Under the Bill introduced earlier this month, children housed in the proposed new accommodation centres for asylum seekers will be unable to attend a school or receive a pre-school education unless they have special needs. Instead they will receive education on site, along with their healthcare.
Section 30, paragraph three of the Bill says, 'A child who is a resident of an accommodation centre may not be admitted to a maintained school or a maintained nursery unless the school or nursery is named in a statement in respect of the child under section 324 of the Education Act 1996 (special educational needs).'
The legislation has angered the Refugee Council, which described it as 'inappropriate'. A Council spokeswoman said, 'We don't know how long the children will be in these centres or what the standard of education will be. Integration happens in the school playground and at the school gate, and these children should be able to mix in with other kids.'
Keith Best, chief executive of the Immigration Advisory Service, warned there was a danger of 'institutionalising' asylum seekers and their children by sending them to centres 'in the middle of nowhere'. He said, 'This goes against everything we advised. It's scandalous. Refugee children should be educated alongside other children and should be allowed to mix in.'
Launching the Bill, home secretary David Blunkett said, 'I am determined to put in place a nationality, immigration and asylum system which is clear, robust and workable. Only then can we build the trust and confidence necessary to deal with any threats to good race relations and prevent a breakdown in social cohesion.'
A Home Office spokeswoman said that plans are in place to erect four centres with space for 3,000 asylum seekers. So far eight sites, mostly on ex-Ministry of Defence land, have been earmarked for possible development and locations range from Cardiff to Cheshire.
The spokeswoman added, 'Education will be provided within the centres, so it will be a much faster process. Asylum seekers living in the community will still be able to send their children to a school and receive local education authority support.'
