A school of Sanctuary is a school that is committed to being a safe and welcoming place for those whose lives were in danger in their own country, who have troubles at home or are just looking for a space they can feel safe.
A School of Sanctuary is a school that helps its students, staff and wider community understand what it means to be seeking sanctuary and to extend a welcome to everyone as equal, valued members of the school community. It is a school that is proud to be a place of safety and inclusion for all.
For more information www.cityofsanctuary.org/schools/resources
We are currently working towards this award and we continue to promote and support the City of Sanctuary movement in Derby.
LEARN
At City of Derby Academy we are committed to ensuring our students learn what it means to be seeking sanctuary. We have excellent schemes of work in various subject areas that address these themes and give our students the opportunity to explore and develop their ideas. We have included work on evacuation, health and social care on diversity and human rights as well as English and Humanities topics that educate our pupils about the plight of Refugees and Asylum Seekers. Our English department have created a school wide competition for students to write poetry on the topic of Refuge.
Furthermore, tutor time and assemblies are given over for presentations and talks to further address these issues including encouraging students to discuss these topics and their understanding surrounding them. We have purchased specific books and have a good collection of literature in our library to educate students about sanctuary.
Our student school council are continually working on projects to promote inclusion and understanding throughout the school including displays.
EMBED
We are a welcoming and inclusive school with an established welcome and induction policy that enables quick integration and informs all staff of student needs. Families and students are supported through translated materials, welcome meetings, an EAL base, buddies and EAL mentors.
Celebrating the many different backgrounds and cultures of the pupils at our school is a key part of the ethos of our school. From our entrance way which highlights the many languages we share at City of Derby Academy to our highly successful culture day events we enable students to both share their own culture and learn about others.
SHARE
We are constantly developing ways to share the School of Sanctuary vision with the wider community. We work with the other schools in the QEGSMAT trust to share and develop best practice. We are expanding our school website to share the many opportunities students have in school to understand others and develop their feeling of community within the school. We have adapted our uniform policy to support our families in need of items. Our governors are fully supportive and we update our parents about our work in our termly newsletter.
We are proud of our good practice surrounding EAL and inclusion and regularly work with other schools to share our ideas and resources.
