Education pathways for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children
A two-year study exploring how young people who arrive in England seeking asylum without parents or carers move through education after age 16, including their routes into higher education and further education at Level 3 and above.
Project summary
| Project dates | January 2026 - December 2027 |
|---|---|
| Funding awarded | £379,393 |
| Sponsor | Nuffield Foundation |
This project explores the post-16 educational pathways of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASCs) and former UASCs aged up to 23 in England, with a particular focus on access to higher education and further education at Level 3 and above.
Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children arrive in the UK without parents or adult carers and claim asylum. Many have strong educational histories and high aspirations, but their opportunities can be limited by disrupted schooling, English language needs, trauma, uncertainty around immigration status, housing instability and limited family support.
The study will build a national picture of participation, while also exploring the lived experiences, aspirations and decision-making of UASCs and former UASCs over time. It will use mixed methods, combining national administrative data analysis with longitudinal interviews with 45 young people across three English regions and research with practitioners who support UASCs into further and higher education.
The project takes an interdisciplinary approach, drawing on expertise in education, geography, psychology, migration studies and sociology. It is designed to inform policy and practice for national government, local authorities, Virtual Schools, colleges, universities, and third-sector organisations working with refugees, asylum-seeking young people and care-experienced learners.
Research questions
- How many UASCs have accessed Higher Education or higher-level Further Education and what is their demographic profile compared to (a) UASCs in general, and (b) other care-experienced young people?
- How can their Higher Education participation be characterised by type of institution attended, subject studied, graduation rate, and degree classification?
- How can their higher-level Further Education participation be characterised by the subject and level of course undertaken and completion rate?
- What are the educational aspirations and experiences of UASCs post-arrival and how do these change over time?
- What are the constraints and enablements experienced by UASCs considering higher education and how do these shape the options available to them?
- How do UASCs conceptualise higher education within the broader sweep of their past and future lives?
- What challenges exist for practitioners working to support educational pathways for UASCs and how might they be mitigated?
Methods
The research will use a mixed-methods design across four main strands:
- National administrative data analysis to assess UASC participation rates, course choices and outcomes in higher education.
- Longitudinal interviews with 45 UASCs and former UASCs aged up to 23 across the South West, London and North East England, using arts-based approaches including the Tree of Life method where appropriate.
- Survey and interview research with Virtual School practitioners and other senior local authority staff involved in supporting UASCs into further and higher education.
- Analysis of linked administrative datasets to map UASCs’ engagement with further education, including course levels, subjects and participation patterns.
| Name | Institution | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Professor Neil Harrison | University of Exeter | Project lead |
| Dr Rebecca Georgis | University of Exeter | Co-investigator |
| Professor Nick Gill | University of Exeter | Co-investigator |
| Professor Peter Hopkins | Newcastle University | Co-investigator |
| Sarah Hartigan | Refugee Education UK | Co-investigator |
| Dr Mir Abdullah Miri | University of Exeter | Postdoctoral Research Associate |
Outputs
Contact
For further information about the project, please contact Professor Neil Harrison, University of Exeter at N.Harrison2@exeter.ac.uk
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