Our Refugee Support Service runs specialist training to help universities and colleges become more welcoming and accessible for refugees and people seeking asylum.
Glasgow School of Art recently commissioned us to deliver Universities of Sanctuary training. The course aimed to give staff a better understanding of the challenges faced by students from refugee backgrounds and how they can address barriers to higher education.
We caught up with Tahmina Ali, Widening Participation Administrator at the School of Art to find out more.
“We’ve seen an increase in the number of undergraduate applications who are seeking sanctuary. There’s also been an increase in students engaging with our Widening Participation pre-entry programme, which helps young people from under-represented communities access the information and experience they need to apply to art school.
We felt training was needed to equip those working one–to–one with students with the skills to ensure interactions are positive and safe, and encourage us to take a person-centered approach.
We wanted a better understanding of the process of seeking sanctuary so we could gather a broader picture of what students may be experiencing. This will help us manage the expectations of these students and give us a better idea of how we can support them.
The training was great! The quality was first-rate, the information was extensive, and it was tailored to be relevant to our institution. My team came away from the session with information we hadn’t even considered before. For example, we didn’t know interviews could potentially be triggering for people who are seeking sanctuary.
The case studies were relevant to Glasgow School of Art and covered scenarios we have come across before. The opportunity to discuss these case studies with colleagues from different departments was extremely eye opening and beneficial.
I hope the training has made colleagues realise that we have the agency to improve the quality of life for these students more than we think. I hope Glasgow School of Art will look at other ways we can support people. I hope we can ensure our admissions process is less daunting and more supportive. And I hope we will review the language we use when collecting supporting documents to confirm a student’s status.
My team will look at how we communicate with students who are seeking sanctuary and consider if there are changes we could make. We will let tutors know if anyone has declared they are a refugee or seeking asylum before our classes begin, so they can understand contextual factors that may affect students and their ability to participate in the course in the same way as their peers.
We will seek to collect more information about where each student is in the process of seeking sanctuary as different parts of the process will produce different challenges. I am hoping the training session will also help us pick up momentum with conversations about taking steps to become a University of Sanctuary which began at the start of summer.”
Universities of Sanctuary training is available as a commissioned course. It is suitable for teaching staff, student support and others involved in advice and support roles.
Our Refugee Support Service runs a wide range of online training to help professionals improve the way they work with refugees and people seeking asylum. Find out more about the different courses we offer and how to book your place.
