New free Intercultural Awareness Online Course and Guide to support practitioners working with children, young people and families seeking asylum or with refugee status

Health Innovation Kent Surrey Sussex and Nafsiyat Intercultural Therapy Centre, have launched a new free Intercultural Awareness Guide and CPD-accredited online training course designed for midwives, health visitors and school nurses working with families seeking asylum or with refugee status.

The guide and online course, funded by NHS England and the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (South East), builds upon the previously published Core Intercultural Concepts and Principles Toolkit and the successful in-person training delivered across the South East. The training showed clear benefits for practitioners who reported greater confidence, improved communication with families, and a stronger ability to provide culturally sensitive, trauma-informed care. Find out more about the training and its impact here.

This impact has shaped the development of the new online offer, ensuring more colleagues can access the same learning in a flexible way.

What’s included in the online course and guide?

Free CPD-accredited online course

A shorter, online version of the original in-person training, designed to help practitioners:

• Embed intercultural awareness and trauma-informed care into daily practice
• Deliver culturally appropriate, compassionate support for children, young people and families seeking asylum or with refugee status
• Understand roles and responsibilities across health and safeguarding pathways
• Recognise vicarious trauma, prevent burnout and look after their own wellbeing

Intercultural Awareness Guide

A practical guide to support self-reflection and continued learning. It covers:

• Core concepts of intercultural awareness, including intersectionality, cultural competence and micro-incivilities
• Practical steps for embedding intercultural awareness at both individual and organisational level
• Reflective prompts and real‑world considerations for supporting children and families seeking asylum or with refugee status

Access the guide and training

 

“Health Innovation Kent Surrey Sussex is proud to highlight our collaboration with Nafsiyat Intercultural Therapy Centre. Funded by Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) and NHS England, this programme represents an important step in strengthening culturally responsive mental health and wellbeing support within frontline services. The new toolkit and online training offer will help build confidence and capability in delivering care that is sensitive to cultural context, trauma, and the unique challenges faced by asylum-seeking and refugee communities.

This work strongly aligns with Health Innovation KSS’s focus on tackling health inequalities and advancing health equity. Strengthening intercultural competence is key to reducing barriers to access and ensuring that every child and family – regardless of their background – can receive the support they need to thrive.” – Becca Randell, Mental Health Lead, Health Innovation Kent Surrey Sussex

“On behalf of everyone at Nafsiyat Intercultural Therapy Centre, we are incredibly proud of our collaboration with Health Innovation Kent Surrey Sussex in developing this course and guide for School Nurses, Midwives and Health Visitors working with migrant families and unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. This work represents a significant step forward in strengthening intercultural awareness and equipping professionals to deliver meaningful, compassionate and effective support to the communities they serve.” – Yasin Ahmed, Chief Executive Officer of Nafsiyat Intercultural Therapy Centre.

We’ve also produced a downloadable poster that organisations can use to promote the course to staff.

Download poster