Refugee Education UK

What Refugee Education UK does

Refugee Education UK (REUK) is a UK-registered charity founded in 2010 (originally as Refugee Support Network, rebranded in 2016) that supports refugee and asylum-seeking children and young people aged 14–25 in accessing, thriving in, and progressing through education. The organisation delivers direct services through its Educational Mentoring Programme — weekly one-to-one support with English, homework, and confidence building, currently operating across six hubs in North, South, East and West London, Oxford, and Birmingham — alongside a Changemakers youth advocacy programme, an Education Professionals Network, an Education Advice Service, and a Research and Policy function. REUK also sells practitioner training, including a free 'Supporting Refugee Students in Schools' webinar and paid modules on access to further education, access to higher education, and City of Sanctuary accreditation, typically priced at £75 per person per module. The business model is a hybrid of charitable donations, individual and corporate fundraising, modest training fees, and grant-funded and commissioned research from partners such as the National Lottery Community Fund, UNICEF UK, The Bell Foundation, the Office for National Statistics, and several UK universities. There is no proprietary technology platform; service delivery is human-led, with digital channels used primarily for communications, bookings, and dissemination of research and policy outputs. REUK is led by Chief Executive Catherine Gladwell and governed as an independent charity (charity number 1132509, company number 06879651) headquartered at International House, 101 King's Cross Road, London.

Name

Refugee Education UK

Legal name

Refugee Education UK

Website

https://reuk.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Refugee Education UK is a UK charity that supports refugee and asylum-seeking young people aged 14–25 through mentoring, practitioner training, youth advocacy, and research, funded by donations, grants, and training fees.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Education Support Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Support Services (6117), Educational Services (611), Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Newcomer & Refugee Student Support Programs (EDAJAGAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Immigrant & Refugee Community Education (Integration/Navigation) (EDAAAFAH), Immigrant & Refugee Workforce Integration Programs (EDAAAOAJ), Refugee & Immigrant Support Services (BPAGAEAI), Refugee, Crisis & Humanitarian Education Partnerships (EiE) (EDADALAG)

Keywords

• Refugee education services
• Educational mentoring programmes
• Practitioner training courses
• Education policy research
• Youth advocacy programmes

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and fundraising: Charitable donations from individual supporters, trust funds, and foundations. Fundraising events include challenges such as cycling Land's End to John O'Groats and ultra-marathons.
2. Training fees: Some training programmes are provided free (Supporting Refugee Students in Schools), while paid training sessions (Access to Further Education, Access to Higher Education, City of Sanctuary modules) are priced at £75 per person per module.
3. Grants and commissioned research: Partnerships with funders such as National Lottery Community Fund for youth advocacy programmes, and commissioned research with organisations including UNICEF UK, The Bell Foundation, and universities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Refugee Education UK provides direct educational support, mentoring, and advice services to young refugees and asylum seekers aged 14-25 in the UK, alongside practitioner training, a membership network for educators, and research and policy advocacy. Core paid offerings centre on training courses (free introductory webinars and £75-per-person modules covering further and higher education access and City of Sanctuary accreditation), while direct youth services are provided free of charge. The charity also conducts commissioned research for funders such as UNICEF UK, The Bell Foundation, and the Office for National Statistics.

Product overview

Refugee Education UK operates as a charitable organization offering a portfolio of interconnected services supporting refugee and asylum-seeking children and young people in UK education. The core offerings include the Educational Mentoring Programme providing weekly one-to-one support in London, Oxford, and Birmingham; the Changemakers youth advocacy programme; and the Education Professionals Network membership. Training programmes cover supporting refugee students in schools, access to further education, access to higher education, and City of Sanctuary accreditation, with both free and £75 per person paid options. The organization also provides an education advice service and produces extensive research and policy publications. Bespoke training is available for organizations with specific needs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Educational Mentoring Programme Weekly one-to-one educational mentoring pairing trained volunteer mentors with young refugees and asylum seekers aged 14-25 for English language support, homework help, exam preparation, and confidence building. Currently operates in North London, South London, East London, West London, Oxford, and West Midlands (Birmingham), with young people referred by teachers, social workers, or key workers.
• Changemakers Programme Youth advocacy and leadership programme for refugee and asylum seeker young people aged 16-25, enabling participants to influence education policy, lead research projects, run advocacy campaigns, co-facilitate training, and develop professional skills across Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and the North of England.
• Education Professionals Network Membership network for educators working with refugee and asylum-seeking learners, providing bi-monthly briefings, monthly online peer support sessions, training opportunities, and practical resources. Open to teachers, tutors, pastoral and inclusion staff, local authority workers, and community organisation staff.
• Supporting Refugee Students in Schools Training Free one-hour training webinar with Q&A for primary and secondary school teachers and college staff, providing an introduction to supporting refugee students, outlining educational implications of displacement experiences, and sharing practical strategies and free resources.
• Access to Further Education Training Two-part training consisting of an asynchronous online module followed by an interactive session, covering further education pathways, funding entitlements, eligibility for different immigration statuses, and guidelines for supporting college enrolment. Priced at £75 per person.
• Access to Higher Education Training Training for practitioners supporting displaced young people pursuing university, covering immigration statuses, barriers to education, higher education entitlements, and concrete support resources with interactive case studies. Currently delivered online at £75 per person.
• City of Sanctuary Training Collaborative training suite with City of Sanctuary for Further Education colleges covering three modules: M1 overview and introduction, M2 planning for positive enrolment, and M3 planning for academic success. Helps colleges fulfil criteria for College of Sanctuary accreditation. Priced at £75 per person per module.
• Bespoke Training Tailored in-house training delivered online or in person to meet organisation-specific needs for supporting refugee and asylum-seeking learners, available by contacting [email protected].
• Education Advice Service Advice service for young people from refugee or asylum-seeking backgrounds, or those supporting them, providing guidance on education pathways. Delivered via an online enquiry form with response from the education advice team. The service does not provide scholarships, financial grants, or legal advice on asylum or immigration matters.
• Research and Policy Publications Extensive portfolio of research publications covering refugee education topics including early childhood education, secondary education, further and higher education access, apprenticeships, international projects in Chad, Uganda, and Zambia, and policy recommendations for UK education system change. Available for download and used to drive change at local, national, and international levels.

