The minimum criteria have been developed to help schools achieve the overarching goals of the Schools of Sanctuary programme; work through the Learn, Embed and Share processes; and contribute to realising City of Sanctuary UK’s vision of welcome.
The City of Sanctuary UK Vision
City of Sanctuary UK is a small refugee-sector charity that works to build a movement of welcome in the UK, standing in solidarity with people seeking safety. We want to see a UK where people seeking sanctuary feel safe and a sense of belonging; are able to thrive and succeed; and where their voices are centred and heard.
The Schools of Sanctuary programme aims to achieve this by:
- working with schools to challenge misconceptions about people seeking sanctuary and raise awareness of their experiences with learners, staff, governors, parent/carers and wider communities to build empathy;
- helping schools to build up staff expertise in supporting new arrivals and adopt effective practice and provision to ensure children seeking sanctuary feel safe, belonging and able to thrive in school;
- and encouraging schools to connect and collaborate with local charities, organisations and institutions, and community groups to grow and strengthen our shared movement of welcome and solidarity with people seeking safety.
To achieve a Sanctuary Award, schools must go through the Learn, Embed and Share processes and demonstrate the fulfilment of the eight minimum criteria. We expect to see that schools have worked through this framework in order to meaningfully engage with the overarching programme goals.
LEARN CRITERIA
1.The school raises awareness about the experiences of people seeking safety in the UK amongst all school staff and governors and builds staff expertise to effectively support new arrivals, particularly those seeking safety.
2. The school develops learners’ understanding about (forced) migration and the stories and experiences of people seeking sanctuary to foster empathy, including through curricular schemes of work across each age groups/key stage.
EMBED CRITERIA
3. The school reviews, improves and embeds school provision and practice to effectively meet the needs of learners from (forced) migration backgrounds and foster a culture of belonging for all. *If the school doesn’t have learners from (forced) migration backgrounds yet, we expect the school to demonstrate how it would ensure learners are effectively supported as/when they arrive.
4. The school recognises and participates in Refugee Week and other relevant celebratory events to connect with the wider movement of welcome and stand in solidarity with people seeking safety.
5. The school enables learner voice and leadership of the school’s sanctuary activities and seeks to develop learners as ethically informed changemakers.
SHARE CRITERIA
6. The school proudly shares its commitment to sanctuary in school and with its community by (a) Signing the City of Sanctuary UK supporting organisation pledge (b) sharing its commitment & how it upholds it with the school community i) in a public space in school, ii) on the website, iii) at other possible opportunities.
7. The school works collaboratively to extend welcome beyond the school gates by participating in activities that stand in solidarity with people seeking sanctuary and/or grow or strengthen our movement of welcome.
8. The school engages with and supports wider sanctuary networks, including Schools of Sanctuary to enhance and ensure the sustainability of our collective efforts.
For further information on the Schools of Sanctuary minimum criteria and suggestions on how to meet them, please refer to the application guidance and the audit tool in our Award Key Resources.
Please note: City of Sanctuary UK recognises that schools vary widely in their contexts and capacities, and there is no expectation that every School of Sanctuary will follow the exact same path or that every school’s application will look the same. The criteria have been developed to ensure the credibility and standardisation of the award, but hopefully with enough flexibility for schools to be able to devise their own unique pathway. We encourage you to look at the example applications, to see the range of ways schools can meet the minimum criteria.