Refugee Council
Refugee Council is the largest organisation in the UK working with asylum seekers and refugees. It not only gives help and support, but also works with asylum seekers and refugees to ensure their needs and concerns are addressed. It is an independent organisation, and a registered charity.
Refugee Council is the lead partner of Refugee into Teaching, acting as the central coordination team, handling registration, national promotion through this website and other publicity materials, as well as related policy work.
Visit the Refugee Council website
The Refugee Assessment and Guidance Unit (RAGU)
RAGU (Refugee Assessment and Guidance Unit) at London Metropolitan University is the only specialist centre working with refugees based within a UK university. Established in 1995, it provides advice and guidance, specialist training and work placements to refugee professionals and also undertakes research into education and employment issues.
It has supported refugee teachers from the beginning and between 2002 and 2006 delivered a tailored training programme that enabled clients to enter employment in support roles in schools. This has been further developed as part of the London-wide Refugee Teachers Hub and a new programme, the Graduate Certificate in Educational Support will run from January 2008.
RAGU received funding from the Training and Development Agency for schools (TDA) to produce a Standard Assessment Tool (SAT) for refugee teachers. This will be an online resource that is aimed at refugees who want to work in education and will enable them to assess their experience and receive accurate information about the training and employment opportunities available.
Visit the RAGU website
Newman College
Newman College is a Higher Education Institution (HEI) in Birmingham with a high reputation for teacher training. It offers a variety of programmes leading to QTS, including the Graduate and Registered Teacher Programmes (G/RTP), and the Overseas Trained Teacher Programme (OTTP).
As a partner of Refugees into Teaching, Newman College also works in cooperation Local Authority staff and other local organizations: Lifeline, Birmingham City Council Directorate of Children, Young People and Families (CYPF) and the College of International Citizenship. They have also set up the Steering Group for Pathways into Education which arose from a shared concern about the difficulties faced by refugees in finding employment in educational settings and to pool their expertise in order to provide better advice to clients on various issues. They have designed a programme of support that provides a wide range of individual services and assistance to help refugees into teaching.
Visit the Newman College website
UK NARIC
UK NARIC is the organisation responsible for providing information and advice about vocational, academic and professional skills and qualifications from all over the world. It is also involved in research, consultancy and training.
UK NARIC is supporting refugees by providing a clearer pathway into the teaching profession. As part of the project, it is providing the opportunity to refugees that want to get into teaching to have their qualifications assessed and benchmarked for free.
UK NARIC is also undertaking research that will form the basis of a report on the education and teacher training system of 10 refugee countries. This information will help the formation of future policy in this area, as well as assisting the General Teaching Council in making informed decisions regarding access to appropriate routes into teaching. It will also help universities and colleges make the right decisions when admitting students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The above research will also be used to update the current database on the Teacher Training systems of over 65 countries, InterTeaching. This database is used by every major organisation interested in the quality of teaching in the UK.
Visit the UKNARIC website
West London Partnership
The West London Partnership (GTP/OTTP) (WLP) enables schools to employ graduate teachers who are not yet qualified and supports them through an individual training programme leading to QTS. It is consists of five Initial Teacher Training (ITT) providers: four Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and one School Centered Initial Teacher Training (SCITT) provider, and eleven Local Authorities (LAs). The role of the WLP is to act as an ITT provider and offer schools a service that raises awareness of employment-based training programmes, demonstrates the benefits of the scheme and provides the support and structure needed to make schools confident to undertake the training of a teacher.
As a partner in the project, the WLP will be offering specialist one to one advice sessions, and support gaining places on employment based training routes. It will also offer familiarisation short courses on the UK education system and communication skills.
Visit the West London Partnership website
Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA)
In February 2006 the Refugee Council, on behalf of the partners, submitted a proposal to the TDA outlining the Refugees into Teaching project. The proposal was successful, and the TDA funded the project for an initial pilot year to July 2007. The project will report back to the TDA in January 2007 to determine if additional funding will be available for subsequent years.
The TDA aims to make sure there is an effective school workforce and that there are enough people recruited to the teaching profession – developing people, improving young lives – which will help to raise school standards. The TDA’s campaigns, which focus on priority subjects including maths and science, encourage suitable candidates to apply for initial teacher training and gain QTS.
Visit the TDA website
