Supporting children and young people affected by protests

In recent weeks we have seen a number of protests and counter protests about immigration, including demonstrations outside hotels housing asylum seekers. 

Many professionals working with children and young people have expressed their concern about how this might be affecting children and their colleagues. 

Whether you are situated near one of the hotels or not, it is vital to take proactive steps to support pupils, staff, and families, and to uphold our statutory duties under KCSIE 2025, the RSHE statutory guidance, and the Equality Act 2010. 

Norfolk County Council and Norfolk's schools share one simple goal: to build safer, kinder, and more supportive school communities where all children can flourish. 

Schools and educational settings play a vital role in: 

• Fostering empathy, understanding, and compassion; 
• Ensuring all children and families feel welcomed and supported; 
• Countering misinformation through their work to promote online safety. 

By embedding inclusive values, strengthening safeguarding practices, and engaging with trusted local and national resources, schools can foster resilience and unity.  There is a wealth of support to help Norfolk schools respond to the emotional, social, and safeguarding needs of their communities. 

A key focus for educational settings should be to foster a sense of belonging and inclusion which is embedded into your school ethos.  

Children in temporary accommodation 

Children living in temporary accommodation may feel unsettled by the current situation. Education settings will want to ensure that they are aware of children who are affected by this and provide additional support where needed. Any setting that has children on roll who are open to the People From Abroad Team (PFAT) should talk to that child's allocated worker to bring any worries or concerns to the worker's attention so that the worker can offer support in partnership with the setting. 

You will find further information and teaching resources on the EPSS website: Supporting Children during times of conflict - Educational Psychology & Specialist Support. 

Norfolk County Council has also developed a Padlet for schools and settings needing a deeper dive into preventing and responding to prejudice-based incidents, taking a whole school and trauma informed approach. 

This is part of our Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging offer, which takes a whole school approach to inclusion and safeguarding. It includes Toolkits, Padlets and the option of a bespoke support surgery from an Inclusion Adviser. If, after exploring the links above, you require support around the reporting process, managing prejudice-based incidents or wider Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging from an adviser or have additional queries, please call 0333 313 7165, weekdays, from 9am to 5pm.  

Prevention Strategies 

A. Personal development 

• Schools of Sanctuary: A whole school approach to promoting empathy, welcome, and understanding of migration. Read our One Minute Guide to find out more and to access resources. 
• RSHE & British Values: Embed lessons on respect, diversity, critical thinking, allyship and asking for help. 

Sign up for Pol-Ed: A PSHE resource, funded for Norfolk schools and educational settings. 

City of Sanctuary UK has produced some guidance for talking about protests at hotels housing asylum seekers 

• Circle time / tutor time: Address unrest calmly, reinforce school values, and dispel misinformation.  This Newsround video may help. 

The PSHE Association has produced guidance for creating safe classrooms which outlines key steps and best practice principles. 

B. Safeguarding and wellbeing 

• Just One Norfolk: Norfolk & Waveney - Mental Health Advice and Support for 0-25's 
• Staff wellbeing: Anna Freud offers practical guidance about what  staff and senior leaders can do to support their own and their colleagues' wellbeing. 
• Education Support helpline - free and confidential emotional support for teachers and education staff 
• Staff CPD: This BBC video might help staff understand the context to this unrest. 

Your annual safeguarding training should enable staff to spot signs of distress, radicalisation, or misinformation.  Ensure your Pastoral teams access and share EPSS Guidance for supporting pupils affected by conflict or displacement. 

Ensure that SLT are aware of the guidance contained in EDIB Padlet - Responding to, reporting and recording Prejudice-Based Incidents 

• If you are concerned a child or young person is at risk of radicalisation, please refer to the referral and guidance support available via this link: Report a concern | Norfolk PCC 

C. Community engagement 

• Family communication: Remind parents / carers where you share curriculum overviews and resources to support conversations at home and reduce the impact of unhelpful misinformation. 
• Stop Hate in Norfolk (SHiN) Protocol: Promote third-party reporting and hate incident awareness. Staff can access free e-learning via Norfolk Constabulary. 

D. Site safety and graffiti prevention 

• Monitor and remove graffiti promptly. 
• Promote pupil-led initiatives to foster pride and ownership of school spaces. 

Response strategies  

A. Incident management 

• Activate safeguarding and critical incident response procedures if unrest affects school operations. 
• Ensure prejudice-based incidents are recorded internally and reported on our annual reporting system. 
• Report hate incidents to Norfolk Constabulary via Stop Hate in Norfolk. 
• It is possible that community tensions might first start to appear in community settings. It is important to act on this to help us collectively respond early to prevent themescalating. Community tension relates to any event that may impact communities and lead to crime and disorder. It can cause tension between or within communities or when communities don't trust the institutions they rely on.   It could be posters, flyers, graffiti or details of public events, elections, rise in hate crime, disputes between communities anything that has the potential to cause divisions in communities and make people feel unsafe.  
•  You can email any concerns to [email protected] If someone is in immediate danger, call 999, or if a crime has been committed but no immediate danger is present call 101. You can also report online at www.norfolk.police.uk by clicking the report button.

B. Communication 

• Use clear, calm messaging with pupils, staff, and families. 
• Monitor social media and respond to misinformation with factual resources. 

C. Restorative and educational responses 

• Use restorative approaches for pupils involved in protest-related behaviour. 
• Facilitate safe spaces for dialogue and reflection. 

Monitoring and review 

• Review school climate, pupil voice, and incident logs regularly. 
• Evaluate the impact of curriculum and pastoral interventions. 
• Update policies in line with evolving local and national guidance. 

Community tensions (see guidance above) 

Quick guide to resources and contacts 

What if I am a Norfolk school needing additional support in this area? 

Join our Flourishing in Education Network. Its aim is for Norfolk based educators to network, focusing on RSHE (relationships, sex and health education), EDIB (equality, diversity, inclusion and belonging) and MHEWB (mental health and emotional wellbeing).  

If, after exploring the links above, you require support around responding to the protests, managing prejudice-based incidents or wider Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging from an adviser, or have additional queries, please call 0333 313 7165. This phone line is open on weekdays, from 9am to 5pm.