About
Partners in Learning (Seekho Sikhao Saathi) was adapted in 2024 to support refugee and asylum seeking communities in the UK. We collaborated with Furness Primary School, which caters to a diverse student body, and Newman Catholic College, a School of Sanctuary in Brent. The programme trained older students (‘Big Partners’, aged 11-14) to deliver interactive lessons over 8-weeks to children in reception (‘Little Partners’, aged 4-5), aligned with the objectives of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS).
Learning and Impact
The activities, such as storytelling, crafts, socio-emotional games and hands-on science, promoted both early learning and emotional wellbeing.
The programme involved:
- 13 Big Partners: Mostly Syrian, Ukrainian and Afghan immigrants and asylum seekers. Some had special educational needs (SEN), and the majority spoke English as a second language.
- 35 Little Partners: Many have Palestinian, Brazilian, Portuguese, Syrian and Somali backgrounds. English was an additional language for 83%.
Impacts included:
- Big partners gaining self image, confidence, empathy, leadership and relationship building. They learned to support, guide, and connect with younger children.
- Little Partners improved recall of science topics (e.g. 75% confidently described the life cycle of butterflies), identified emotions, built bilingual confidence and formed positive bonds with Big Partners.
Teacher feedback praised the programme for amplifying student voice, fostering bilingualism and promoting STEM through practical learning.
To improve future programs, we plan to:
- Work closely with teachers from the start
- Discuss key vocabulary and content earlier
- Provide lesson plans in advance to improve classroom integration
