Schools Afghan refugee children to join classes
The offers of support ... have been overwhelming, showing the kindness and generosity the people of Bristol are renowned for. An important part of the support being offered to those families is to provide children with an introduction to school
DOZENS of Afghan refugee children are joining classrooms across Bristol after plans for a pop-up school were scrapped.
A total of 86 youngsters from families staying temporarily in the city after fleeing the Taliban will attend lessons so they can continue their education while permanent homes are found for 16 households in Bristol and the rest in other areas.
City council bosses had put out calls to community groups for volunteers to help accompany the youngsters from their accommodation to a proposed pop-up school in South Bristol.
But the authority has now revealed that this was explored but not progressed because of the time needed to get all the logistics in place to set up a facility that would meet the strict guidelines governing education settings.
A Bristol City Council spokesperson said: “Bristol is currently providing temporary accommodation for over 200 Afghan refugees as part of a Home Office programme supporting the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy scheme.
“The offers of support received from across the city have been overwhelming, showing the kindness and generosity the people of Bristol are renowned for.
“An important part of the support being offered to those families is to provide children with an introduction to school.
“This will be done by welcoming 86 school-aged children into primary and secondary classrooms across the city in settings where space is available.
“Although it is unclear how long these families will be with us in Bristol, education is an important part of their new lives in the UK and we’re grateful to those schools who have stepped forward with support.
“We hope that the first children will be able to begin their education journey in the coming week with more following soon after.”
Last month, city mayor Marvin Rees announced that homes had been found for six Afghan families with a commitment for a further 10 and that this fell in line with Bristol’s status as a City of Sanctuary.
He told a council meeting that no resources used to help the refugees were being diverted from other residents in need.
During a press conference with local journalists on Wednesday, Mr Rees said: “We have set out to be host to as many families as possible. “We made clear from the beginning that we would do it in line with the level of resource we have to provide adequate support.
“We are in a constant dialogue with government to make sure they are giving us the resource we need to be able to take on additional people for areas such as education.”