Welcome to the Refugee Teachers Network Conference, 2009

Aims of the conference: 1. Share ideas from organisations around the UK on how best to support overseas-trained (refugee) teachers RITeS (Refugees into Teaching in Scotland) Leeds Metropolitan University Institute of Education (London) Education Leeds and Refugee New Arrivals Project (Sheffield)

2. Help and support individual teachers that have attended today Manchester Metropolitan University STTORMM Barnardo’s North West Refugees into Teaching Teachers from Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle Aims of the conference:

3. Make recommendations to the Refugee Teachers’ Task Force Employability ForumRefugee Council - How can we increase enrolment of ‘refugee teachers’ onto ITT programmes? - How can ITT providers continue to support overseas-trained (refugee) teachers – without TDA funding? - How can we engage schools to take on refugees as unqualified teachers, TAs, volunteers? - Which models from Scotland, London, Leeds, and Sheffield can be recreated here in the North West? Questions to think about… Aims of the conference:

1 year of the Refugee Teachers Network June – Refugees into Teaching Conference… Leeds Sheffield Hull Liverpool Manchester Bristol London Lincoln Leicester Huddersfield Newcastle

1 year of the Refugee Teachers Network June – Refugees into Teaching conference September – Yorkshire and Humberside Network ‘steering group’ set up: RETAS Education Leeds Leeds Metropolitan University Refugee New Arrivals Project (Sheffield) Refugee Council Hull Trinity College, Leeds B-NETT Sheffield Hallam University TC21 TDA

Yorkshire and Humberside Network ‘steering group’ set up… 1 year of the Refugee Teachers Network November – January, Familiarisation course – Leeds Metropolitan University

Familiarisation course – Leeds… 1 year of the Refugee Teachers Network November - Manchester ‘Network’ meeting Refugee Action MARIM Manchester Refugee Forum Urbis Manchester City Council Manchester Metropolitan University STTORMM Sheffield course Sheffield Hallam University RNAP Liverpool course John Moore’s University MRSN Liverpool Council Cross-Curricular day GTP open evening Post-course support, Leeds… Interest in North East MERIT Course?

Post-course support, Leeds… 1 year of the Refugee Teachers Network Joint evening event for ‘refugee teachers’ – Trinity College / B-NETT PGCEs in Yorkshire and Humberside / Employment-based routes to QTS ESOL for Teachers course to be set up, September ‘09 (?) - Thomas Danby College Work-placements – Education Leeds IELTS at RETAS Degree top-up information event, Trinity

Leeds Sheffield Hull Liverpool Manchester Bristol London Lincoln Leicester Huddersfield Building next steps for the Refugee Teachers Network Gateshead Middlesbrough Glasgow Birmingham Coventry Bradford Greater Wakefield Wolverhampton Walsall Brighton Norwich Newcastle Sunderland

Building next steps for the Refugee Teachers Network One-to-one IAG support - (Refugees into Teaching) Structured work-placement schemes – (+ support groups) ‘ESOL for Teachers’ courses More ‘familiarisation’ / ‘taster’ courses Liverpool? Manchester? Hull? Leeds Other? North of England Manchester? North East? Build partnerships in other regions: East of England; East Midlands…

Challenges ahead: Independent Safeguarding Authority… Sustaining support Teaching becoming a fall-back career for private-sector workers… 45 % rise in the number of enquiries about a career in teaching in the past year…. single agency to vet all individuals who want to work or volunteer with children Funding?

Workshops Workshops a, b and c are designed for organisations supporting refugee teachers. Workshops d, e and f are specifically designed for refugees who want to get into teaching!

a) Running a familiarisation course for refugee teachers -Sharing good practice from a short familiarisation course for internationally trained teachers on the UK education system. REDHILL ROOM b) Refugees into Teaching in Scotland (RITeS project) - RITeS Project developments and /achievements - RITeS Research findings. BEEHIVE ROOM c) Work placements / How can local authorities support refugee teachers? - Sharing ideas from refugee teacher work-placement schemes - Discussion on how to set these up elsewhere. BOARDROOM

d) Getting onto PGCE courses - Before lunch only ! BROWNSFIELD ROOM e) Employment-based routes to QTS - After lunch only ! BROWNSFIELD ROOM f) National services available to refugee teachers - Explanation of Refugee Teachers’ Database, Standard Assessment Tool, website… - Analysis of skills and specific obstacles facing refugee teachers, plus ways to overcome them… - Discussion - How can RiT help overseas-trained ‘refugee teachers’? SMITHFIELD ROOM