Afghan children start their first week in Staffordshire schools
Around 50 will start school this week after being resettled in Newcastle
Afghan children living in short-term accommodation in Newcastle have spent their first day in a Staffordshire school.
Around 50 children will be starting school this week, after their families were evacuated from Afghanistan to Newcastle-Under-Lyme.
Since their arrival just over a month ago, Staffordshire County Council have been working with local schools to identify spare places.
School uniforms have been donated by local people and organisations, and the county council’s JustGiving fundraiser has been used to purchase much-needed school shoes, bags and PE kits for the children.
The children and their families, who were evacuated from Afghanistan after assisting British Forces, will be calling Newcastle their home until they are offered permanent locations across the country.
The county council is working with the Home Office, district and borough councils and other partners to ensure the ongoing safety of these evacuees while they make Newcastle their temporary home.
Jonathan Price Staffordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Schools said: “Our teams have worked very hard with local schools to ensure these children can be found suitable places, and I want to thank local schools for how accommodating and welcoming they have been. It’s a very exciting time for these children as they spend their first day in a Staffordshire school, but it is something very different to their education in Afghanistan, so we have put support in place to help them adjust.
“The generosity of local people has been amazing. We’ve had lots of uniforms donated which has been incredibly helpful, and I’d urge people to keep donating through our Just Giving page, as this money will go directly on purchasing exactly what they need.”