JANUARY 2018

p Refugee children are getting the chance to learn thanks to the school bus project (Photos: Co-operative Party)
FRANCE
Co-operative Schools Network supports Calais refugee bus classroom
A yellow bus sponsored by the
Co-operative Schools Network has become
a pop-up school for refugee children in
Calais, France.
The initiative is based on the idea of
sharing learning expertise and has been
funded through a crowdfunding campaign
launched by the Co-op Schools Network.
Around 70 refugee children, from
countries including from Eritrea, Ethiopia,
Afghanistan and Libya, meet inside the
bus twice a day where they take part in
discussions, music sessions and other
learning activities.
They receive support with improving
their English and touch upon themes like
identity, health and well-being, art and
place. The bus provides a shelter where
they can play games and cards and study
while staying warm. The youngest student
is aged 10 and comes from Afghanistan.
Upstairs on the bus are three
compartments: the main teaching area
supports around 20 students improving
their English through themes such as
Identity, Health and Well-being, Art and
Place. A middle area is for games and cards,
with banter and chatter shaping maths,
language and problem solving experience.
At the front is a quiet study room for four
people, dedicated to those who need a
retreat, a place for counselling or personal
reflection.
The bus also has onboard solar power, so
the pupils to recharge their mobile phones
to help them stay in touch with home.
The refugee camp known as the Calais
Jungle was demolished nine months ago
leaving many refugee children without
shelters. It is estimated that over 200 child
refugees are living rough in Calais, where
they have no sanitation or clean water.
The project, which is run on cooperative
lines, is led by a team of unpaid
volunteers, including some of the refugees
themselves. The driver and two lead
educators are joined on the sceheme by
volunteers from other projects including
Help Refugees, Refugee Youth Service and
Refugee InfoBus.
The School Bus Project was set up in
2015 to support refugee education, in
response to the crisis in France. Between
2015 and 2016 the team developed
lesson plans, training and mobile school
resources. In addition to the Big Yellow
Bus, they also run a red minibus with
17 seats.
Now a registered UK charity, the
School Bus Project has run refugee
education projects in Calais as well as
other countries. Over the past 12 months
the team has funded four months of
primary maths teaching in Northern
Greece camps, provided transport for Kent
Refugee Action Network field visits and
curriculum enrichment and supported a
UK based refugee catering employment
training project.
“The gist of this is that we know
we cannot always deliver a heroically
personal response to the massive issues
of refugee needs, but we believe we can
make a difference by empowering and
supporting others,” wrote Jon O’Conner,
UK project lead at the School Bus Project
in a blog post.
He added: “If you want to join us,
support us, advise us or encourage us - do
get in touch.”
The Co-operative Schools network says
the project draws on the values whcih
inform thousands of co-operative schools
around the world.
The schools share a commitment to
local accountability and to achieving
the highest possible standards and best
learning outcomes for their pupils, by
working with their communities and with
each other.
16 | JANUARY 2018