Webinar | Cultural considerations to support children from migrant and refugee backgrounds

This paper provides an overview of some important considerations in relation to ‘culturally competent’, ‘culturally curious’ and child-focused practices when engaging with children and parents from refugee and migrant communities. It will invite you to reflect upon your current practice with children and families from migrant and refugee communities, and will also provide observations from practitioners about the successes, challenges and lessons they have experienced through adopting a culturally curious stance.

This resource focuses on how to look after your own wellbeing as a practitioner or worker when supporting children and families after a disaster.

This resource demonstrates the importance of encouraging play and creative expression to help children unpack, explore and process difficult experiences like disaster. Creative expression is encouraged as a way for children to communicate about complex emotions and feelings, especially when they might be difficult to articulate verbally

In addition to the support of extended family, friends and the learning community, responses from governments and specialist mental health services plus digital resources are important to the successful recovery of children and families after a disaster.

Re-establishing routines and setting boundaries and expectations are important for restoring children's sense of stability and safety after a disaster, especially when they have to spend time away from their parents or home.

This resource explains the importance of connection, emotional literacy and environment in helping children feel safe, and how regulation can be achieved through the body using sensory- and movement-based exercises, along with fun, relaxing and mindfulness activities.

Following a disaster it's common for children to experience increased separation anxiety. This resources explores how parents can help children to develop safe relationships with other caring adults.

This resource offers strategies to support children in making sense of their experiences and process their feelings to help reduce distress, and prevent trauma and mental health difficulties.

This paper provides practice guidance for addressing the immediate and long-term impacts of disasters on infant and child mental health using multifaceted approaches that promote resilience and mental health recovery.

This resource focuses on how practitioners can support children after disasters. It identifies strategies for engaging with parents and using a holistic approach that recognises and tailors support to each family’s unique needs, to enhance the wellbeing, resilience and recovery of infants and children who experience disasters.