“It is cool here, no doubt about it… but home is home.” Exploring the subjective wellbeing of children and adolescents living in Poland in the face of the war in Ukraine

Since the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine in February 2022, a quarter of the population has been displaced. Around 1.7 million people have crossed the border into Poland to seek temporary protection from the conflict, including nearly 700,000 children.

This report recounts the experiences, opinions and perspectives of 104 children and adolescents – including 90 from Ukraine and 14 from Poland – living in three cities in Poland (Warsaw, Wroclaw and Krakow), a country deeply affected by the war in Ukraine.

It sets out the findings of a qualitative study based on focus group discussions with the children that aims to understand the challenges that refugee children from Ukraine face and opportunities to enhance their wellbeing through their own words and pictures.

The consultations highlighted three closely connected themes: the mental health and psychosocial wellbeing of refugee children from Ukraine, their education, and their integration into Polish society.