CYP Now - Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children three years behind at school, report warns

The majority of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children are more than three years behind their non-migrant peers at school by the time they take their GCSEs, research warns.

Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children are more likely to fall behind in class than their peers, according to new research. Picture: Adobe Stock

The study found a 37.4-month gap in attainment between unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and non-migrant children.

Asylum seeking children are also more likely to be excluded, with a rate of 7.1 per cent, compared to 5.2 per cent for non-migrant children.

They are also marginally more likely to be absent from school than their non-migrant peers.

The research by the Education Policy Institute (EPI) also found a GCSE attainment gap between refugee and asylum-seeking children in receipt of government funding, living with family members and non-migrant children. But this gap of 17.3 months, is far smaller than the difference between unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and non-migrant pupils.

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