Chapel End Junior Academy

School of Sanctuary

We are a School of Sanctuary!

We are happy to announce, that as of Wednesday 18th January 2023, Chapel End Junior Academy is officially recognised as a School of Sanctuary. We are the first School of Sanctuary in REAch2 Academy Trust and the joint first School of Sanctuary in the borough of Waltham Forest. We are also currently one of six Schools of Sanctuary in London. We are extremely proud to share the following quotes from the feedback and appraisal team;

"I think what impressed us most was how cohesive and embedded your sanctuary efforts are in school and across your staff team. It was clear that this felt very personal for every member of staff we spoke with, who share a sense of responsibility for meeting the holistic needs of every child and every family. Amidst all the pressures on schools at the moment, this person-centred approach should be applauded and we are thrilled to do so, even in a small way, by awarding you as a School of Sanctuary"

"The appraisal team are particularly impressed by the ways in which the school is connected to its wider community and wider community efforts, including the push to become a Borough of Sanctuary. We are very pleased by the ways in which the school has sought to make sure their sanctuary efforts are part of an ongoing development effort and that they will be seen through – both through the Diversity Team, including reference to sanctuary in the school development plan and staff induction and having clear, achievable objectives with people assigned responsible for future activities. It is also clear that the school works hard to recognise, represent and value everyone in the school community and make sure their holistic needs are met both inside and outside school. This seems really well embedded and cohesive across school practice."

"Children’s wellbeing and happiness is very much at the centre of the school and the school’s purpose."

Everybody is welcome at Chapel End Junior Academy

Our School Approach

Our aim is to foster a welcoming culture of welcome and inclusion for all, especially asylum seeking and refugee families. We want to educate the whole school community about the human right to sanctuary and engage with sanctuary seekers and families in the local community.

The core processes are to Learn, Embed and Share.

Learn: learning about what it means to be seeking sanctuary, both in general, and specifically.

Embed: taking positive action to embed concepts of welcome, safety and inclusion within the school including, but not limited to, the pupils, teaching and administrative staff. To take steps to ensure this progress remains sustainable.

Share: sharing your vision, achievements, what you have learned, and good practice with other schools, the local community and beyond.

Strand

Criteria

Learn

Criterion 1: Training and education opportunities are provided for school staff & management on refugee, asylum and migration issues

Criterion 2: Evidence of refugee/asylum/migration learning activities are included into school life and at least one example in the curriculum, across the key stages.

Embed

Criterion 3: The School must demonstrate how it has embedded the concept of welcome and inclusion in the school. This should show how the school will continue to develop and sustain a culture of welcome beyond the award and ideally, this should be linked to the School’s Improvement /Development Plan and made clear in policy documents and induction processes.

Criterion 4: Recognition of and participation in the annual Refugee Week or other annual/regular celebratory events which highlight the contribution of people seeking sanctuary and migrants to the UK. More information about the annual event can be found here: http://refugeeweek.org.uk. NB. We recognise that not all schools will be able to participate in the annual national Refugee Week which usually takes place during the third week of June, but would encourage all schools to find ways to regularly mark and celebrate the experiences and contributions of sanctuary seekers living in the UK.

Criterion 5: Commitment to supporting age-appropriate active pupil voice on sanctuary and welcome/welcoming activities in the school. For example, this might mean ensuring that your School Council or other student-led groups are actively involved in the process of working towards recognition.

Criterion 6: A public commitment to the City of Sanctuary vision of welcome, including the endorsement of City of Sanctuary charter which can be done via signing the City of Sanctuary organisation pledge. This pledge should be included on the school’s website and in a public space in the school. Some local City of Sanctuary groups have their own pledge and therefore Schools would be encouraged to sign these pledges if appropriate.

Criterion 7: The school publicly highlights its activities in support of welcome and inclusion. This can include social media/website posts, school newsletter updates or attending regional activities or meetings. NB. Once a school has achieved a sanctuary award, we expect schools to include the Schools of Sanctuary logo and a link to the Schools of Sanctuary webpage on their website.

Criterion 8: Commitment to on-going engagement with the Schools of Sanctuary stream. This may include sharing resources, ideas and achievements via the school’s website or the national City of Sanctuary website, and/or with other local/regional schools.

We are committed to creating a safe environment that includes everybody in a school, regardless of people’s background, ethnicity, faith or gender. At Chapel End Junior Academy, everyone is welcome.