Find out how to answer questions about your plans regarding the family’s arrival
3.1a Who will meet and greet the resettled family at the airport? (50 words)
You don’t need to name who will be at the airport, but the Home Office will be looking to ensure that you are a small enough group to not be overwhelming, and that you will have an interpreter with you. You may decide to not choose which group members will head to the airport until you know more about the family you will welcome.
3.1b. How will you manage the arrival, ensuring that the resettled family’s dignity and privacy is maintained? (100 words)
Think through how the family you are greeting will be feeling, as they are likely to have been travelling for 24 hours+, perhaps on a plane for the first time. So, decide in advance your approach to taking photographs.
It’s also time to think through how you will greet the family, and a great way to get creative with signs! But first, think through what these will say; our arrival resources will give you some ideas, and we strongly recommend that you do not identify the arriving family as refugees on signage – not everyone at an airport will be as welcoming as you, and the family may not wish to be identified as such.
3.1c Please confirm that you will not: Share the details of the address of the family’s home publicly, take photos without consent and use any materials that publicly identify the family as refugees.
This is a simple tick box, so you don’t need to elaborate on this; the question is included to remind Groups of the importance of confidentiality and the need to get the refugee family’s consent before taking photos or doing any publicity.
3.1d. What arrangements will you make to transport the resettled family and their belongings from the airport to their new home? (100 words)
Put yourselves in the place of the refugees who will be arriving. You’ve been through a terrible, possibly traumatic experience, and you arrive in a new country where you probably don’t speak the language, to be greeted by people you do not know and all you own is in the bags you bring with you. It’s unlikely that you will feel comfortable being separated from your luggage, isn’t it? Make sure that the refugees you support are given the opportunity to travel in the same vehicle as their luggage, if possible. Think through the things you may need in the vehicle too – baby seats? booster seats and lap belts for young children? What other things might you need? Perhaps water and light refreshments may be welcome, and wet wipes and sick bags may be needed. More on this journey is available on our arrival day resources.
3.1e. What plans will you make for the resettled family’s arrival at the property, for example, how will you ensure that they are able to look after themselves, including having access to a pack of groceries and being able to contact emergency services? (250 words)
It will have been a long day for the family, and they will need to spend time getting to know their new accommodation as well as your Group. However, there is only so much information anyone will be able to take in at this stage so a welcome pack for the family is essential. This may be a physical welcome pack, or a series of videos; this is something you can determine once you know whether the family you support are literate in their own language. Our advice for what you place in your written welcome pack is available in our toolkit.
You’ll also need to ensure that the family have supplies available for the first few days. Read more about what other Groups have provided in our Food, Furniture and Household Goods resource. You don’t need to list what you will supply on your application form; because you won’t yet know the family who will be allocated to you (no point supplying baby food if there are no babies in a family!); but the Home Office are looking for you to demonstrate an understanding of what may be needed.
It’s also important to explain how to contact emergency services, and what constitutes an emergency. Let the family know that if they experience an emergency, medical or otherwise, they should first dial 999, and not the Group members. Once they’ve contacted emergency services, they can access an interpreter by saying the name of their language.
At this point, you will also need to think through how the family will be in contact with your Group in these initial days, particularly important should the family need to self-isolate on arrival.