ABSTRACT
The global COVID-19 pandemic has changed ‘normality’ and everyday life including education, which has altered dramatically for an estimated 1.2 billion children forced out of the classroom globally. The measures taken by national governments all over Europe to contain the pandemic have particularly affected vulnerable groups such as migrant children. In all the countries under study, governments decided in mid-March 2020 to close schools for pupils of all ages, and in the UK, only a handful of children of key workers, special needs and vulnerable children have continued to attend classes on a daily basis. The majority of pupils have had to rely on tele-schooling, which has not only proven challenging for pupils, teachers and parents alike but has also highlighted and amplified existing inequalities within British society. Based on interviews with children from a public secondary school in Manchester, this chapter intends to critically evaluate the consequences of the school lockdown and the switch to online learning using a child-centred approach. Furthermore, it proposes new ways of stimulating the sustainable integration of migrant pupils in future from their perspective. The chapter presents the challenges faced by children during the lockdown and outlines solutions to and recommendations for establishing a systematic and holistic inclusion policy for migrant pupils going forward.
