Age Assessments
About Age Assessments
The age of an unaccompanied child is important. It determines a child’s access to education and support, effects the way in which their asylum claim is processed and can even be a decisive factor in a claim for asylum. If a child or young person’s age is disputed, an age assessment should be conducted.
Coram Children’s Legal Centre has a great resource detailing the age assessment process, which is linked via the button below.
Young people with lived experience of age assessments have been working with Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit (GMIAU) and Refugee Council on a new Age Disputes Toolkit. It includes an updated Young People’s Guide to Age Assessments and a Practitioners Toolkit.
Facial Age Estimation (FAE) Tool
The Home Office are exploring the possibility of introducing a Facial Age Estimation (FAE) tool to support initial age decisions. Information can be found on the Gov UK website. The tool uses machine learning technology to estimate an individual’s age within seconds by analysing a facial photograph without further information about the individual.
The Home Office has been clear that FAE would be used only as a supplementary tool for immigration officers, providing additional information to help them make initial age decisions. It won’t be relied upon to make a definitive age decision or to replace holistic approaches such as Merton-compliant age assessments.
Age Assessment Guidance in England
Resources and guidance on when and how to undertake an age assessment in England.
Association of Directors of Children’s Services Guidance (ADCS)
The Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) published guidance in 2015 to assist social workers and their managers in undertaking age assessments in England. The guidance was written by a group of specialist social workers and practitioners from local authorities and non-governmental refugee and legal sectors, and also includes several resources for after an age assessment has been undertaken.
British Association of Social Workers (BASW)
The British Association of Social Workers has produced a practice guide for conducting age assessments. The PDF guide includes an introduction to age assessments, the principles for the interview, reaching a decision, and next steps to take.
Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit
The Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit has produced resources for age assessments. The Young People’s Guide to Age Assessments was written by young people for young people. There are also separate factsheets for key professionals supporting young people.
Home Office ‘Assessing Age’ Guidance for Professionals
The Home Office ‘Assessing Age’ guidance sets out the policies and procedures that must be followed when an asylum seeker or migrant claims to be a child and their claimed age is doubted by the Home Office, or they claim to be an adult but are suspected to be a child. The guidance also has a section on unaccompanied claimants and other documents that may evidence age.
The Age Estimation Science Advisory Committee (AESAC)
Through the Nationality and Borders Act 2022, the government introduced the Age Estimation Science Advisory Committee. The committee provides advice on existing and emerging scientific approaches that could be used for age assessment in the living, and recommendations for best practice guidance on any existing and proposed scientific methods.
Age Assessment Guidance in Scotland and Wales
Guidance on when and how to undertake an age assessment in Scotland and Wales.
Guidance in Scotland
The Welsh government developed a toolkit to support local council staff carrying out age assessments. The toolkit covers the legal background of age assessments, context before and approaching an age assessment, support for the young people around the age assessment, and guidance for preparing and undertaking the assessment. It also includes a section on guidance following the age assessment.
Guidance in Wales
Good practice guidance on age assessments was published by Glasgow City Council and the Scottish Refugee Council with contributions from the Coalition of Scottish Local Authorities, Edinburgh City Council, UK Border Agency, and Legal Services Agency, among others. It supports social workers, their managers, and others involved in carrying out and contributing to age assessments in Scotland.
Resources on Age Assessments
Age Assessment Process Factsheet
CORAM Children’s Legal Centre (CLC) has created a useful factsheet on the age assessment process.
Free Age Assessment Resource Pack
The Immigration Social Work Service (ISWS) has designed a useful free guide and resource pack for those undertaking age assessments.