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The media give the impression that asylum seekers are one of the key problems facing the UK at present. Even the home secretary has voiced concerns about children from other countries "swamping" schools. But what is the truth about the education of these children, and what can professionals do to help?

The children, of course, come from diverse backgrounds. Some will have attended school regularly in their home country, while others have never been to school. Their knowledge of English will vary from fluent to non-existent, and some may have experienced trauma that could affect their education.

As for the differences between areas, there are parts of London (and some other major cities) where the majority of children in certain schools do not have English as a first language. As a leading point of entry Kent has a disproportionately high number of asylum seekers, including unaccompanied young people who must be placed in care or otherwise supported. In areas to which asylum seekers have been dispersed by the National Asylum Support Service, local education authorities and schools are sometimes dealing for the first time with significant numbers of children who do not speak English as a first language.

There are no national figures available on the numbers of asylum seeker children in the UK, as Home Office statistics record the number of applications (usually one per family) not the number of people. I estimate, however, that 10,000 to 12,000 children arrived last year, around 3,000 of them unaccompanied.

With very few exceptions, school-age children of asylum seekers have the same rights to education as any other UK residents. Legislation currently before parliament may change this for those living in accommodation centres, but at present they are entitled to a school place, free school meals, and following means-testing, support with travel and school uniform. Some social services departments have argued that they cannot offer this support to anyone supported by Nass, but this is not the case. Children are also entitled to special educational needs assessment and support where relevant.

But being entitled to something does not always mean that you will get it. In the case of these children, it has often been difficult to get them into school. This problem has been less acute in many dispersal areas, as the movement out of those areas that made accommodation available also freed up school places.

In areas where all school places are taken up before the start of the school year, it is difficult to find a place for any child arriving mid-year, and asylum seeker children are likely to arrive at any time.

If families are arriving through the Nass dispersal process, it may be possible to make an arrangement whereby families with school-age children are not moved to parts of the authority where no school places are available. I know of at least one authority that has come to such an arrangement with its own housing department and Nass. This is more difficult where the housing is provided by private contractors, but it may still be possible to agree a system to get families placed in accommodation near suitable schools.

If there are no places at all available in your authority, the local education authority needs to be reminded of its duty to ensure adequate provision for all children living in its area. This is not an asylum issue as such, as the shortage of places will adversely affect many children, especially those moving into an area mid-year.

When a child gets a school place, and starts to attend, the first few weeks are vital. Children must be made to feel welcome - many schools are using "buddy" systems with benefits both to the new arrival and the buddy. The child’s needs should be assessed, but also their ability and potential. Headteachers in disadvantaged parts of dispersal areas have spoken of the enthusiasm and ambition of asylum seeker children and their parents.

For many children, language support is the key in the first few weeks, and this has been a challenge to some schools and authorities. Resources are an issue although schools in dispersal areas get £500 from the Department for Education and Skills for the first year they have an asylum seeker child on their register. Primary school children often acquire English relatively quickly, from their classmates as much as from their teacher. After a few weeks most appear quite confident.

Secondary school pupils often find it harder to adjust than their primary school-age counterparts. I spoke to some who, after several months in school, still found it hard to understand simple questions. Their ability to follow the curriculum in a range of subjects must be open to doubt, suggesting a need for more language support when they first arrive.

One approach, now being tried by some local authorities (and which has been used in the past) is to place children with English language needs in a separate class for a set period before they go into mainstream classes. This, however, can lead to accusations of segregation. Sensitivities have also been heightened by the government’s proposal to have the children of asylum seekers living in accommodation centres taught within those centres.

Although resources are at a premium it is important that those seeking to support asylum seeker children do not limit themselves to programmes aimed specifically at asylum seekers and refugees. Many mainstream programmes can be used to support these children. Potential sources of support are available well before children reach school age - such as Sure Start - and many other initiatives may be used to assist them, among them:

• Early years development and child care partnerships.
• Learning mentors provided through Excellence in Cities - around 3,500 mentors in primary and secondary schools.
• Connexions - Coventry and Warwickshire are running a pilot with Save the Children.

Government proposals for 14 to 19 year olds’ education might make it possible to meet the needs of young people in that age group more effectively - and 14 to 16 year olds are the young people most likely to be without a school place. However, it will be important for anyone helping young asylum seekers to ensure that a more flexible curriculum means that they are provided with education that meets their needs and not a cheaper, less thorough alternative.

To end on a positive note, after visiting local authorities, schools and voluntary organisations in many parts of the country, the two things that have most struck me have been the enthusiasm of the newly arrived children and the commitment of staff working to help them. Better planning and more resources are needed, but the combination of those two factors gives one cause for optimism.

- New duties placed on local education authorities and schools by the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 should mean that they will monitor the effect of their policies and practice on all minority groups. More information on this from the Commission for Racial Equality at www.cre.gov.uk

- Guidance on the education of asylum seeker and refugee children, written by Jill Rutter, formerly national education adviser at the Refugee Council, can also be found on the website of the DfES, at www.dfes.gov.uk

Neil Remsbery is based at the Pupil Inclusion Unit of the National Children’s Bureau. He has been examining the education of refugee and asylum-seeker children in various parts of England as well as looking at practice in Netherlands and Sweden.