Quantifiable outcome

• 111 hours of 1:1 mentoring sessions funded from a single fundraising initiative (£5,548)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Jigsaw EducationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2025Partnership on research project exploring how national, regional, and global approaches to including refugee teachers can be scaled to strengthen their agency and wellbeing in Chad, Uganda, and Zambia. REUK team members travelled to Uganda in December 2025 to deliver training in research methods to refugee teachers participating in the project.
• City of SanctuarycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration to develop a suite of training modules to help Further Education colleges grow in their confidence and expertise to support refugee and asylum-seeking students. Training helps colleges fulfil criteria to receive College of Sanctuary accreditation.
• University of NottinghamcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMultiple research partnerships including ASPIRE (A Sustainable Place for Inclusive Refugee Education) using participatory methodology led by learners with asylum-seeking and refugee backgrounds, and STRIVE (Sustainable Transformative Inclusive Refugee Education) drawing on extensive research of educational policy and provision for refugee learners.
• University of WarwickcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with the English and Comparative Literary Studies Department to develop a research-led access to Higher Education pilot programme for sanctuary seekers in Coventry (Getting AHEAD programme) and to explore the journey to university for refugee and asylum-seeking young people (Finding Their Way research).
• The Bell FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFunded research on access to education for late arrivals - young people aged 13-19 forcibly displaced and arriving in the UK late in the education system. Commissioned in response to increased interest from policy makers and practitioners.
• UNICEF UKcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on multiple research initiatives including early childhood education and care for youngest refugee and asylum-seeking children in England, and education transitions for young refugees and asylum seekers. REUK developed advice sheets designed to help practitioners better support refugee and asylum-seeking young people's education.
• RoutesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on policy brief 'Preventing skilled contributions: how young refugees are locked out of apprenticeships' presenting simple and effective policy recommendations to unlock apprenticeship funding for refugees.
• EdTech HubminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership supported by UK government and World Bank. REUK produced rapid evidence reviews on the use of technology in refugee education, education in emergencies, and girls' education as education decision-makers responded to COVID-19 educational challenges.
• UNHCRminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on Voices of Refugee Youth research study focusing on the impact of post-primary education in emergencies in Pakistan and Rwanda. Linked to UNHCR's efforts to support post-primary education for refugees and host communities.
• Office for National Statistics (ONS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommissioned along with National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) to conduct a study asking displaced young people about their experiences in England - the first of its kind from the ONS. Conducted with seven peer researchers undertaking over 90 interviews.
• Oxfordshire County CouncilminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommissioned research exploring experiences of displaced children and young people in secondary schools in Oxfordshire, providing evidence to inform local intervention.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• IntoUniversity: UK education charity running local education centres that support young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to progress into higher education. Closely comparable operating model (community hubs, mentoring, university access), though serving a broader disadvantaged cohort rather than refugees specifically.
• City of Sanctuary: UK-wide network supporting 'sanctuary' accreditation for local authorities, FE colleges, schools and other organisations. Active existing partner of REUK (co-developed City of Sanctuary training modules) and a clear comparator for the sanctuary-accreditation training niche.
• Article 26: UK charity specifically dedicated to supporting asylum seekers and refugees to access higher education through scholarships, advice and research. Most direct comparator to REUK's higher education access programme and student mentoring.
• Hope for the Young: UK charity providing educational grants, mentoring and family support to young refugees and asylum seekers. Closely matches REUK's 14-25 age focus and mentoring/education support model.

Broad incumbents

• Refugee Action: UK charity providing advice, advocacy and integration support for refugees and asylum seekers. Comparable advocacy and casework orientation, with adjacent education-related programming.
• Migrant Help: UK charity delivering advice, advocacy and support services to migrants, refugees and asylum seekers across the UK. Comparable beneficiary population and frontline service delivery, with overlapping training and capacity-building work.
• British Red Cross: Large UK charity running dedicated refugee support services including education and family reunification programmes. Competes for refugee-focused grant funding and donor attention, though education is one of many service lines.
• Refugee Council: Large UK charity providing advice, advocacy and casework for refugees and asylum seekers across housing, legal, health and education. Overlaps with REUK on refugee education advocacy and policy work, but operates a much broader mandate.

Others

• The Bell Foundation: UK charity focused on language education for excluded communities, including refugees and asylum seekers. Existing funder and research commissioner of REUK; comparable area of practice around ESOL and language barriers in education.
• British Universities International Liaison Association (BUILA): Membership network for UK university staff supporting international and refugee students. Thematically adjacent — comparable to REUK's Education Professionals Network at the higher-education tier and a potential institutional partner/competitor for training contracts.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/RefugeeEducationUK
• Instagraminstagram.com/refugeeeducationuk
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/refugee-education-uk
• Xx.com/RefugeeEdUK

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Refugee Education UK