Schools of Sanctuary

St Joseph’s have made a pledge and on their journey to becoming a School of Sanctuary. This is a place where:

• We foster a culture of welcome and safety for people seeking sanctuary, including asylum seeking and refugee families.
• We educate the whole school community about the human right to sanctuary and identifies practical means for schools to demonstrate that commitment.
• We build empathy and intercultural awareness through promoting the voices and contributions of people seeking sanctuary, encouraging an understanding of the experiences of displaced people and helping to combat stereotypes.

What we need to do?

To be eligible for the award, we must demonstrate that we are implementing three key principles: 

• LEARN – As a school we help students, staff and wider community learn about what it means to be seeking sanctuary and the issues surrounding forced migration.
• EMBED – We are committed to creating a safe and inclusive culture of welcome that benefits everybody, including anyone in their community seeking sanctuary.
• SHARE – We share our values and activities with our local community.

We will keep you up to date with events on our website and Twitter pages as we continue our work supporting refugees and asylum seekers, as well as supporting Schools of Sanctuary. 

Here is a quick glance at some of the wonderful events and activities towards are School of Sanctuary Award. 

Stories to learn more about the life and journey of Refugees.

To help our children understand the world we live in is using stories as part of our English curriculum. Below you can find the moving and thoughtful texts we use to learn about the experiences of refugees and asylum seekers, or to celebrate and highlight the wonderful diversity and uniqueness of every one of us in this world.

EYFS and Key Stage One

The Suitcase

When a strange animal arrives one day pulling a large suitcase, after travelling for a long time, the other animals are intrigued. What does he have in there? Can he really have a teacup and a table and chairs and a cabin on a hillside inside this suitcase? Impossible! But when they break it open to find out exactly what is in there, they begin to understand what this animal has been through.

Lubna and Pebble

Lubna and Daddy arrive on the beach at night. Pebble is waiting for Lubna. Lubna clutches Pebble tight as she faces a new world. When Lubna draws a smiley face upon Pebble, she begins to tell her about the world she left behind, from her brothers and home to the war.
While Lubna is cold in the World of Tents, she has Daddy to hold her tightly. However, Pebble is alone, so Daddy and Lubna fashion her a bed with a shoe box. Lubna shows Pebble to Amir, who arrives alone, silent, and frightened. Lubna and Amir play hide and seek beneath the stars, yet Lubna’s first allegiance is to Pebble.

Along came a Different

Reds love being red. Yellows love being yellow. And Blues love being blue. The problem is the Reds love being red. Yellows love being yellow. And Blues love being blue. The problem is that they just don't like each other.

But one day, along comes a different colour who likes Reds, Yellows and Blues, and suddenly everything starts to change.

Maybe being different doesn't mean you can't be friends ...

A very special picture book that supports the adage that there is more that unites us than divides us. Along Came a Different just goes to show how much better we can all be when we come together to find common ground as friends. Every bookshelf should have a copy.t they just don't like each other.

But one day, along comes a different colour who likes Reds, Yellows and Blues, and suddenly everything starts to change.

Maybe being different doesn't mean you can't be friends ...

A very special picture book that supports the adage that there is more that unites us than divides us. Along Came a Different just goes to show how much better we can all be when we come together to find common ground as friends. Every bookshelf should have a copy.

Key Stage Two

My name is not Refugee

One day, a mother tells her young son that they must say goodbye to their old friends and leave home. Their taps run dry, there is rubbish everywhere, and it's just not safe. They will have to walk a very long way.
On their journey, the little boy sees interesting new things and hears different languages. He sleeps in peculiar places and eats strange food. Sometimes it is exciting, but also scary and often very boring. When they reach a safe place to make a new home, the boy must remember that although children may call him Refugee, that is not his real name.

The Waiting Place

An unflinching look at the lives of a group of refugee children from Afghanistan and Iran. . . Sparse text combined with Miralpeix’s arresting full-page colour photographs intimately capture the kids’ daily lives. . . .
For all readers, this moving look at these young people and their hopes and dreams could lead to greater understanding and empathy for all displaced youth.

The Boy at the Back of the Class

This is the story about how one ordinary nine-year-old child and three classmates are full of empathy for Ahmet, a boy that comes to their school as a refugee from Syria (he is the boy at the back of the class).
An inspiring and sweet tale that will help children think about what it is to be a good person whatever your circumstances (the narrator is from a poor background with a single parent mum who struggles to make ends meet), and challenge prejudice and push for fairness, whenever possible.

Boundless Sky

This is the story of a bird that fits in your hand flying halfway around the world looking for a place to nest. This is the story of a young girl from northern Africa fleeing halfway around the world looking for a place of peace. This is the story of Bird. This is the story of Leila. This is the story of a chance encounter and a long journey home.

Let yourself be swept along on this tale of an epic journey by the tiny swallow during its winter migration to Africa. This journey is entwined with that of a young girl, Leila fleeing danger in her home in North Africa and, like the swallow, being welcomed to her new home and safety. This touching story is a wonderful way to open discussions about friendship, compassion, and empathy. The illustrations by Manuela Adreani are tender and sensitive and beautifully capture this book with an underlying powerful message.

Birmingham Schools of Sanctuary

Click on the link to visit the Birmingham Schools of Santuary