What is a School of Sanctuary?

A School of Sanctuary is a school that is committed to being a safe and welcoming place for all, especially those seeking a place of sanctuary. This could be people whose lives were in danger in their own country, who have troubles at home or are just looking for a safe space. A School of Sanctuary is a place that promotes a welcoming culture and a place of safety to those seeing sanctuary, including asylum-seeking and refugee families. It is a school that builds empathy and awareness of such issues and encourages children, parents, staff and the wider community to welcome those seeking sanctuary. 

A School of Sanctuary helps its school community to understand what it means to be seeking sanctuary and to extend a welcome to everyone as equal, valued members of the community. It is a school that is proud to be a place of safety and inclusion for all.

Why is a School of Sanctuary Important?

• To promote and develop a sense of safety and inclusion for all.
• To understand what it means to seek sanctuary. 
• To provide learning opportunities around human rights, social justice and diversity.
• To increase student voice and promote active citizenship. 

To support children and families who join Christ Church,

we have an EAL Policy and a Welcome Pack.

Christ Church is a School of Sanctuary

We first started our journey to gain a School of Sanctuary Award in the Spring Term of 2025.  This page is dedicated to documenting our journey and keeping our parents, church and wider community up-to-date with our latest achievements. Read on to find out more about our journey... 

What an amazing end to our school year!

July 2025

On Wednesday 9th July, we had our CC's Cultural Food Festival.  It was really well attended and the sun shone down on us.  We were visited by the Lord Mayor, our Chair of Governors - Revd Toby Crowe and our local councillor - Shabrana Hussain.  A lovely afternoon was had by all.  Thank you to our CC Community for coming and manning stalls; you are brilliant.  Big thank you to Mrs Hussain for organising us.  We are able to donate £500 to charity.

On the 18th of July, the CBSO will be in to share their latest project on migration and diversity called Butterfly Lands.  Key Stage Two are looking forward to experiencing these themes through music and spoken word.

June 2025

This month, we celebrated the National Day of Welcome, which led us into Refugee Week.  We were inspired by a book called Wishes and tried to walk in the shoes of refugees and asylum seekers to capture their thoughts, feelings, hopes, dreams and wishes.  We also expanded our knowledge around their plight. Y4, 5 and 6 worked with Josh, from a charity called The Feast.

We had our accreditation visit on the 23rd of June and received the School of Sanctuary. 

We are sooooooo pleased and proud.

May 2025

In the final week of Summer 1, we celebrated National Cultural Diversity Day.

Every child and teacher dressed up in their cultural attire, and we had our first CC fashion show.  In the afternoon, our wonderful parents came in and shared traditional tales and facts about their homelands  We also launched our Family Heritage Project.  This is an opportunity for parents to document information on their cultural heritage and their family's journey to the UK.  

Enjoy the photos, videos and pictures from this amazing event.  We are super proud of our CC community!

April 2025

Christ Church's support of refugees and asylum seekers gathered momentum.  Our school community collected clothes, food and toiletries for St Chad's Sanctuary.  We also had an Easter Egg Raffle and collected £152.50.  We are proud of our efforts and the Faith Team delivered everything on the 10th April. Well done CC!

March 2025

Our local School of Sanctuary leader - Barbara - visited us on the 12th March to train our Faith Team and Teachers.

On the Wednesday 19th March, our Faith Team visited St Chad's Sanctuary to find out about their charity work and how we can become involved.

We launched our School of Sanctuary work, on the 24th March, with a whole school assembly.  Every class has been inspired to create orange heart displays 🧡.

February 2025

Christ Church celebrated International Mother Language Day on the 21st February.  Our families and local community got involved and recorded videos saying hello/welcome in a range of languages.  Enjoy the video!

January 2025

Christ Church invited Stories of Hope and Home to work with us.  They shared stories of their experiences as refugees and helped us to think carefully about how we would welcome new people to our school.  They introduced to the work of School of Sanctuary and our journey began.