Education and support for Ukrainian refugees

The page is also available in Ukrainian.
 

Online platforms and resources in Ukrainian

Online educational resources in Ukrainian: schooling in Ukraine under adverse conditions: Since 14 March 2022, schooling has resumed in most regions of Ukraine with the help of distance learning. Ukrainian students both inside and outside the country can access educational online material in Ukrainian.

Policy guidance

Supporting the inclusion of displaced children from Ukraine in education: considerations, key principles and practices for the school year 2022-2023: This Staff Working Document aims at pooling the available collective experience and knowledge and provide information on good practice and practical insights to support EU Member States in the inclusion of displaced children from Ukraine in education. It was written by the Commission services in consultation with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), representatives of ministries of education, stakeholder organisations that met in peer learning events between March and June 2022, and with experts from the Network working on the social dimension of education and training (NESET).

Discover all EU support for Ukraine on the European Education Area Portal

Refugee education and solidarity updates 

Mapping study on children of Ukraine’s access to education: In this mapping study, the Council of Europe looks at practices ensuring and facilitating Ukraine children’s access to education in Council of Europe member states, showcases effective solutions, analyses barriers to integration integration, and reflects on effective ways to address those barriers.

Ukrainian children in EU education systems – what is the state of play?:  Close to 1.3 million minors displaced from Ukraine have received temporary protection in the EU, and an estimated 700,000 have been enrolled in EU schools during the school year 2023–2024. (July 2024)

Building hope – Europe’s solidarity with Ukraine: 15 inspiring Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps projects providing support to people affected by the war: The publication highlights 15 concrete examples of completed and ongoing cases where projects supported under Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps have had a tangible and positive influence on the lives of people in and from Ukraine. (February 2024)

OECD policy papers on supporting Ukrainian educators and recognition of prior learning: OECD has published two policy papers regarding supporting Ukrainian educators and higher education students. (December 2023)

The Girl Who Kept Her Eyes Open – A book for children: This children’s book aims to raise awareness of the challenges faced by children and adults fleeing war. (November 2023)

Resilience of education systems: what lessons can be learned from Ukraine? Ukrainian schools and teachers have shown their capacity to deliver education in extreme and challenging circumstances, reigniting interest in the resilience of the Ukrainian education system. (September 2023)

Ukrainian refugees and schooling: How to overcome the “waiting dilemma”? For many displaced learners from Ukraine, the school year 2023/24 will already be the third year of disrupted schooling. Still, not all children are attending local schools in their EU host countries. (September 2023)

How is Europe welcoming Ukrainian refugee children in early childhood education and care (ECEC) services: Just over a year ago, millions of Ukrainian families, many with very young children, sought refuge across the European Union from Russian military aggression against their country. European governments committed to offering a warm welcome and providing access to educational opportunities, including ECEC. (June 2023)

Education in times of war, through the eyes of young Ukrainians: Three tenacious young Ukrainians claim their right to education during the height of the Russian invasion in this heart-wrenching yet hopeful documentary, created as part of the DG ECHO’s #EducationNoMatterWhat campaign. (May 2023)

Supporting parental involvement among newly arrived migrant and refugee families: Parental involvement is important for children’s success at school, and is especially important for more vulnerable children. Therefore, it is important to support newly arrived migrant/refugee parents and promote active collaboration between them and schools. (April 2023)

Europe needs peace education – peace education needs Europe: People can be taught how to deal with conflict in a constructive way, to lessen instances of violence. By involving everyone, a more peaceful future can be ensured. Those who endorse education for peace have undertaken to support any helpful and necessary learning processes that underpin its aims. In this article, Professor Uli Jäger and Dr. Nicole Rieber of the Berghof Foundation tell us more about peace education in Europe. (January 2023)

Supporting newly arrived refugee students: In 2022, school Nº361 in Warsaw, Poland, received a high influx of refugee students from Ukraine. In this video we will learn how the school has welcomed these students, and helped them to learn the Polish language, collaborate with their new peers and most importantly, to feel safe. (December 2022)

What helps displaced children from Ukraine enrol in EU schools?: The EU Education Solidarity Group for Ukraine met recently to discuss how to increase school attendance for displaced learners from Ukraine across the EU. (December 2022)

Supporting the social and emotional well-being of refugee students from Ukraine in host countries: The Russian invasion against Ukraine has resulted in the largest forced displacement crisis in recent history, with a high proportion of those fleeing being children and young people. Schools play a vital role in addressing refugee learners’ needs and in promoting their social and emotional development and well-being. This is an essential component of ensuring their inclusion in education and in society as a whole. (December 2022)

Lives on hold: intentions and perspectives of refugees from Ukraine – UNHCR report: A recent report published by UNHCR, The UN Refugee Agency, has highlighted the impact of displacement on refugees from Ukraine and the uncertainty clouding their futures. (October 2022)

Access to education for displaced children from Ukraine: what are EU countries doing?: Displaced children have the right to access education and receiving countries have an obligation to provide it. How is this organised in practice? (July 2023)

Supporting refugee learners from Ukraine in schools in Europe: The Russian invasion of Ukraine forced many people to flee their home and search for protection in neighbouring European countries. While European countries have already taken many actions to address refugee learners’ educational needs, equal attention needs to be paid to their psychosocial needs. (July 2022)

What works in welcoming refugees in European classrooms: An increasing number of European classrooms are welcoming Ukrainian families and their children, meaning more cultural and educational diversity in our schools. The European Toolkit for Schools offers a carefully selected set of resources for teachers, professionals, administrators, families, and policymakers, including effective practices for refugee and migrant inclusive education. (July 2022)

