind’ initiative to provide educational resources and learning and befriending support to children and young people. Overall, the No Child Left Behind initiative aimed to prevent children falling behind in their school work and long term development thereby help reduce the widening inequalities in our society.

Here, two volunteers who participated in the initiative, Carys Milbourn and Abi Spring, elaborate on the work they have been undertaking throughout the summer. Migrant Action recognise the fantastic work undertaken by our volunteers involved in this initiative and we are immensely proud of their achievements.

Carys

Over lockdown I started tutoring children from two families, my role between the two families varied as I supported one family with Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 Maths and the other with A-level choices and discussing options for university. I was able to come up with a surprisingly engaging way of learning Maths by using online games with one family which has helped consolidate and refresh what they have already learnt, whilst also teaching some new skills. With my other family I have provided a friendly face and someone new to talk to as I definitely feel that for young people lockdown is extremely challenging, particularly when you are used to seeing friends every day in school. I have really enjoyed giving guidance on how I got into university and what I have learnt from my past experience doing A Levels. I think that it’s been difficult to adapt to a new way of communicating and teaching online but it has also taught me a lot along the way. A highlight of tutoring has been seeing the children gain confidence every week whilst talking to me and also in their Maths ability. I think that this project has shown that in times of hardship, uncertainty and fear, community is more important than ever. Although social distancing has made contact difficult, online communication has enabled greater conversation and community bonds to grow as people support each other through these strange and hard circumstances. 

Abi

I was approached to participate in the No Child Left Behind initiative and was more than happy to join in: working with young people has always been something I have enjoyed, and it felt good to feel like I was contributing positively to the community whilst stuck at home in lockdown! I have been conducting weekly Zoom sessions with two children of Key Stage 1 level and helping them with both Maths and English. During our first lesson, I found out that the children had been given workbooks to study with (this is another arm of the No Child Left Behind strategy). I made the decision to purchase the same books that the children were using, in order to help me structure sessions and decide what activities we would work through ahead of time. It has taken a while to adapt to tutoring via the internet- I am a visual learner, so I like to explain things by writing them- but this method does not translate well to a webcam format and resulted in me holding up pieces of paper which was not the clearest way to communicate! However, once I discovered the potential of the ‘share screen’ option on Zoom, I realised that applications like Paint could be used just like a virtual whiteboard, and this has really helped me. A personal highlight of this experience has been seeing the children engaging enthusiastically with the work, as it’s clear they’re both really keen to learn. I look forward to our sessions every week- it also gives me a good excuse to avoid working on my dissertation! I hope the children feel like they have found the lessons useful and gained something from this experience, as I do. 

Service user feedback

“Carys was very nice and engaging with me, I found out that we had quite a bit in common and I felt less shy talking to her as the chats went on. She’s also very smart and helpful and funny. I’m very grateful for the opportunity and I’d like it to continue.”

“Abi has been fantastic and the kids look forward to the next session with excitement, it has made a great difference, thanks a lot.”

“The laptop has helped us significantly, allowing us to be able to get through work and research comfortably as we don’t have to look on our smaller phone screens, and has also given us the leisure of not having to take turns watching things like Youtube and Netflix on our TV since we now have a second device to watch these things on. We appreciate this gift you have given to us.”

Thank you!

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A huge thanks to all who attended the University of Leeds’ Migrant Action Society pub quiz. It was a wonderful night, and overall the total funds raised has amounted to £167. This is a fabulous amount which is going to be donated to the Migrant Action Destitution Fund, which offers a ‘lifeline’ for destitute migrants in the form of one-off small amounts of ‘hardship’ payment to help meet basic/crisis needs. The fund also helps vulnerable/destitute migrants to access pathways towards regularising their immigration status. Thanks again to the members of the Migrant Action Society for their contributions in organising the night, and thanks to all who donated so generously!

Finally, please watch this space for future events, as Migrant Action Society is in the process of organising more fundraising events in the spring.

