To ask the Minister of Education what provisions her Department has in place to assist refugee and asylum seeker children (i) in accessing schools in an accessible location to their accommodation; and (ii) to ensure that they are supported in the continuation of their education.

The Department works in partnership with schools and the Education Authority’s (EA) Intercultural Education Service (IES) to help families find a suitable school place, preferably as close to their accommodation as possible. Schools receive advice, guidance and support from IES to help children move from early induction to early language acquisition and on to sustained integration within the school community. IES also provides families with advice on access to free school meals, school uniform grants, school transport assistance and if required additional English classes.

The Department has provided additional funding for temporary primary and post-primary Welcome Hubs at two schools in the Greater Belfast area to enable children who are accommodated in hotels to access education until they are housed and have a permanent school place in proximity to their eventual location.

The Department continues to engage with the EA and other departments to develop and implement proposals to support the increasing number of Asylum Seeking and Refugee (ASR) families arriving in Northern Ireland. DE is represented on the Strategic Planning Group (SPG) for ASR which is chaired by The Executive Office and meets fortnightly.