Why Refugee Council training?
People who work with refugees and asylum seekers know that there is a mass of ever-changing practice and statute law relating to their clients and that they are working with individuals who are vulnerable and often traumatised by past experiences.
The Refugee Council has years of experience running training designed to support service providers in their work with asylum seekers and refugees in particular, though many courses are suitable for people working with any migrant group.
Our training reflects the expertise gained through our own front-line service provision. All Refugee Council trainers are practitioners first and foremost ensuring that our training is:
- Responsive: Our programme is shaped to your needs
- Comprehensive: Our wide range of courses and expert trainers enable us to summarise the complexities of the asylum system
- Relevant and up to date: Our courses share our years of front-line experience, providing current information and real answers for your questions about working with migrants and refugees
- Empowering: Giving you the skills and confidence you need to work on behalf of this vulnerable group
To enquire about courses contact us at training@refugeecouncil.org.uk or call 020 7346 1284
Upcoming scheduled training dates at a glance
Our courses are available as scheduled course (see dates above), in-house – we can come to you and train up to 20 delegates or as customised courses.
To book:
Fees:
Scheduled courses
£109 (reduced rate for registered charities)
£175 (standard rate)
In-house courses – for up to 20 delegates
£850 (reduced rate for registered charities)
£950 (standard rate)
Plus trainer expenses (usually travel and overnight accommodation if required). Make an enquiry.
Bespoke training prices are available on request.
Please read our training course terms and conditions.
Homelessness can affect anyone at any time, most of all refugees. This course enables delegates to leave with a clear understanding of the homelessness process within Local Authorities, as well as the knowledge and confidence to empower clients and themselves in handling difficult scenarios and cases of homelessness. This is an interactive course that allows for open discussion on various homelessness subjects.
Delegates who complete this course will gain a practical understanding of:
- Who is homeless
- Eligibility Criteria
- Who is in Priority Need
- Intentionality and Local Connection for Refugee’s
- Section 184 Homeless Decision Letters & Right to Request a Review of the S184 Decision
- Homelessness Flow Chart & Who provides Housing
- Single Non-Priority & The Private Rented Sector
- Brief discussion on Non-Priority cases
- New Tenants Rights & Obligations
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Next course dates and locations: London. Tuesday 21st February, London. Thursday 15th March, Leeds
Ensuring the wellbeing of unaccompanied refugee children and young people is at the heart of this course, which aims to give delegates the confidence and information they need to challenge assessments, and the tools to ensure that the correct processes are in place in your organisation.
The course encourages delegates to discuss issues, using real-life case-examples.
On completing the course, participants will have a practical understanding of:
- The impact of cultural background on the age assessment process
- The legislative and policy framework of Children’s Services and the UK Border Agency
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This course is informed by the stories related to us by women clients of the Refugee Council Specialist Team during the three year Comic Relief-funded Vulnerable Women’s Project, designed to support refugee and asylum seeking women survivors of rape or sexual violence.
During this one day course participants will explore the impact of gender based violence in a systemic context, looking at potential consequences it may have on the lives of asylum seeking women according to their varied experiences in the country of origin and the host country.
The aim of this course is:
- To develop an understanding of the asylum system and its impact from the point of disclosure to later stages in the process
- To examine the effects of gender based violence from the individual, family and community perspectives
- To explore practical ways of overcoming barriers to accessing health and other services
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Next course date and location: Wednesday 29th February, London
End of Process is the term used to describe the situation for those asylum seekers who have been refused asylum and have exhausted all appeal rights. UK policy states that when someone is in this position they are no longer entitled to many services and support, including main stream asylum support.For those asylum seekers unable or unwilling to return to their home country, this means that many at the end of the process become destitute.
For those working in the voluntary and statutory sector, knowing how and when they are able to support asylum seekers at the end of process is a challenge. Service providers often hear conflicting messages and myths, and struggle to ensure they are up to date with the continual changes to policy and procedures due to legal cases. There is a need to empower service providers with up-to-date information and increase confidence in how and when to provide tangible support to asylum seekers at the end of process.
Following on from other courses delivered by the Refugee Council looking at mainstream support, this course specifically looks at support and entitlement for asylum seekers who have had their claims refused and have exhausted all of their appeal rights. In order to support clients in this situation it is important for service providers to be aware of support mechanisms available and to be able to advise clients accordingly. Please note this course looks specifically at the adult system and does not cover children or those who claimed asylum as unaccompanied children.