Lessons learnt on history teaching from past wars in Europe: During periods of conflict, such as the war in Ukraine, the question of historical narratives and how they are taught comes under fresh scrutiny. This tutorial will examine how history teachers can negotiate strife and difference to make the subject meaningful for all pupils. (May 2022)

How to provide Early Childhood Education and Care to Ukrainian refugee children: A significant number of newly arrived Ukrainian refugees are small children. How can we welcome them in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) centres across Europe? (May 2022)

Including Ukrainian refugees in secondary school classrooms: what if the pupils just don’t speak the language?: Over the past few weeks, around 5 million Ukrainians have crossed the border into the European Union. While Ukraine’s Ministry of Education has done a stellar job of setting up online learning for all secondary school pupils, there are still other hurdles to overcome. Mialy Dermish from the SIRIUS Network reflects on social and linguistic inclusion for Ukrainian students and their pathway to educational success. (May 2022)

Supporting the mental health and well-being of refugee pupils through connection and continuity: The experience of war, sudden flight from familiar surroundings, and concern about relatives can have a negative impact on refugee children’s mental health and well-being. This will also affect their learning experience. It is therefore important for schools, in particular those currently welcoming a large number of refugees, to become ‘refugee-competent’. (May 2022)

Background on the Ukrainian education system since 2016:An educational reform that began in 2016 has brought many changes to Ukraine’s education. (April 2022)

How EU Member States find teachers for refugee students: A peer-learning discussion among representatives from EU Education Ministries examined how to find teachers for refugee students. This discussion took place on 4 April 2022, as part of the EU Education Solidarity Group for Ukraine – Working Group Schools. (April 2022)

Recognition of qualifications of Ukrainian school pupils: Recognising qualifications that refugees bring from their country of origin, as well as understanding the education level reached, plays an important role in access to higher education and the labour market. (April 2022)

Schools in Europe react to the Russian invasion of Ukraine: Classrooms and school administrations across the continent have mobilised to express solidarity with Ukraine, and teachers have undertaken to answer pupils’ questions. This article highlights some commendable ideas and practices. (March 2022)

Protecting education from attack in armed conflict: Even in a conflict or war, upholding the right to education, and refraining from harm to children, education personnel or schools is fundamental. There are several international efforts for protecting education during armed conflict and other emergencies. (March 2022)

Compendium of inspiring practices on inclusive and citizenship education: This compendium presents a comprehensive range of inspiring practices aiming to provide ideas and inspiration for policymakers and practitioners who strive to improve the inclusiveness of education and training systems across the EU. It additionally intends to contribute to developing the growing body of evidence on the importance and added value of inclusive education. (2021)

Inclusion of young refugees and migrants through education: The Thematic Fiche on Inclusion of young refugees and migrants through education was produced by the members of the ET 2020 Working Group on Promoting Common Values and Inclusive Education. (2020)

PAESIC resources for teachers and school leaders: PAESIC (acronym for Pedagogical Approaches for Enhanced Social Inclusion in the Classroom) is KA2 Erasmus+ project designated with the purpose of supporting primary school teachers in enhancing social inclusion in the classroom, particularly students of refugee and migrant backgrounds. (2020)

Education Talks: Metrolingualism, superdiversity and European classrooms: Have you ever heard of metrolingualism and superdiversity? And do you know what it takes to teach a multilingual classroom? Expand your knowledge in this interview with Thomas Fritz, head of lernraum.wien, institute for multilingualism, integration and education. (2018)

Migrants in European schools: learning and maintaining languages: Supporting newly arrived migrant children to master the language of schooling alongside maintaining and further developing their personal linguistic repertoire is key for their successful reception and integration, as well as successful teaching. (2018)

Preparing teachers for diversity: the role of Initial Teacher Education: Even though the diversity found in European societies is not a new phenomenon, its nature is rapidly changing. Europe is becoming increasingly diverse due to intra-European mobility, international migration and globalisation. (2017)

Professional development courses and webinars

• Webinar: Inclusion of displaced children from Ukraine in EU education systems, 26 June 2024
• Webinar: Trauma-informed teaching, 11 December 2023
• Webinar: Creating safe, inclusive and caring learning environments, 29 November 2023
• Webinar: Learning and care for the youngest refugees – a critical priority across Europe, 14 July 2022
• Online course: Engaging non-native language speakers in the classroom, 4-20 July 2022
• Online course: Integration of migrants and refugees in schools, 23 May - 6 June 2022
• Webinar: Teachers' training and professional development on inclusive education, 13 May 2022
• Webinar: Welcoming newly arrived refugees in the classroom, 6 May 2022
• Webinar: Supporting the mental health and well-being of refugee children in school, 22 April 2022

Interact with other teachers

Join eTwinning, the online community for school staff (teachers, headteachers, librarians, etc.) to communicate, collaborate and share. eTwinning supports Ukrainian teachers and students, for example through specific discussion groups on integrating migrants and refugees at school, and by sharing community-driven solidarity and supporting activities for Ukrainian teachers and students.

Integrating migrants and refugees at school: What are the most effective ways to welcome migrants and refugees into their new school environment? As a part of the actions taken by the eTwinning community to offer support to teachers and students, the Featured Group on “Integrating migrants and refugees at school” extended its focus to also reinforce teachers who are supporting refugees. The group aims to support teachers all over Europe who are facing the challenge of ensuring these children’s right to education and training and to provide them with a sense of normality, and try to alleviate the trauma of war and displacement.