A major new study will give the first detailed picture of the educational aspirations, barriers and opportunities facing unaccompanied asylum-seeking children who want to study at college and university.
The work will provide the first national map of how these young people engage in learning after 16, and the institutions and courses they choose.
In 2024, there were around 7,000 unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in England - young people who arrive in the country seeking safety without their parents or other adults.
Some have experienced traumatic events in their countries of origin, while the asylum process itself may also involve prolonged stress, uncertainty, and insecurity that affect mental health. Continuing their education after 16 (or beyond GCSEs) can help give them a positive start to their adult life and careers and provide valuable social support.
Researchers will analyse national administrative data to assess education participation rates, course choices, and outcomes, as well as surveying and interviewing senior local authority staff to explore their experiences in supporting unaccompanied asylum-seeking children into higher and further education.
They will conduct longitudinal interviews with 45 unaccompanied asylum-seeking children across three regions, speaking to them over a year to learn more about their strengths and resilience, as well as the constraints and enablers they encounter.
The two-year project, Education pathways for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, is funded by the Nuffield Foundation and is led by Professor Neil Harrison in collaboration with Dr Rebecca Georgis, Professor Nick Gill, and Dr Mir Abdullah Miri from the University of Exeter, Dr Jonathan Birtwell from Refugee Education UK and Professor Peter Hopkins from Newcastle University.
It is hoped the findings will be useful to help national government, local authorities, third-sector organisations supporting refugees and care leavers, and colleges and universities to improve policy and practice.
Professor Harrison said: "This work will provide policymakers and practitioners with a new, robust knowledge base about a growing group of marginalised young people whose experiences have received limited attention. We hope it will provide a platform to strengthen the educational experiences available to them.
"Most have undergone traumatic experiences in their home country or on their subsequent journey, including persecution, civil war or the death of family members. On arrival they face significant delays and uncertainty about their immigration status and there is also a shortage of appropriate foster carers.
"Education offers the potential for positive transitions into adulthood and careers. Many unaccompanied asylum-seeking children are already accessing further and higher education each year. However, very little is currently known about who does so, the courses they pursue or the challenges they face. It does appear, however, that their experiences are not straightforward, potentially leading to unrealised ambitions, early withdrawal or lower-than-hoped attainment."
Professor Hopkins said: "I am very much looking forward to working with the team at the University of Exeter and Refugee Education UK to better understand the educational pathways and experiences of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children with a focus upon the South West, London and the North East of England. Previous research has only briefly touched on the challenges of the transition to further and higher education for this group, so this project will enable one of the first in-depth explorations of these important issues".
Dr Emily Tanner, Programme Head at the Nuffield Foundation said: "Building an inclusive society, where people can thrive and feel they belong, sits at the heart of Nuffield's Foundation's work. This project, in identifying how to better support the post-16 education pathways of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, will benefit not only this particular group of marginalised young people, but others too who face specific barriers and disadvantage."
