School of Sanctuary
School of Sanctuary
at St. John’s Junior School
We have received the School of Sanctuary Award.
What is a School of Sanctuary?
A school that educates the whole school community about the experiences and realities of people who have been forced to flee to foster empathy and understanding.
A school that fosters a culture of welcome and safety for people seeking sanctuary, including asylum seeking and refugee families.
A school that plays an active role in building a culture of welcome by connecting with and supporting local refugee organisations, collaborating with other institutions to raise awareness and advocate for a kinder approach towards those seeking safety.
The City of Sanctuary’s Organisational Pledge which we have signed is:
“We support the ‘City of Sanctuary’ vision that the UK will be a welcoming place of safety for all and proud to offer sanctuary to people fleeing violence and persecution.
We endorse the City of Sanctuary Charter, and agree to act in accordance with City of Sanctuary values and apply the network principles within our work (as far as our specific context enables us to).
We recognise the contribution of people seeking sanctuary. Sanctuary seekers are welcomed, included and supported within our context. We expect our branches or local groups (if any) to support their local City of Sanctuary group if one exists, and will facilitate contact between them and their local City of Sanctuary group.”
At St John’s Catholic Junior School, we have a range of languages spoken and we have children and families from many different countries. We hope that everyone feels welcome, safe and a valued member of our school community. We provide opportunities for children to learn about a wide range of cultures and to show understanding and acceptance.
To find out more about School of Sanctuary, please click the button below.
Day of Welcome
On Friday 14th June, we celebrated the ‘Day of Welcome’ to mark the beginning of Refugee Week. We started with a whole school assembly and then returned to our classrooms to explore our theme further.
During the day, Year 3 and 4 attended an online workshop with Actor, Refugee Rights Campaigner and Speaker Gulwali Passarlay to explore the book ‘Bobble’. This helped the children to develop a further understanding of who refugees are, and explore how to make their classroom a more welcoming place.
Year 5 and 6 attended an online workshop with award-winning children’s author and illustrator, Nadine Kadaan, to explore the book ‘The Power of Welcome’. During the workshop, Nadine shared information about her homeland Syria and her own experience of leaving her country and settling in the U.K.
Below are some examples of our work:
