“I was ready to learn, but the doors stayed shut for six months.” – Atiq, 16, a refugee girl in London.  

Imagine arriving in a new country with hope, only to face months of waiting to join a classroom. Thousands of teenage girls like Atiq are left isolated, locked out of school and missing not only vital education but also the stability, friendships, and sense of belonging every child deserves.  

We call on the UK Government to take immediate action to make education accessible for every child. By taking centralised action and funding local authorities to simplify and support school admissions, we can prevent thousands of children and young people from missing out on education in the UK due to overly complex application processes. 

Each year, 81,000 migrant families face barriers to accessing school. Language and digital barriers, and a lack of familiarity with the system, mean many children—especially older girls—wait months, even a year, to start school, impacting their mental health and futures.

We call on the UK Government to: 

- Simplify the school application process, making it accessible, efficient, and fair. 
- Fund local authorities to help families secure their children's education and ensure strong liaison with expert local organisations that are already supporting migrant and refugee families. 

Help us ensure every child in the UK receives the education they deserve. 

This petition has been set up by WONDER Foundation, a registered UK charity, in response to the important work done to support migrant girls into education by our partner, the Baytree Centre, in South London. It builds on our research into the scale of this issue which we did in collaboration with many experts and amazing organisations who are supporting children and their families to ensure that no child in the UK is denied an education. 

Learn more about the campaign, watch the videos or get in touch here.