Welcome to Scotland packs
Internal practice
Duration
ongoing
Reason it was developed
The packs were created to help ease the often challenging transition to a new country for refugee and migrant young people arriving in Scotland and to welcome young people from migrant and refugee families into Scottish schools.
Activities
The Welcome Packs are cspecific to three age ranges (P1-P4, P5-S3 and S4-S6), and are designed to inform young people and their parents of their rights as pupils/students in Scottish education and to convey a positive, welcoming message to the young people about Scotland as their new home. The Welcome Pack Resources are available in Arabic, Dari, English, French, Pashto, Polish, Russian and Ukrainian. The accompanying Parents' Book is also available as audio versions in the above languages.
Results
The booklets included in the packs aim to give newly arrived young people and their families information about school education in Scotland, as well as background about Scotland itself by way of introduction to the country. Every year, the EIS print and distribute hundreds of Welcome Packs across Scotland, according to information provided by Local Authorities about expected numbers of each version required. In 2022, the EIS created a film that shows the journey of the EIS Welcome Packs and describe some of the impact the packs have had.