EU Settled Status: Partnership working in Doncaster

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After many months of mobilisation and community engagement, Migrant Action, The Junction Cafe, Hexthorpe Primary School and The Youth Association are delighted to be working together to raise awareness and provide practical support for vulnerable migrants in Doncaster to apply for the EU Settlement Scheme. 

This collaborative and coordinated approach would ensure efficiency and effective support as well as enhance access and choice for EU citizens wishing to regularise their stay in the UK when the UK leave the EU. 

The organisations/locations in Doncaster where EU citizens will be able to receive information, guidance and support would be; The Junction on Wednesday and Thursday 1-4pm and Hexthorpe Primary School Monday and Tuesdays. Migrant Action will assist with complex cases by facilitating referrals of complex cases to relevant specialist agencies and providing advocacy support.

Migrant Action and its partners hope to provide support for EU citizens applying for the scheme until March 2020.

EU Settlement Scheme: Building capacity to support vulnerable EU migrants

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Whilst the uncertainty continues to loom large, it is certain at least for now that EU citizens will require Leave to enter or remain in the UK when the UK leaves the EU.

The government’s EU Settlement Scheme offers a new pathway for EU citizens currently living in the UK to secure their immigration status in the UK. Although, the Scheme sets out a simple and straightforward process, it unfolds within a challenging environment characterised by limited information & publicity, inadequate resourcing, and uncertainty/anxiety among EU nationals. As such, engagement with the scheme by concerned communities and local organisations that support vulnerable EU migrants is fragile.

To ensure that vulnerable EU migrants engage with the scheme in order to reduce the risk of further vulnerability, Migrant Action and Migrant Resource Centreorganised a training workshop for local organisations supporting vulnerable migrants. Over 21 participants from local organisations and local authority across Doncaster, Barnsley, Sheffield, Bradford and Leeds attended the workshop. The participants gained better understanding of the scheme, practical tips for completing the application process and relevant documentations. Participants also received good guidance regarding regulated and non-regulated advice. 

The workshop was a good networking opportunity and also included a Q&A session which allowed participants to explore a range of issues to enhance understanding and preparedness. Following from the workshop, Migrant Action will continue to work collaboratively with local partner organisations to develop community based support to ensure that vulnerable EU migrants are aware and able to access right support.

Click the link below for a very useful factsheet produced by NRPF on the EU Settlement Scheme, settled status and access to benefits. It confirms that having settled status is sufficient to meet a right to reside requirement for benefit purposes.

http://www.nrpfnetwork.org.uk/Documents/EU-Settlement-Scheme.pdf


Migrant Action says; THANK YOU and best wishes to all our fabulous student volunteers

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Over the last 12 months, our organisation has had a fantastic group of student volunteers who have brought a vast range of skills, passions and energy to the organisation and offered their time for the benefit of the organisation.  

Thanks to the volunteers, the organisation has a stronger social media presence and a better communications overall. They have also helped to enhance fundraising and community engagement through crowd fundraising and community outreach.  Our research volunteers have generated important knowledge that would inform future service development to address the problem of deskilling amongst migrants.  

Overall, our volunteers have raised the profile of Migrant Action and contributed significantly to development and progress of the organisation. 

Volunteers speak



Volunteering at Migrant Action was a fun experience that really helped me improve my communication, leadership and event planning skills. I was able to be closely involved in many aspects of the charity from social media to events,  learning a lot about the organisation and issues facing migrants.  

Volunteering was also a great way to improve my confidence as I was given autonomy on exciting projects like setting up the organisations university society – I was able to network with others and create events with my team. As a result of being given freedom to implement my own ideas, I have gained skills in events and social media that I can now apply to work life and interview questions. Meeting with like-minded people every week to discuss how we could positively impact the community was so enjoyable and always felt like a  positive break from university life. (Bailey) 

We would like to say a big THANK YOU! to Maddie, Megan, Paddy, Bailey, Lina, Rohde, Celeste and Alex and we wish you all the very best for the future.