Teachers for Migrants' and Refugees' Rights

On December 18-19, 2017 the Polish Teachers' Union and the Foundation for Social Diversity organised a conference in Warsaw entitled "Teachers for high quality education of students and students with migration experience". The conference concluded an 18-month project aiming to improve refugees’ and migrants’ education in Poland. 

Among other things, it aimed to: 

• improve procedures related to psychological and pedagogical counselling of diagnoses of students and students with migration experience;
• present proposals for activities to prepare schools for the admission of pupils and students with migration experience, their integration in the school environment and cooperation with their families;
• familiarize with the role of intercultural assistants and legal conditions of their employment in schools;
• exchange experiences between representatives of schools and clinics from Gdańsk and Warsaw;
• discuss the latest changes in regulations and the first results of their implementation.

During the two-days conference, the 50 participants had the opportunity to discuss the role of local governments – with examples from Warsaw and Gdańsk - in shaping local policies for including students and students and their families in the life of local communities; first experiences of preparatory classes/ welcome classes in Warsaw presented by experts from Warsaw Centre for Socio-Educational Innovation and Training; how to recognise a child's facing posttraumatic stress; the role of intercultural assistants and legal rules for employing assistants and non-governmental organizations at school; and how to build coalitions with parents of foreign students in schools. 

At the end of the conference, participants decided to continue cooperation, which will be supported by representatives of local authorities of both cities involved in the project.