In England, many children of asylum seekers and refugees in detention centres have no right to a pre-school place, and it is at the discretion of local education authorities whether they provide pre-school education for those living in the community. Central government does not allot any specific funding for the purpose.
A spokesman for Save the Children called for families to be given assistance. He said, 'These children have been through all manner of unspeakable suffering, and often don't have competent English. The sooner they can get into education here, the sooner they'll get the benefits. In the long term, this probably reduces the amount of special education they will need later on.'
The charity launched a campaign last month to urge the Government to end discrimination against children seeking asylum and to remove the UK's reservation on immigration and nationality from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Save the Children director Mike Aaronson said, 'Children seeking asylum are children first and foremost and should be treated as such. There is no such thing as a "bogus" child.' In Scotland, the Scottish Executive is in discussion with Glasgow City Council to explore ways of providing a service to pre-school-age children of asylum-seekers. School places are funded by a contract between the council and the National Asylum Support Service, the Home Office arm dealing with asylum-seekers. But this contract covers only school provision and does not provide funding for the under-fives. Glasgow now has more than 600 children of asylum-seekers in its schools.
A spokesperson for the Scottish Refugee Council said it was 'deeply concerned' about the lack of pre-school provision for children of asylum-seekers. 'Not only does it impede the settlement of pre-school children, their ability to learn English and their preparation for mainstream schooling, but it can also hinder the integration of mothers, as they have to care for their children rather than fully start the process of rebuilding their lives.' ration for mainstream schooling, but it can also hinder the integration of mothers, as they have to care for their children rather than fully start the process of rebuilding their lives.'
See special report, p10
