Afghan refugees started dd school

[onedancetwostep]

How would you feel?
How would you make them feel welcome?

A practical tip: I’d make sure they can communicate the need to go to the toilet, not just to their teacher, but to all staff. When I was the foreign kid in a school and couldn’t speak a word of the language, I wet myself because I couldn’t ask to go to the loo. I was only 5 but can still feel the humiliation now.

@eeek88

A practical tip: I’d make sure they can communicate the need to go to the toilet, not just to their teacher, but to all staff. When I was the foreign kid in a school and couldn’t speak a word of the language, I wet myself because I couldn’t ask to go to the loo. I was only 5 but can still feel the humiliation now.

We have a sign to ask for the toilet for all the dc in our class, making a T with their fingers so no one need speak English or any words at all. I'm a TA and the fist thing I did when a new non English speaking boy joined last week was get another dc to show him toilet access from both the classroom and the playground. On this occasion, although the language wasn't one of the more common ones spoken here, we had an older child up the school who did speak it so I borrowed her to come and explain. We do manage well without that too though.

Invite the children to play, befriend the parents and help them meet other parents / join whatsapp group etc. That's what I'd want if I was in their place, I think.

I think you have just all fed the OP nice fodder for their next sleazy Daily rag article 🙄🙁

I’d make sure they can communicate the need to go to the toilet

As a parent of a fellow pupil, how on earth do you expect OP to do that?

@MaryAndGerryLivingInDerry

I’d make sure they can communicate the need to go to the toilet

As a parent of a fellow pupil, how on earth do you expect OP to do that?

The OP was asking what others might do. Perhaps that poster works in a school. The exact point of the thread from OP is unclear so not an unreasonable answer.

It conjured quite a hilarious image of Op running into class. “Hi, I’m janes mummy, not sure if you know what I’m saying but I just wanted to tell you how to say toilet…”

😂

Well, the OP said "DD school" before she disappeared, never to return, so it's unlikely she would be going in and teaching the staff how to deal with the situation.

@MaryAndGerryLivingInDerry

It conjured quite a hilarious image of Op running into class. “Hi, I’m janes mummy, not sure if you know what I’m saying but I just wanted to tell you how to say toilet…”

😂

Can imagine a motherland scene with this scenario 😆

@Quornflakegirl The Breadwinner is also a beautiful animated film that moved my DS18 to tears - he said it was the best film he's ever seen. It's very beautiful and prompted a lot of discussion and sharing of information about Afghanistan.
As well as all the practical things PPs have said, I would also listen to Lyse Doucet's wonderful World Service podcast, A wish for Afghanistan, to understand better the situation and people there.

@onedancetwostep

How would you feel? How would you make them feel welcome?

How do you feel about this OP? Do you often need the views of other people to validate your own before you share them?

How wonderful these poor children have managed to get back in to school. It's heartbreaking thinking about what's going on back in their homeland.

eeek88 I disagree with you. When I was in my early 20s, my job was in another city so I moved. I made loads of new friends, a few particular. When I left that job I moved back home, but friends from the other city would come and stay. My parents noticed one name came up again and again; we all knew and lived this chap, and he was always doing mad things or somehow involved in hilariouss tuff etc etc. One day he asked if he could come and stay and of course that was fine. I always gave my parents a potted run-down of the people who were going to stay, so I did the same with this guy. After he'd gone, my parents both said how pleased they were though slightly surprised, because I'd never mentioned he was black. I had genuinely 'forgotten' that it could be a relevant thing because It wasn'T. It didn't matter.

Same thing happened with dd with lots of her nursery friends too. Irrelevant.

@MaryAndGerryLivingInDerry

I’d make sure they can communicate the need to go to the toilet

As a parent of a fellow pupil, how on earth do you expect OP to do that?

OP asked ‘How would you make them feel welcome’ and eeek88 replied with what she would do, I don’t think she’s proposing OP go to the class.

The children need to be made welcome of course, and other children would probably find them interesting. And I bet they are all well behaved too.

@1forAll74

The children need to be made welcome of course, and other children would probably find them interesting. And I bet they are all well behaved too.

Why would you think that? Afghan dc, like any dc will vary in their behaviour.

Some have started at the school I am teaching, more expected within the next few months, I have treated them just like any other student and would if they were at DC's school.

I would treat them the same as any other child starting school but would also find out if they need anything or if the parents need anything as I’m guessing they came here with nothing?

Not sure if it's been mentioned but there's an excellent kids book called The Boy at the Back of the Class which is about a Syrian refugee child joining a primary school. It discusses a lot of prejudice issues but in a child friendly way. It gets a bit daft towards the end (kids trying to storm Buckingham palace to ask the queen to help find their refugee friends parents) but I think it might help your kids understand some of what these poor people have been through.

I wonder if the new OP will be reappearing to answer any of the questions

@1forAll74

The children need to be made welcome of course, and other children would probably find them interesting. And I bet they are all well behaved too.

What a ridiculous assumption!

I had a Syrian refugee in my year group - not my class - and he was not well behaved. He was rude to the teachers and aggressive to the other children. He ended up being moved to my class and his behaviour did improve because I tried to build up a relationship with him. His previous teachers - very experienced, outstanding teachers - had tried too but something hadn’t clicked like it did with me.

Children are children. Their backgrounds are different even when they’ve grown up in the same place and their behaviour reflects this. There are also a range of factors that influence children’s behaviour, including SEND needs.

[quote supermoonrising]@IntermittentParps
Thankfully many areas of the UK are more diverse
I’m not sure “being diverse” automatically makes one place better than another. The UK isn’t better or more enlightened, than, say, Ireland, just because it has a larger proportion of non-white people. The US isnt the best country just because it’s very racially diverse.[/quote]
I didn't say anywhere was 'the best country'.
I just think areas where people grow up and live with people of all different appearances and cultures tend to be less bothered by people who are different from them.

You might find some useful links in this document
at neu.org.uk/media/1936/view#:~:text=Send%20clear%20communications%20to%20all,feel%20welcome%2C%20safe%20and%20supported (I hope that link works, I never know with mumsnet...it's a document produced by the National Education Union).

If you're looking for bilingual books and other technology that might help, then there's a London-based company called Mantralingua you might like to look at, uk.mantralingua.com/

There are also apps like Duolingo, depending on the language pairs.

I met a Canadian once who referred to new people arriving in their country as "newcomers". Not refugees, not migrants, not blow-ins, not benefit-seekers, not gaijin, just "newcomers". (And yes, I know Canada isn't whiter than white either. But the events of the last couple of days have really shown the true colours of many people. The BBC Drama Years and Years is getting more prophetic by the minute...)

Dont you just love the undertone of this OP

I think it’s a fabulous idea as it’s happening at my DDs school. However she has SEND, and this year the school bucked up massively with 1-1 learning/ extra provision for her. I’ll be absolutely devastated if when she’s finally benefiting and making such progress from this, this provision will be shared out/ taken away from her to be given to the new joiners. Call me as selfish as you like, but if it was your child I’m sure you’d feel the same concerns.