The children of refugees and asylum seekers are receiving lessons in hotel car parks in Manchester because no places have been found at local schools, charity workers say.
Children thought to number in the hundreds, who have fled with their families from countries including Afghanistan, Sudan, Iraq and Syria, are being put up in hotels across the city by the Home Office while they await news about their asylum applications.
Dr Rhetta Moran, a founder of the Manchester-based charity Refugee and Asylum Participatory Action Research (Rapar), said volunteers were giving the children lessons in the car park of a hotel where they are living. She is calling on Manchester city council – as well as outsourcing firm Serco, the company that has the Home Office contract for provision of accommodation in this part of the UK – to address the problem urgently.
Moran said: “Many of these children have been victims of war and persecution. They have then endured traumatic journeys to get to the UK, and upon arrival they are faced with lengthy delays in our asylum and immigration system.”
A resident of one Manchester hotel, who did not wish to be identified, told the Guardian there were about 30 children residing at the same premises as her, predominantly of Syrian, Afghan, Iraqi, Yemeni and Sudanese origin, and that some have faced waits of at least six months for a school place.
“They have two hours of formal ‘Esol’ English lessons per week,” she said. “But it often falls to just one or two teachers to coordinate learning for children of many different nationalities, ages, backgrounds and levels – sometimes adults too.”
She said the learning taking place in makeshift car park classrooms was “very unstructured, with a combination of volunteers and residents taking the reins”, but also “very necessary for children who are at a crucial stage in their development”.
Another resident at the same hotel added: “Sometimes it’s just a case of them doing some supervised maths on the ground in chalk, or residents sharing their skills such as art or sewing. It’s informal, but the children are bored and unstimulated without it. Plus it’s good for them to build their social skills via interactions with other kids.”
Moran, who has worked with asylum seekers in Manchester for two decades, said children were being failed by the system, adding: “Parents arriving with children are being asked to fill out forms naming three possible schools for their child to attend in the area – a near impossible task for someone new to the country whose English might not be strong.
“It often falls to charity volunteers to assist with the completion of these forms, which are then sent to the city council for processing.”
Madeleine Summerfield, a volunteer for the charity Care4Calais and hotel lead for a premises elsewhere in Manchester, said resources were stretched for young asylum seekers and refugees across the region. The volume of people and availability of space differed for every hotel and between city councils, she said, with some focusing on Afghan refugees, some on Ukrainians, and others on “mixed” asylum seekers.
Summerfield added: “Conflicts between local and national policy can make things difficult, but ultimately the focus should be on ensuring all the children are educated and have the opportunity to integrate.”
A Manchester city council spokesperson said: “All staff in hotels where families are placed have had guidance shared with them about applying for a school place in Manchester and are aware of the need to apply for a place to access a local school. They also have a direct link into the education service in Manchester.
“This academic year alone, the council has placed more than 400 refugee and asylum seeker children in schools and colleges. This has included commissioning places in secondary schools outside Manchester where there were not sufficient places in their local area.”
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “We must do all we can to welcome refugees who arrive in this country having been forced to flee their homes due to conflict. We expect every school-aged child arriving here to begin attending school shortly afterwards.
“We believe that the best place for all children to be educated is in schools and attendance will help children integrate into the communities in which they are living.”