The youngest refugee and asylum-seeking children are locked out of ECEC provision, new report finds.

UNICEF UK and Refugee Education UK conducted research into ECEC experiences of the youngest refugee and asylum-seeking children arriving in the UK. Findings combine perspectives of the children as well as 23 EY experts from across academia, public, voluntary and private sectors.

The report highlights the current inequities and lack of access for most of the newly arrived children. Specifically, it finds the current UK ECEC and asylum policy systems are creating barriers for those children to access ECEC provision. The report provides key messages for EY policy and service development at national and local level. and encourages strategies to improve inclusion and equality of access for newly arrived children and their families.

As part of the panel of experts invited to collaborate on the report, CREC’s Prof. Chris Pascal and Prof. Tony Bertram provided advice on emerging priorities and recommendations that came out of the study.

Read the report and the list of recommendations here.