One of the most important factors influencing children's capacity to deal with past trauma, and the stresses involved in resettling in a new country, is the quality of the support available to them in the early months and years following their arrival in a safe country.
While teaching professionals clearly cannot erase the impact of trauma and disruption, they can play an important role in fostering the conditions to promote children's successful adaptation and resilience. The Rainbow program includes three integrated components: The core children's component - recognising the importance of children's own understanding of the settlement process. This is a seven-session structured group program for children, designed for delivery either as part of a small group format or as part of a classroom program A three-session component for parents, which seeks to establish their links with the school, provide an opportunity for them to learn about their children's settlement experience, and share any concerns they might have about their children's settlement A program briefing and professional development component, the aim of which is to enhance a teacher's capacity to provide a supportive environment for refugee children and their families.
The children's component is aimed at children aged years, recognising that older primary aged children are likely to have experienced accumulated disadvantage associated with prolonged disruption to schooling. Children in this age group also face a number of potentially stressful transitions in a relatively short period of time, including school commencement in Australia, the transition from an English language facility to a mainstream school and, at the age of twelve, transition to secondary school.
The children's component aims to make a positive contribution to children's settlement in Australia by: supporting them to integrate past experiences acknowledging the challenge of settlement by exploring the losses and gains in moving to a new country and culture promoting a positive experience of the present building self-esteem exploring emotions and ways of dealing of with feelings fostering trust and a sense of belonging building connections with their peers enabling the expression of hopes and dreams for the future and supporting children to develop a positive sense of their future in Australia.
In the sessions, the program uses a number of interactive exercises to explore the losses and gains of coming to a new country. These sessions seek to build children's self-esteem by affirming the value of their culture of origin and assisting them to appreciate the special nature of the experience of living in two cultures. By providing children the opportunity to share their journeys, the group seeks to acknowledge and share the refugee and settlement experience and reduce isolation.
While the group does not focus on the trauma itself, it does aim to provide a safe environment in which children can discuss past experiences, if they wish, and at a level at which they feel comfortable. Conducting the program at school allows for safety, and communicates to children that they matter, their culture is valued, and the environment is a caring one.
This can remain with the child for many years, even after they've arrived in a safe country. As a result the child continues to be afraid of going to sleep at night, because that is when people disappear. To build on the work of the Rainbow Program and to develop a more comprehensive and integrated school-based approach involving parents, teachers and the wider school community, Foundation House received funding from the Department of Family and Community Services for its Strengthening Supportive Families and School Community for Refugee Children project.
All of these initiatives will be developed with the aim of making the project sustainable in the participating schools and extending its application to other relevant Victorian school communities. The Rainbow program is currently being documented as an instructional guide, with funds from the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation "The schools involved have been very welcoming and supportive of the project.
Teachers have said they were quite astonished by the way children taking part in the Rainbow Program began to 'flower'. They can see the changes and positive impact it has had on them.
Working within a school environment necessitates close cooperation between the school management, regular teaching staff and the project workers. The Rainbow Welcome Initiative is committed to ensuring the successful integration of LGBT refugees and asylees as they establish new lives in this country and pursue new possibilities.
Browse Our. MORE ». Heartland Alliance developed this field manual with the generous support of the Administration for Children and Families, Office of Refugee Resettlement.
0コメント