By the end of this one day training programme, participants will be able to:
- Clarify some misconceptions and misunderstandings regarding ‘categories’ of refugee and asylum seekers
- Identify the routes to obtaining legal advice and the processes of making a fresh asylum claim
- Define the eligibility criteria and entitlements under Section 4 support
- Recognise who is eligible for community care support
- Discern when different client groups are entitled to healthcare, education and employment
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Next course date and location: Wednesday 18th January 2012, London
This course will provide an overview of child protection legislation, issues affecting children and families from abroad, and the identification and referral processes. Delegates will explore the range of issues affecting children who are in need of protection, looking at the interface with the asylum and immigration system.
Participants will receive an overview of the relevant legislation, guidance and procedures involved in working with protection issues with refugee children, which will be related back to their day-to-day experiences, giving them a practical understanding of:
- The current UK legislation and court processes in child protection
- The roles of different agencies in the child protection system
- Identification and referral systems
- The impact of the asylum system on refugee families and separated children
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Misunderstandings between service providers and refugees can be avoided
by gaining a greater understanding of the way culture shapes behaviour and perceptions.
This course will help your employees to think through their assumptions and preconceptions by examining their own culture and that of others, before looking at the impact on your service provision, leaving them with a practical understanding of:
- What it means to be a refugee or asylum seeker and the differences between these two groups
- Why they may have left their own country and are now in the UK
- The effect of cultural differences on the refugees's experiences in the UK and the delegate's own contact with refugees
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Next course date and location: Wednesday 25th January 2012, London Thursday 8th March 2012, Leeds
Frequent changes to asylum and immigration legislation and policy can make it difficult for practitioners to keep up-to-date and to ensure that they are offering most effective advice and practice. On the other hand, migrants and people granted refugee status, humanitarian protection or discretionary leave are often not aware of their rights and entitlements and do not have a support network in this country. Consequently, they are more likely to end up homeless and without appropriate support. This course will explore the legislative framework and routes of access to housing and other services for those granted asylum (refugee status, humanitarian protection and discretionary leave) and migrants.
This course will be participative and interactive providing a variety of practical tips useful to those who provide direct housing support to these groups as well as managers, policy makers and others within your organisation. It is suitable for those who are already familiar with the asylum determination process and asylum support. As this course looks specifically at the adult system it does not consider the situation of those who applied for asylum as unaccompanied children.
Delegates who complete the course will gain a practical understanding of:
- The distinctions between different types of immigration status
- Entitlements to services for refugees and migrants (including: housing, welfare benefits, health, education, training and employment, etc)
- Identification of accommodation and housing support issues relevant to these groups
- The obstacles these groups face when accessing housing and other services and ways of overcoming them
- Relevant legislation surrounding support access
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Next course date and location: Tuesday 6th March 2012, London
This course introduces Therapeutic Casework, a model developed by the Refugee Council Specialist Team for clients with mental wellbeing and psychosocial needs. The model combines counselling and advocacy to address internal emotional distress as well as the external, practical problems which cause it.
The session includes discussion of case material and participants’ own experiences, and a chance to practice skills, leaving participants with a practical understanding of:
The main causes of distress and disturbance in asylum seeking/refugee clients, including trauma, loss and anxiety
- The differences and similarities between distress and mental illness
- Therapeutic casework and the distinction from other models of casework/ therapeutic intervention
- Holistic assessment of psychosocial needs
- The principles of risk assessment in terms of this client group
The model has been described as a “highly successful” method of intervention with distressed asylum seekers by the Centre for Migration and Social Care at the University of Kent in a recent report of an external evaluation of the Therapeutic Casework Unit. The report describes the Unit as a “hub for innovative and creative thinking”.
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Next course date and location: Thursday 1st March 2012, LONDON
This course will examine the emotional impact of the experiences that refugee children and young people face as they flee from their home countries and settle in the UK .
It will provide participants with the tools to assess the organisation in which they work, to identify factors which are detrimental to emotional wellbeing and to devise strategies for providing appropriate care and support.
