Page 77 - PSPS: A Training guide

Main Takeaways

The main points from this unit, which has explored the specific needs of migrant
children, especially those coming from different cultures are:
Migrant children have additional challenges to those that local children face
when startingprimary school, such as insecurities about their new
environment, missing dear and close people from their previous place of living,
or language barriers.

Parents of migrant children (if they are present) are also facing challenges
that come from having different language and cultural backgrounds.

Newly arrived migrant children may not have any previous experience of
attending nursery, kindergarten or preschool and may therefore lack the
related routine, social and communication skills.

All adults in the child’s world need to reflect upon the child’s needs and plan
strategies to consider cater for them.

Teachers need to (self)assess their own (un)conscious bias or prejudice
towards different cultures, religions and ethnic groups.

It is essential to include not only parents and preschool teachers if the child
has been to any preschool setting, but also community workers, NGOs’ and/or
international organisations’ volunteers and workers in the child’s life in order to
understand the background context.

Playing games about school, using different tools to teach migrant children
basic school-related words, phrases, songs and rhymes helps the child
prepare for starting school.
Preparatory work with other children who will be in the same class is
necessary so that they can understand, accept and respect the cultural
differences that a migrant child brings to the class.

Preparing pictures, information signs and welcoming messages, as well as
multi-cultural books, stories, and didactic material will help both migrant
children and their significant adults feel welcome and promote the child’s
sense of belonging to a new class.

Everywhere you see pictures of houses but you don’t seen any pictures of trailers so
when Nancy started at the preschool below they asked me for a photo of a Traveller
wagon and to be honest….I was thrilled.’
(Nan, mom of 6)