The superpower was kindness and supportive… They supported me like I was their sister or brother.
Nikol
Ukrainian student in England
Kindness is a Superpower: Our Resources this Refugee Week
To mark Refugee Week 2025, we have prepared a variety of resources to highlight the importance of this year’s theme “Community as a Superpower”.
At The Bell Foundation we believe multilingual children and adults are assets to society and their contribution to their communities is invaluable.
The stories below are testament to the key role school and colleges play in integrating and welcoming refugees. We hope they inspire you to continue building inclusive communities.
In celebration of Refugee Week 2025, we hosted a powerful and inspiring webinar exploring how schools are harnessing the power of community to support refugee and asylum-seeking learners.
“Community as a Superpower”: A celebration of how schools are working with refugee families features real stories and practical approaches from schools that are building inclusive, welcoming environments for newly-arrived families.
Here are a few highlights from the conversation:
Video blog: Voices of young refugees in the UK
In this short video blog, we hear from Ukrainian refugee children aged 6-17 who arrived in England in 2022. They speak about what it was like to start school in a new country – the challenges they faced, the people who supported them, and their hopes for the future.
From school librarians and teachers who adapted lessons and used subtitles, to classmates who became friends and helped with learning the language, these stories shine a light on the many ways in which communities help children and young people to feel settled.
Even when you know basic English, you should start speaking with other people to make a connection with them and progress in English.
Artem
Ukrainian student in England
Thank you to all the children and families who shared their stories with us, to Cambridge Ukrainian School Namysto for making this project possible and warmly welcoming our team to speak with young Ukrainian refugees, and to Cambridge City Council for their support in helping bring this project to life.
Celebrating excellence in ESOL provision: The Bell Foundation Beacon Award
As part of our Refugee Week 2025 celebrations, we are proud to showcase the outstanding work of further education providers working with those learning English as a second or additional language.
Through our partnership with the Association of Colleges’ Beacon Awards, the Bell Foundation Award for Excellence in ESOL 2024/25 recognised innovative and impactful approaches that are supporting English language development, inclusion, and both academic and personal success for learners from refugee and migrant backgrounds.
"As the sponsor-assessor for the Excellence in ESOL award, I count myself extremely lucky to have met truly inspirational learners and passionate staff and leaders giving their all to make a difference to their students’ lives and heard their touching and life-changing success stories up and down the country."
Silvana Richardson, Strategic Education Advisor
Winner: Bradford College
“Shakespeare transforms students’ lives and gives them confidence”
Bradford College was the winner of the award due to its ESOL programme, which has been developed with the Royal Shakespeare Company. The college uses Shakespeare’s works to enrich language learning. This long-standing initiative has helped over 230 learners build language skills, confidence, and a sense of belonging.
Read the blog
Finalist: New College Durham
"Sport provides an outlet and an opportunity to do something completely different”
Recognised for its innovative approach to ESOL provision, New College Durham has made a significant impact on asylum seeking students through sport opportunities that have increased their confidence, English skills, and social integration into the local community.
Read the blog
Finalist: Nottingham College
“Our ESOL learners want to be in work”
Nottingham College impressed judges with its learner-centred approach and commitment to creating a welcoming, empowering environment for ESOL students from refugee and migrant backgrounds.
Read the blog
The Émigrée
This resource supports KS 3-4 multilingual learners who are new to English as they read, comprehend and analyse the poem, The Émigrée. Part 1 includes activities that build concepts before reading and Part 2 includes activities that support comprehension and analysis during reading.
Download the resource
The Journey by Francesca Sanna
This resource is based on the beautiful story “The Journey” by Francesca Sanna. The collaborative and interactive activities in this KS2 EAL resource provide an opportunity to develop and use vocabulary and modelled language structures associated with the story.
Download the resource
The Boy at the Back of the Class
This resource for English in KS2 supports learners using EAL to develop their reading fluency, to strengthen their oral skills and to learn the key vocabulary of literature study.
Download the resource