On completing this course, participants will have a practical understanding of:
- The experiences of refugee children and young people
- The impact of trauma and loss on mental health
- Risk and protective factors
- Problems refugee children and young people may encounter in the UK
- The importance of appropriate support and access to education
- Cultural backgrounds and coping mechanisms
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Next course date and location: Tuesday 28th February, 2012 London
This course will provide an overview of the asylum and support systems for children and examine the interaction between the two. Focusing on procedures that the young people are required to participate in, delegates are assisted in exploring how best to respond to the difficulties they may be facing.
Participants will receive an overview of the relevant policy and processes involved in working with unaccompanied children, which will be related back to their day-to-day experiences, giving them a practical understanding of:
- Who unaccompanied children are
- Asylum determination, lodging an application and the asylum process
- The roles of different adults in the system
- The legal and policy framework for support and care, including the Children Act
- The impact of the asylum process on care planning
- Common issues faced by unaccompanied children and those working with them
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Next course date and location: Tuesday 31st January 2012, London
Providing interpretation is a critical function of most advice services, this course will provide delegates with theoretical and practical information on how to develop and implement good practice when working with interpreters, as well as providing an overview of the legal framework.
This course will enable service providers to further develop or improve current practice, as well as providing practical advice on how to facilitate communication through interpreters, by giving them an understanding of:
- The legal framework
- The duties and responsibilities placed on service providers
- The needs of asylum seekers and refugees
- Good practice in working with interpreters at different stages of contact with refugees and asylum seekers
- Cross cultural communication
- How to access trained interpreters
- Current interpreting qualifications
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Next course date and location: Wednesday 1st February 2012, London
Frequent changes to asylum legislation and policy can make it difficult to get on top of the issues and to ensure you are offering your clients the best advice or most effective practice. This course allows delegates to meet this challenge, by providing an introduction to the key structures in the asylum system:
- The distinctions between refugees, asylum seekers and other migrant groups
- The current international context of asylum and the causes of flight of refugees
- The current legislative structure including the New Asylum Model
- Where asylum applications are logged (at port and in-country)
- The role and structure of the UK Border Agency Asylum Teams
- The asylum determination process including the appeal process
- The Case Resolution programme
- Possible implications of future legislative changes
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Next course date and location: Thursday 2nd February 2012, London
This interactive course explores the routes of access to entitlements for asylum seekers in relation to key governmental and non-governmental structures, including an examination of the UK Border Agency support system. Learning is related to participants’ day-to-day experiences, demonstrating routes through this complex process for those new to the asylum field.
Delegates who complete the course will gain a practical understanding of:
- Routes of access to basic entitlements
- The UK Border Agency Asylum Support system
- The role of UK Border Agency Asylum Teams
- Possible restrictions in the support process (Section 55 and Section 57)
- The different asylum support options
- The dispersal process
- Support under current legislation
- Possible implications of future changes in policy and procedure
This course assumes a basic knowledge of asylum policy and legislation and follows on from our Key Issues in asylum course. If you have not attended the Key Issues course previously, it is important that you have an understanding of the issues.
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Next course date and location: Wednesday 7th March 2012, London
This course will provide an opportunity to examine the specific needs of refugee pupils, including those new to schooling in the UK, and investigate positive strategies to support them in achieving their potential.
Participants will have the opportunity to reflect on and evaluate their own practice, as well as that of the school in which they work, leaving them with a practical understanding of:
- The ‘refugee experience’ – psychological, cultural and social
- The needs of new arrivals, focusing on the induction process
- Supporting the resilience of pupils with a refugee experience
- The school ethos, policies and learning environment that promote inclusion and meet the specific needs of refugee pupils
- Learning and teaching - strategies that support achievement
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Next course date and location: Wednesday 7th December 2011, Leeds
This training will provide an overview of some key structures in the asylum system in order to support participants’ understanding of asylum and support issues
During this one day training the participants will explore
- Refugee Convention
- Asylum legislation including EU Directive, Dublin Regulation & Fresh Claims
- Recent Caselaw
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Next course date and location: Wednesday 8th February 2012, Leeds
This training is designed for MP caseworkers and will provide an overview of some of the key issues and processes in the asylum system and asylum support, in order to develop participants' understanding of asylum and support issues.
During this one day training the participants will explore
- Who refugees and asylum-seekers are
- The current international context of migration and reasons for flight
- The current legislative structure
- The asylum determination process
- The asylum support system and other options
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