One minute guide on supporting Ukrainian pupils in school

Key Facts

• Devon is hosting one of the largest populations of Ukrainian refugees in the country.
• Ukraine ranks 44th out of 100 countries in terms of proficiency in English by its population.
• Not all Ukrainian pupils speak Ukrainian as their first language. Around 25% of Ukrainian families speak Russian.
• Up to 80% of Ukrainian families want to return home when it is safe to do so.
• Young children in our UK schools struggle to understand the Russia-Ukraine conflict and why Ukrainian refugees are coming here. You can deliver an assembly KS1/KS2 to support their understanding.
• You will find much more information in our Welcoming and supporting Ukrainian Refugee, welcome pack for schools.

Welcome/induction meeting

This meeting is crucial to a positive start for a pupil and family.  It is the perfect opportunity for you to begin to build their pupil profile and to reassure the family of the support the pupil will receive.

• Ensure you know their age and first language before arrival. This is important as year groups are different in Ukraine and their first language might not be Ukrainian.
• Learn how to pronounce their name.
• Arrange an interpreter or volunteer for the meeting. You may feel that Google Translate, or their English is good enough, but you will be using a lot of school jargon, that can be misinterpreted.
• Have an ‘All About Me – Ukrainian/Russian’ activity to go through, so that you can build a pupil profile and share key facts with staff.
• Make sure you know how your school is going to support with free school meals, uniform, stationery and transport applications.
• Have a copy of everything the family may need to take home with them. They can review all the information with their host if they need further support.
• Send the pupil home with a ‘New Starter’ booklet Ukrainian/Russian, which has key phrases in.
• Explain the UK school system, your school day and how day-to-day things work, such as transport and breaks/lunch. Please see our ‘Starting School’ booklet in Ukrainian.
• Explain how safeguarding works in your school. This is really important as this often differs between countries.

Checklist: Preparing for a pupil’s first few weeks’

• Use translated labels Ukrainian/Russian to label key items in the classroom.
• Share the Proficiency booklet with staff, so that they can identify if the new pupil meets any of the indicators.
• Arrange some intervention, to deliver academic content before it occurs in class. Use our sample scheme of work, for new arrivals to know which language features and vocabulary to teach first.
• Create a pupil profile for staff.
• Apply for the initial funding, this can help with cost of uniform, FSM and bilingual support.
• Print off a copy of survival phrases Ukrainian/Russian for the new pupil to have.
• Ensure you have a suitable buddy arranged for your new arrival. You can use the ‘All About Me’ information you collated in the welcome meeting to ensure that the buddy shares some similar interests.
• Prepare and check-in with the buddy. This is vital as they often support for the first few hours and then forget their role.  Explain why they were chosen, what they should do on the first day and the days after that.
• Translate key resources or use the Ukrainian learning platform alongside normal teaching.
• Provide a laptop or other smart device with a translator app installed, such as Google Translate or Sayhi.
• Ensure that you have put the pupil in the correct set. You should not put them in a bottom set, just because of their English ability.  Instead use the information from the welcome meeting to understand their academic knowledge.
• Ensure your school knows how to reduce the risk of racism and how to report any incidents.

Supporting a pupil’s first few weeks

• Meet the new pupil at reception and explain to their parent’s what time to collect and where to collect them from.
• Introduce the buddy to the new pupil. Explaining to the pupil who they are, what the buddy’s interests are and how they will be looking after them.  It is best to do this in a quiet room away from the main classroom.
• Let the new pupil know who their key worker is and where they can be found in the school. Remind them that they can see this key worker whenever they need to.  Arrange for them to meet with the key worker at the end of the day for the first few days.  This will help sort out any issues.
• Print off a few copies of their timetable and leave either with the key worker or who they will see in the morning – such as their tutor. As a new multilingual pupil, they will have a lot to think about, so keeping their timetable safe might not be a priority.
• Send home login details for homework, behaviour monitoring etc for the parents.
• If you identify any additional needs, please contact the DCC SEND team.
• Understand that there might be a silent period where the pupil is adjusting and absorbing English. You can support pupil’s through this, by using the 10 Key Strategies.
• If you feel that there might be difficulties with their first language you can request a home language assessment through EDEAS. It is important to understand that a Home Language assessment (HLA), is only to look at what strategies can be used to improve the language acquisition and is not to replace the usual SEND support. The HLA is also to help teachers unpack any underlying issues of additional barriers to learning if there are concerns about progress.

Checklist: Preparing for a pupil’s long-term support

• It takes up to 7 years for a multilingual pupil to be ‘fluent’ in English. Your school will need to have a long-term support plan to support your multilingual pupils.
• Ensure that the Proficiency for the pupil is reviewed at least termly.
• Set targets and support based on the Proficiency assessment.
• For academic assessments or in-class learning, you can translate the key texts. Use graphic organisers to help the pupil structure their answers and for text heavy content, you can use comic strips and timelines to support the assessment.
• Allow the pupil to respond and complete work in their first language. Using two languages like this is called
• Plan review meetings with the family. The pupil’s parents will be able to give you insight into their new language acquisition at home.
• Ensure that school letters and reports are accessible to the family. For Translation services email us for a quote: educate.educationbilingualsupport-mailbox@devon.gov.uk.

Further support for schools, pupils, and families

• Bilingual Support Package – Each support package comprises of 12 hours of bilingual support to help the new pupils and their family settle into school in the UK. This bilingual support could include a family meeting and in-class support.
• Webinars – EDEAS are providing fully funded webinars to support schools understand their duty to support Ukrainian pupils, strategies for language acquisition, understanding toxic stress and information about the Ukrainian culture and education system. Please look on the DES shop and on our website for new dates.  We will post a recording of these webinars on our website.