The needs of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and young people living in London

This participatory research project, funded by London Councils and conducted in partnership with the University of Bedfordshire and the South London Refugee Association (SLRA), looks at the experiences of unaccompanied asylum-seeking young people living in London. By working with peer researchers and a young people's advisory group, this project explores the lived realities for children and young people going through the asylum and social care systems on their own. The research questions focus on:

There are three specific aims that underlie this objective:

• What are unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and young people's experiences of the asylum and immigration system and experiences of care and protection (including of the National Transfer Scheme, being mis-age assessed and the effects of the Illegal Migration Act (2023)?
• What do unaccompanied young people think about their needs in relation to well-being, protection, and integration?
• What can services learn from young people about how best to deliver their services to respond to their needs and circumstances?

In conducting this research, the project aims to put children and young people's voices centre-stage and aims to make a series of practice and policy recommendations for different agencies and government departments to address some of the key challenges facing unaccompanied asylum-seeking young people living in London.