Knighton Church in Wales Primary School
Caru Duw, Caru Pawb, Caru Dysgu
Throughout the day we thought a lot about keep sakes and how refugee children take these with them when having to leave their homes. We thought about the journeys refugees have to make and how they might feel when they arrive in a new country. By the end of the day we had created a performance to share with our parents during our class assembly.
We thought about the concept of home and how our homes make us feel.
We are proud to have signed the School of Sanctuary pledge and we are working towards becoming a School of Sanctuary.
We support the ‘City of Sanctuary’ vision that the UK will be a welcoming place of safety for all and proud to offer sanctuary to people fleeing violence and persecution.
We endorse the City of Sanctuary Charter and agree to act in accordance with City of Sanctuary values and apply the network principles within our work (as far as our specific context enables us to).
We recognise the contribution of people seeking sanctuary. Sanctuary seekers are welcomed, included, and supported within our school.
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 sanctuary. It could be people whose lives were in danger in their own country, who have troubles at home or are just looking for a space of safety.
A School of Sanctuary is a school that helps its students, staff and wider community understand what it means to be seeking sanctuary and to extend a welcome to everyone as equal, valued members of the school community. It is a school that is proud to be a place of safety and inclusion for all.
At Knighton Church in Wales Primary School, we strive to embrace the values of being a School of Sanctuary by extending a very warm welcome to all families from different diverse backgrounds, different cultures and creating a safe and inclusive environment for everyone.
Key Principles of being a School of Sanctuary:
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.
We used a Timber Hitch knot and Taut-line Hitch knot to tie the rope to the tree (using instructions to help us!). Some pupils used a knife to make our own tent pegs, and others then built the shelter! Great team-work! Given the weather we needed the shelter and out waterproofs, not that the pupils cared- as demonstrated by their faces at the end of the session!
The children thought about different emotions and how these might look. They thought about how refugees might feel in different situations and how they might look.
Children in Year 2 and 3 have been marking Holocaust Memorial Day by making memorial flames to remember and honour those people affected by the Holocaust.
This morning we thought about the Holocaust; what happened, when and to whom. We studied some of the laws imposed upon Jewish people at that time. Pupils noticed that as time went on the laws became more extreme.
Some of the laws that made them feel sad was that ‘Jewish people were not allowed to marry non-Jewish people’ and ‘Jewish children were not allowed to go to school with non-Jewish children’.
One of the laws that made them feel scared was that ‘Jewish people must be home from 8pm in the winter and 9pm in the summer’.
This afternoon Larry, Nicola and Rev Ken (who are members of this group) visited us to talk to us about what they do. They explained that there are about 40 members who support refugees, possibly host refugees, support hosts and fundraise to facilitate this; they raise about £5000 a year.
Our pupils asked some really insightful questions and were really intrigued by what our visitors had to say. They were particularly taken by the flashbacks that refugees experience when completing very simple activities (such as going swimming) and the idea that refugees think it’s unsafe to drink water from a tap without treating or boiling it first.
Last month we worked with Roger to discuss Space Junk; the class had previously voted on which topic they wanted to cover. These results will be sent to the Government’s UK Space Agency. Our pupils were really thoughtful and polite when discussing the topic.