CYP Now - Analysis: Asylum seekers - An equal education for all children

The Government's decision to educate asylum-seeking children in accommodation centres has been met with criticism by many organisations who fear standards will be low, and that it will hamper assimilation into the community. John Plummer investigates.

The decision to educate asylum-seeking children within accommodation centres has unified both factions of the refugee debate in opposition.

Children's and asylum organisations fear that centres will provide poor education and hamper assimilation. "It's bad policy and should not be implemented," says Patricia Durr, parliamentary adviser at The Children's Society. "Segregation is just not acceptable."

At the same time, right-wing politicians and populist groups are angry at the thought of buildings housing hundreds of asylum seekers springing up in rural areas, a prospect that moved closer two weeks ago when the Appeal Court ruled in favour of the first unit being built near Bicester, Oxfordshire (Children Now, 3-9 November).

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