Programs and Resources

The Refugee Students Assistance Scheme provides limited financial support for refugee students in NSW government schools. Students are eligible for support in their first year after arrival. Funds are given to schools with the highest numbers of refugee students and the principal determines priorities for using funds to support students. Funds may be used for textbooks, excursions, subject costs, stationery, and uniforms.

STARTTS provides training and development in relation to the needs of refugee students for teachers, school counsellors and other regional and school-based personnel. Training includes specialist workshops and the provision of outreach education in which training is designed for specific client groups.

Schools wishing to access training from STARTTS are advised to contact their regional Community Information Officer or Multicultural/ESL Consultant in the first instance.

Families in Cultural Transition (FICT) courses are conducted by schools and Intensive English Centres (IECs) for recently arrived parents and community members, including refugees.

FICT facilitator training may be available for Community Information Officers, Teacher's Aides (Ethnic) and school-based Community Liaison Officers to assist them to conduct FICT courses in schools.

Settling In is designed for school counsellors as an early intervention program, using group counselling techniques, for newly arrived refugee and migrant students. The program aims to assist students in the process of adjustment to life in a new country.

Facilitator training may be available for school counsellors and ESL teachers to assist them to conduct Settling In courses for newly arrived migrant and refugee students.

The Young Africans in Schools professional learning DVD provides video footage of a training and development conference conducted in May 2005. The video footage can be used as stimulus for discussing issues related to teaching refugee students from African countries. Schools should contact their regional Community Information Officer or Multicultural/ESL Consultant  to access a copy of the DVD. Support materials are also available for trialling.

Surviving War – Surviving Peace is a train-the-trainer resource for teachers, counsellors, community workers and others working with refugee children and youth. The resource was developed in close consultation with members of the refugee community and service providers.

The Schooling in NSW resource kit has been developed for use by Community Information Officers and others to provide information sessions to parents about school policies and programs.

Information and strategies for school communities provides information about a range of issues concerning refugees. It offers ideas and strategies for staff members on assisting refugee students and other students who have survived refugee-like experiences to settle and adjust to the teaching and learning approaches of Australian schools.

School's In for Refugees: Whole-School Guide to Refugee Readiness is produced by the Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture. It is a resource to support schools in recognising and responding to the needs of refugee students. It provides advice on how schools can identify refugee students and understand the impact of their experiences. It suggests policies and practices which a school might adopt in creating a welcoming setting, and curriculum which supports the learning of refugee and other students.

Roads to Refuge is a teaching and learning resource for students in Years 5-10. The seven sessions deal with issues relating to the refugee journey and experience of resettlement through video footage, case studies and classroom activities. This resource has been distributed to all schools.

A new life for refugees: Australia's Humanitarian Program is produced by the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (DIMA). It is an education resource, designed for primary school pupils and their teachers. It tells the story of refugee resettlement in Australia.

Stories from a Troubled Homeland is a compilation of material collected from students at Randwick Girls High School as part of a Whole School Anti-Racism Project. The aim of the booklet is to inform the school community of the experiences encountered by many of the students at the school. Some of the girls whose writing appears in the booklet have direct experience of war and its aftermath. Copies were distributed to all secondary schools and to regions.