What is a School of Sanctuary?
A School of Sanctuary is a school that has received a Sanctuary Award from City of Sanctuary UK or a partner organisation in recognition of its good practice in fostering a culture of welcome, belonging and solidarity for those seeking safety.
How can my school become a School of Sanctuary?
To become a School of Sanctuary, a school must take an intentional and reflective approach to reviewing and refining school practice in relevant areas and demonstrate that they have implemented three key principles:
- LEARN Schools help their students, staff and wider community learn about what it means to be seeking sanctuary and the issues surrounding forced migration.
- EMBED Schools are committed to creating a safe and inclusive culture of welcome that benefits everybody, including anyone in their community seeking sanctuary and working with people seeking sanctuary to co-produce their sanctuary efforts and practice.
- SHARE Schools proudly share their values and activities with their local communities and work collaboratively to build our movement of welcome.
To support schools to achieve the three principles, we have developed a set of eight minimum criteria which have been structured to fit into the three overarching principles of ‘Learn, Embed, and Share’, which are used for all sanctuary awards. See here for further information about the minimum criteria.
The first step for any school wanting to work towards the award is to register their interest and affirm their commitment to our vision of welcome by signing the supporting organisation pledge. See here for a simplified summary of the next steps.
How long does it take to become a School of Sanctuary?
Every school is different and the journey to becoming a School of Sanctuary is unique — so there is no standard or expected length of time to complete the process.
Some schools may have a long history of supporting students from sanctuary seeking backgrounds, whilst some may have few – or no – students from sanctuary seeking backgrounds and might have a lot to learn.
We expect all schools to use the journey to become a School of Sanctuary as an intentional and reflective process, helping them to review and refine school practice and strengthen community connections and engagement. This is evident in a clear application, good engagement with your Local lead or City of Sanctuary UK contact, and in your responsiveness to constructive feedback, advice and suggestions.
In general, we suggest that schools commit to spending at least a full academic year completing the process. As many Local Leads and City of Sanctuary UK implement application deadlines, make sure to liaise with your contact in plenty of time in advance to confirm a suitable application submission date.
How much does the School of Sanctuary award cost?
We ask every school that achieves the School of Sanctuary award to make a donation to safeguard the sustainability of the award and support programme. We suggest that primary schools donate a minimum of £75, secondary schools donate £105 and independent schools donate £300 on receipt of a successful award – as the award lasts three years, this could be as little as £25 per year of the award!
Unlike other school programmes and award schemes which can charge hundreds and even thousands of pounds, we don’t want price to be a barrier for schools. We believe every school should be able to access the resources, opportunities and expert advice they need to ensure every child, especially those seeking safety, can thrive in school. But we need every school in our network to play their part in supporting this vision – making a donation when they receive the award and thinking of us when planning fundraising activities. Every penny goes to supporting and growing our network of welcoming schools across the UK.
What support do schools get?
- Access to free webinars and workshops developed in response to needs and requests from our schools;
- A comprehensive website signposting to the best teaching and learning resources and helpful resources to improve provision and practice;
- A half-termly newsletter packed full of case studies, the latest resources, upcoming events and offers helpful updates that may impact your learners, families or communities;
- Access to unique opportunities: recently this has included free book distributions, funded licenses for multilingual digital resource platforms, online webinars with famous authors and people with lived experience and MORE.
If there is a Local Lead in your area and you can work towards the award, your school can also benefit from:
- Expert advice and support, tailored to your school and community context;
- Connections to other local schools and partner organisations with whom you can collaborate on exciting activities;
- The opportunity to be part of the School of Sanctuary award process which will include thoughtful feedback on your submitted application from a diverse appraisal team, including someone with lived experience of seeking safety.
How do we renew our award?
The Schools of Sanctuary Award lasts three years and to remain a recognised awarded School of Sanctuary a school must renew their application as they approach the end of the award duration.
The renewal process does not expect schools to start from scratch, but in line with our vision for the award to support school improvement, we expect schools to use this process to review and refine practice. For this reason, we suggest that schools start this process a year before their renewal is due – reviewing the feedback provided on their initial award and their current practices and approaches, consulting with parent/carers and learners (especially those with forced migration backgrounds) and identifying a few areas to further develop their practice or approach. This will help ensure this renewal process is reflective, intentional and meaningful before sharing their efforts in the renewal application process.
The renewal process may involve submitting a new application or, in some parts of the UK, this may be accepted in a presentation format. Whether in the application or in a presentation, we expect all schools to reference how they continue to meet the minimum criteria, have worked with people seeking sanctuary to shape these efforts, and to highlight the areas they have developed. If in doubt, liaise with your Local Lead about renewal processes and timelines for your area.
Not sure who your Local Lead is? Get in touch.