Who we are
The Education Access Team offer a service to families who are new to the Bradford district who may need additional support to secure initial access to education. Alongside supporting the family to secure initial access to education, we offer support, advice
and signposting based on the family’s wider support needs. We have a team of 3 Senior Education Access Officers and 7 Education Access Officer ‘s dedicated to offering support to families which may be through ad hoc support, advice and signposting or case
work. Some of our staff have additional languages including Slovak, Polish and Czech but we can access almost any language through our partner, Enable2.
Meet the team
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Amy Shields Anita Mistry Sarah Dunn Ransome Oginni Emma Wilkinson Eleanor Marsden-Ivaniak
Team Manager Senior EAO Senior EAO Senior EAO Referral Officer Business Support Officer
Catherine Holden Nazreen Saleem Marie Woodhall Magdalena Chirkowska Richard Fox
Business Support Officer EAO EAO EAO EAO
Nicola Wolstenholme Mohammed Rahman Elaine Walsh
EAO EAO EAO
Starting school age
Most children start reception full-time in September after their fourth birthday. For example, if your child turns 4 in June, they’ll usually start school in September that same year.
Your child must start full-time education once they reach compulsory school age. This is on 31 December, 31 March or 31 August following their fifth birthday - whichever comes first. If your child’s fifth birthday is on one of those dates then they reach
compulsory school age on that date.
All children, regardless of their circumstances, are entitled to an efficient, full time education which is suitable to their age, ability, aptitude and any special educational needs they may have.
Children missing education are at significant risk of underachieving, being victims of harm, exploitation or radicalisation, and becoming NEET (not in education, employment or training) later in life.
What we do
If you are a family that is new to Bradford and requires support to secure initial access to education for your children, please contact us on 01274 439393 or education.access@bradford.gov.uk
Alternatively you can attend our drop-in which runs on a Tuesday from 9:00-12:00 or a Thursday from 13:00-16:00 at Britannia House, BD1 1HX.
This drop-in is only for families of pupils who are not on roll at a school. For families of pupils who are on roll of a school and need support in transferring schools, please contact the school in which your child is registered. In-year
transfers should be discussed with the current school. Information about in-year transfers can be found here.
If you are a professional working with a family new to Bradford who require support to secure initial access to education for their children, please visit the Bradford
School Admissions webpage and support the family to apply using the relevant application form.
For queries in relation to existing applications, please contact Bradford School Admissions.
For families who do not have other professional support, please complete the Education Access Team referral form along with consent and
submit securely to education.access@bradford.gov.uk
Interpreting and translation
Where an interpreter is required to support communication, schools and other professionals within Bradford MDC can book interpreters through Enable2 and translation through Supreme
Linguistics.
The Education Access Team will only fund the provision of an interpreter to attend the initial admission meetings for children who are new to the country and require an interpreter. Please contact us or speak to the allocated Education Access Officer for
further information.
Free School Meals (FSM)
The Education Access Team only support with FSM enquiries for Asylum Seekers. If you have any other queries relating to FSM, please contact 01274 432772.
Asylum Seeker pupils are eligible for free school meals if they are claiming asylum under part 6 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.
The responsibility for checking the evidence of Asylum Seeker applicants for free school meals rests with the individual school, information about what evidence to seek from the family to prove their status is included in the
'Information for schools' document.
The evidence should be sent to the Education Access team to ratify and confirm eligibility. Schools should update this on their systems to ensure the child receives free school meals as they will not show on the usual Bradford Schools Online list.
Schools should continue to provide free school meals to these children for as long as they remain an Asylum Seeker. Schools should seek regular updates from families about their status because if their status changes, their free school meal eligibility may
change. For example, families who are granted refugee status may need to reapply through the usual free school meal application online.
Refugees and asylum seekers
Refugee and asylum seeker children have the same entitlement to education as other children in the UK however they can often find it harder to access education due a number of barriers which may include language, past experience and trauma. The Education
Access Team aim to support refugee and asylum seekers into education through practical support and advice. The Access Team is also on hand to provide advice and support to schools who have refugee and asylum seeker children on roll. Please see our 'Information
for schools' document, link above.
Funding
Children who arrive on the UKRS scheme are eligible for funding which is allocated to the education establishment in which they attend upon enrolment. HfU, ACRS and ARAP funding is no longer available. Education establishments should contact the Education
Access Team who are responsible for the allocation of the funding to education establishments for eligible pupils. Education establishments will need to provide the full name of the child, date of birth, which scheme they have arrived on and proof of status
such as a letter from the Home Office.
Schools of Sanctuary
What is a School of Sanctuary?
The School of Sanctuary award is available to all school in the Bradford district. The award recognises and rewards good practice. Schools need to:
- Learn about what it means to be seeking sanctuary and about the lives of asylum seekers and refugees in the UK.
- Embed this knowledge and understanding in the curriculum and the daily life of the school.
- Share this new knowledge with the school’s wider community.
If you’d like to become a School or College of Sanctuary, please email schools@bradford.cityofsanctuary.org and take a look at their
website.
You can sign up to receive Bradford Schools and Colleges of Sanctuary newsletters via Mailchimp
here.
Welcoming new pupils who arrive on a Refugee Resettlement Programme
A guide has been created to support schools in Bradford to welcome new pupils who are part of a Refugee Resettlement Programme.
The purpose of this document is threefold:
1. To provide schools with an overview of the programme, including how refugees are resettled and the processes and organisations involved.
2. To inform schools about the funding available to support pupils on this programme and how to access it.
3. To share good practice on welcoming new pupils to school and provide contact details of local support available.
Please click the link Working with Refugees: A guide for Bradford
Schools 2022/23 to access the guide.
'An introduction to working with Refugees and Asylum Seekers in schools’ training is now available free of charge for schools. For more information and to book, please visit An Introduction
to working with Refugees and Asylum Seeking children in School | Skills 4 Bradford.
Solace for resettlement families
Solace provide free therapeutic support for children, their family, and their place of education.
This support is available for refugee families who have arrived as part of the UNHCR Resettlement programmes (including the Vulnerable Persons, Vulnerable Children’s and the UK Resettlement Programme) with children, aged from 0 to 19, regardless of the severity
of their symptoms (no lower limit).
Leaflet for parents
Leaflet for parents in Arabic
School leaflet
School poster
Brian Nilsson • brian@solace-uk.org.uk
www.solace-uk.org.uk
07899 304 905
Gypsy, Traveller, Roma, Showmen and Boaters (GTRSB)
In Bradford there has been long standing support for GTRSB pupils; it has primarily focussed on initial access to education rather than maintaining engagement. Over the last few years, with the help of the DLUCH funded project in 2021, we have started to
change the approach to engagement. Upon completion of the intensive, direct work of the project, a training package was developed, specifically aimed at supporting and developing the inclusion of GTRSB families & children in to the school community.
That training package is now available to download HERE.
(note: large file so download may take some time)
Please give feedback on the training via https://smartpolls.co.uk/p/34503 - any written feedback can be sent to education.access@bradfod.gov.uk
If you have any questions regarding the training package, please email
education.access@bradford.gov.uk
in the first instance.
Gypsy, Traveller, Roma, Showmen and Boater Schools Pledge
The GTRSB Schools Pledge has been adapted from Buckinghamshire New University’s GTRSB into Higher Education Pledge. The school Pledge has been developed with additional consultation from schools, NGOs working with GRTSB families and GTRSB community members.
The core commitments in the schools’ Pledge have been adapted with kind permission from the Anti Bullying Alliance’s Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities’ schools
audit and action planning toolkit. The GTRSB Schools’ Pledge consists of a firm commitment by your school to undertake certain steps to support access, retention, and outcomes in education for GTRSB pupils.
Find out more information
here.
Leeds Gypsy and Traveller Exchange (GATE)
Leeds Gypsy & Traveller Exchange, known more commonly as Leeds GATE, is a vibrant and brave grassroots organisation led by Gypsy and Traveller people in partnership with others in and across West Yorkshire.
To mark Gypsy, Roma and Traveller History Month in June, Leeds GATE launched a refreshed version of their school resource pack. These resources are avilable to use all year round to raise awareness and educate students and staff. Please find the website
link below with the primary schools pack and lots of other really helpful resources made for 2025.
To access the resources, follow the link and fill in a contact form - the download link appears on the page once the form is filled in. This is not to then send marketing or comms spam to emails, it's so Leeds GATE can log how far the pack has reached and
how many schools and pupils it's potentially impacted.
https://www.leedsgate.co.uk/gypsy-roma-traveller-history-month
Education Access Team contact details
Telephone: 01274 439393
Email: education.access@bradford.gov.uk