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<p>The department does not currently provide schools with specific guidance on how
to support refugee and asylum seeker children. Our policy position is that schools
will take responsibility for ensuring that all of their pupils, regardless of their
background, are engaged, challenged and attain to the best of their abilities. As
such, it is for head teachers to determine how to deploy the school’s resources to
best effect in meeting the particular needs of their pupils – including those who
have refugee or asylum seeker status. Schools have flexibility over how they use their
funding to support such pupils – including, where relevant, funding that is allocated
for pupils for whom English is an additional language, and for those from financially
deprived backgrounds.</p><p>If unaccompanied, asylum seeking children become looked-after
by a local authority. The government is committed to ensuring that looked-after children,
including those seeking asylum, are supported to succeed in education. Statutory guidance
on ‘Promoting the Education of Looked-After Children’ and ‘The Roles and Responsibilities
of Designated Teachers’ is available to support local authorities and schools in doing
this. Revised versions of both documents, updated to include information on unaccompanied
asylum seeking children, are due to be published on GOV.UK shortly.</p>
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