Policy can’t feel, people can: Belonging and safety in refugee education in England

A headteacher driving refugee children to school in her own car is not a policy requirement; it is empathy. This paper explores how Afghan refugee children and their caregivers experience safety and belonging across their educational journey in England, from school placement to classroom life. Using narrative interviews, child-led storytelling and creative visual methods with six families, we examine how inclusion is experienced, disrupted and negotiated. Our findings show that safety and belonging are not guaranteed by enrolment or policy compliance alone but arise through everyday acts of relational care, including recognition, listening and empathy. Where families were heard and children were known, engagement and confidence grew. Where systemic silences or cultural misrecognition persisted, children withdrew. We argue that meaningful inclusion must go beyond procedural access towards relational readiness. Belonging is not a policy output; it is a lived experience shaped through care, trust and connection.