Caring Newcastle pupils welcome refugees

A Newcastle primary has been awarded School of Sanctuary status for its work in welcoming refugees and asylum seekers .

Caring staff and children at St Mary’s Catholic Primary School in Forest Row worked together to achieve the award, which recognises schools, nurseries and sixth forms 'committed to creating a culture of welcome, understanding and belonging for those forced to flee’.

St Mary’s is part of the Bishop Bewick Catholic Education Trust and was mentored throughout the process by fellow BBCET member St Columba’s Catholic Primary School in Wallsend, which had received the award the previous year.

“We started our campaign by setting up a committee of dedicated children,” explained Joanne Gartland, Year 2 Teacher and School of Sanctuary Lead at St Mary’s. 

“The children came up with some fantastic ideas of how we could make our school a safe and welcoming place. Dual-language signs around school, visual timetables in all classrooms, spare uniforms to give to refugees, a welcome pack for both parents and children in dual language with useful contact numbers, and a buddy system, were just a few of their ideas.

“The Committee delivered a whole-school assembly, in which the children learned the difference between asylum seekers, refugees and migrants. They put forward their ideas and why it was important to become a School of Sanctuary.”

Through the City of Sanctuary charitable organisation which began in 2005, there are now over 800 Schools of Sanctuary across the UK.

Besides establishing the children’s committee, representatives from St Mary’s attended regular meetings about becoming a School of Sanctuary and met with refugees to gain a greater understanding of the problems they faced in education.

“We completed an application with evidence that we were putting in place everything we claimed,” continued Mrs Gartland. “We had a visit from the School of Sanctuary Committee who asked follow-up questions and met with the children, and we attended an award afternoon in which we displayed things we had done in school.”

St Mary’s currently has 18 pupils with English as a second language, including one from Ukraine, with a total of 19 languages spoken in school.

“The award is very important, as it directly relates to Catholic Social Teaching Principles and also covers protected characteristics, such as gender and race,” added Mrs Gartland.

“This has added to the many things we do to make St Mary’s a welcoming and safe place for children. It is a way of expressing our Gospel and school values, as well as being true to our school mission statement.

“All this aside, in today’s current climate, it is paramount to educate children and adults to the true plight of refugees. It is our belief at St Mary’s that this will make our children kinder and more wholesome.”