Schools of Sanctuary
What is a School of Sanctuary?
Sanctuary is a place of safety and a School of Sanctuary is one where there is a welcome and understanding for those who are looking for safety, such as people seeking asylum and refugee families. We think back to when Jesus, Mary and Joseph were such seeking sanctuary and travelled to Egypt to find a place of safety when the Holy Family was in danger from King Herod. We think what could have happened to the Holy Family had they not received such a welcome and a place to find refuge until it was safe for them to return home again...
OLOL are continuing the journey towards becoming and accredited School of Sanctuary and you can watch that journey unfold in this online record as we develop knowledge, understanding and empathy so that we too will be the people that can support those displaced in whatever way we can. We will continue our tradition of being a voice to the vulnerable at OLOL. We will work with Stories of Hope and Hope and the Columban's to develop a deeper understanding of social justice and the lived experiences of those looking for sanctuary. As a School of Sanctuary, we will:
- 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
- SHARE Schools share their values and activities with their local communities
As we continue this important work (linked to the work of our Rights Respecting Pupil Voice Team, School Council and Liturgical Pupil Voice Groups), we will update this page with information and ideas, and share what we are doing in our little part of Yardley Wood to ensure we do what Jesus asked of us...
"For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you made me welcome, lacking clothes and you clothed me, sick and you visited me, in prison and you came to see me." Matthew 25
We think about Sanctuary and Human Rights through assemblies and Collective worship, British Values, through curriculum activities, fund raising and positive social action...here are some examples of what we do at OLOL.
Our school signed an open letter with 180 organisations to express deep concerns over the recent (Feb 2023) attack against people seeking asylum and refugees in Knowsley. The letter asks Party leaders to do something to change the language used which creates division and conflict between those needing our protection from danger and the communities they live in when they arrive...
We celebrate our curriculum on Twitter and shared our Stories of Hope and Home staff meeting about people seeking asylum and refugees - we learned so much and had so many ideas for what we can do next...
Stories of Hope and Home came to visit us in school to lead workshops with the children about the lived experience of refugees and people seeking asylum. Alberto from El Salvador and Cedric from Cameroon have experienced some trauma on their journey to safety but hopefully, here in the UK, they will find the sanctuary and welcome to make the next stage of their lives a better one...
We had an Epiphany Assembly where we made clear links with the plight of people seeking asylum and refugees...
We thought about the impact of war on children and families and created posters to ask for peace and an end to conflict - we thought especially about the families in Ukraine who have been displaced by war...
On International Human Rights Day, we thought about what happens to people when their rights are taken away, and considered why these rights are universal, unconditional, inherent, indivisible and inalienable
As part of our Rights Respecting journey, we used this PPt to think about refugees on World Refugee Day...
A visit to St Chad’s Sanctuary and this beautiful book inspired this Year 6 piece of art which is proudly displayed in school to remind us of the Holy Family’s own lived reality as asylum seekers...
We are a Rights Respecting School...this means we are on a journey to know and understand the UN Rights of the Child and how these rights belong to us all no matter who we are, where we are or how we come to be there...What rights do we enjoy that children in refugee and families seeking asylum do not?
