



We have consolidated all our learning of the rainforest by making a rainforest in a shoebox. We thought about the weather, features of the rainforest and the animals that live there.
Knighton Church in Wales Primary School
Caru Duw, Caru Pawb, Caru Dysgu
Review of the School of Sanctuary work done in the 2024 to 2025 academic year.
We started the year putting the final stages to our application for formal “School of Sanctuary” status. Recognising that our school does not have children from Refugee or Asylum Seeking Families at present, seeking the award represents the school preparing for if and when we do, and striving to provide the best school experience for everyone and anyone, whoever they are, wherever they are from and whatever their individual circumstances and needs are. We are all different!
Assemblies ever two weeks explore what sanctuary is all about, using the termly values as our guide. I.e. Kindness, Peace, Forgiveness, Hope, Compassion and Perseverance.
Linking with RVE, Religion, Values and Ethics, we use religious festivals to acknowledge different faiths and promote understanding. As a Church in Wales School, we are inclusive and respectful of all faiths and those who have none. The assemblies exploring Sanctuary also provide a challenge to recognise, in age appropriate ways, the challenges in the world today – war, famine, climate change, poverty and persecution – pressures that make some people decide to try to find sanctuary.
We also aim to have three artistic projects over a year to express the children’s creativity and thinking about Sanctuary.
So, what have we done?
As part of our community-based art project, we worked with Ciara and Izzy from Old School Arts to create a mural of birds flying over Knighton. Every learner in the school was involved in the project, from painting the mural to creating their own bird. This project followed our work from Refugee Week and the theme of ‘Community as a Superpower’ and that together we are strong, creative and make things happen.
We have been learning about the location of the next COP30 meeting. Pupils have created their own glossary to help them understand it better. We have learned about the impact this meeting and the logistics around it have had on the Amazon rainforest. Information and discussion texts have been written to try and help us make informed decisions for ourselves.
This year, the ‘Power of Community’ was the refugee Week theme. Together we are very strong, creative and make things happen.
We assembled in marquee on the field and we spilt into four mixed aged groups. Each group was responsible for making each bird; the tern, the swift, the whooper swan and the red kite.
Each child had their very own hand-held bird which they decorated.
We also created our own nest by weaving ripstop ribbons around willow.
In the afternoon, we took our individual birds on a journey ‘around the world’ through the obstacle course depicting the ice, sea, wind and even a volcano! We thought carefully about all of the things that we noticed about our journey.
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At the end of the day, we gently carried our large birds to meet each other and ‘perch’ on the Kite’s nest. This represented the Kite offering Sanctuary to the migrants for as long as they need it.
We were very grateful to Larry and Ciara and their team of willing volunteers that enabled us to be strong, creative and to make wonderful things happen!
Our Year 6 pupils were invited to Brecon Cathedral to take part in the Leavers’ Service for the children in the diocese. Pupils created a banner, which represented our school, to present to the Bishop. We took part in a service then enjoyed some different activities in the Cathedral in the afternoon. Roedd e’n hyfryd.
We have been learning about the deforestation that is happening in the Amazon rainforest in preparation for the COP30 summit in November. To better understand what is going on there we quickly organised a trip considering the modes of transport required and what would be needed with us. Beforehand we considered how different groups of people might be feelings about this and then completed some ‘hot seating’ in order to have some quotes ready for our news report. We then ‘travelled’ there by plane and boat and we drew what we could see whilst in the rainforest.