​
ABOUT US
Making education accessible for all.
Learning By Heart is a campaign with two principal goals: to provide children and adults in the UK with the educational support they need, while in turn helping to widen access to education for young people across the world.
​
We provide online classes in a range of subjects, run by volunteer tutors, in exchange for a pay-as-you-feel donation which we pass on to our partner organisations. Currently, our proceeds are donated to Refugee Education UK.
REUK's incredible work enables young refugees to thrive in education. They support young refugees from across the world in diverse ways, from mentoring to 1:1 wellbeing support, advocacy and research.
​
With our pay-as-you-feel system, we hope to allow as many people to benefit from our service as possible. For further details about how our tutoring works, and to see the subjects on offer, click here.
Photo credit: Refugee Education UK. Used with permission
ABOUT OUR FOUNDER
'Naomi worked at our school in Buenos Aires, teaching English to both children and adults. All of them benefitted from her fantastic drive and wonderful ways of connecting and teaching.
Naomi is an excellent teacher, she is responsible, caring and hard-working, with strong will, great initiative and empathy.' - Silvia Vidas, Headmistress at Fullknowledge Language School, Buenos Aires.
REFUGEE EDUCATION UK
Our proceeds go to Refugee Education UK. Keep reading for details of the amazing work that they do!
MUNIR'S STORY
Munir's participation in REUK'S Educational Wellbeing program began in August 2022. He came with two goals, to better understand what was happening with his asylum application process and join a football team. Working together with him, they identified specific barriers to meeting these goals. Given the language barrier, the support worker made sure that all conversations in person and online were in Munir's first language so that he could fully understand and participate in the wellbeing sessions. Another barrier faced by Munir was the challenge of contacting his solicitor to address his questions regarding his asylum application.
In order to overcome this obstacle, REUK devised an action plan. Firstly, they aimed to confirm the identity of Munir's solicitor, and once established, planned to contact the solicitor directly. By reaching out to the solicitor, they intended to ascertain the current status of Munir's asylum application within the asylum process. It is important to highlight that Munir did not have any documentation available at the time. In order to gather more information about his background, the support worker sought guidance from a care solicitor. The care solicitor advised them to submit a subject access request to the Home Office. However, Munir provided two different dates of birth and did not disclose his full name initially. This discrepancy and lack of complete information caused a delay in the overall process. Following the three hour interview, the support worker checked in with Munir to see how he was feeling. Munir stated that he felt positive about how he had answered the questions and felt that the interviewer had really listened to what he was saying. Munir will now wait to hear from his solicitor on the outcome.
While REUK were addressing his asylum application process, the charity also explored opportunities for him to join a football team. Munir grew up playing football and he shared that playing is a way to "get away from his hotel". While the support worker identified some opportunities for joining local football leagues, Munir took the initiative and identified a football team that he would like to join, despite initial reluctance and limited English. He attended a few training sessions and has aspirations to join a more competitive league with more consistent matches.
​
Refugee Education UK (REUK) is a national charity which equips over 700 young refugees and asylum seekers in the UK to build positive futures by thriving in education. For each one of these young people, REUK offers advice and guidance in overcoming the multiple barriers to accessing education; supports their achievement of significant and often life-changing educational outcomes; and helps them use their education to create meaningful futures in leadership and employment. They support young refugees directly by matching them with volunteer educational mentors, by providing guidance and support in accessing and progressing in education, by delivering 1:1 intensive wellbeing support for those with acute mental health and wellbeing needs, and by running orientation and leadership courses which welcome, embolden and empower future refugee leaders. REUK also has an extensive training programme which upskills practitioners and professionals, as well as a sector-leading research team which explores the subject of refugee education in the UK and internationally.
​
Photo credit: Refugee Education UK. Used with permission