School of Sanctuary

EYFS children and their families were lucky enough to get a set of books in different languages to taken home and share.

We were also given some dual language books to go in our lending library! Our lending library is a fabulous, free resources for families to borrow books to take home and share with their children.

At Christmas, we recognised the plight of the Holy Family as they were displaced and sought sanctuary in the stable.

Using the text 'Refuge' we unpicked how the story from 2000 years ago, is still so relevant now universally.

The children made links between the story of the first Christmas and the journey made by men, women and children now, as they seek sanctuary around the world.

During November, we remembered the people who died in conflict. We used this poignant moment to remember and recognise the people around the world today who have suffered through war, conflict and displacement.

The children led a worship, reflecting on the suffering of people through the actions of other.

In 2024-25 we trained and developed our team of Young Interpreters!

Pupil leadership and pupil voice are key elements to our curriculum and enrichment in school, but, just as important are the social opportunities and opportunities to play and have fun with friends.

Young Interpreters are trained to spot children who might need a friend at lunchtime or playtime. They might use different languages or non-verbal communication to encourage children new to England to settle and join in with activities outside. They also support all children who might need a little help socially. The team are led by a member of staff and trained to help their peers.

On World Book day 2025 we used different texts which taught the children about seeking sanctuary. They were able to reflect of the journeys and emotions of the characters in the stories and produced beautiful art work which is on display in our art studio.

The themes were a way of empowering our children to be considerate and compassionate global citizens, just as Pope Francis wants us to be.

In 2024-25 we worked with Catalyst Psychology on their Belonging Matters project. This was a piece of work undertaken to develop our provision for children newly arrived from different parts of the world. We evaluated our provision using parent, pupil and staff voice.

Using the information gathered we rewrote our policies to taken into account all the different viewpoints.

Our welcome for international new arrivals is proudly recognised as warm, considered and trauma informed. We assess language proficiency, provide peer support and have trained staff out of class to support and include our new children. We achieved the charter mark and received the award in a special ceremony.

We held a cultural diversity day! Everyone dressed in clothing that was traditional to their families and their cultures. Children prepared presentations at home and delivered them to their classes to educate others about different places, customs and traditions! This was led by the children who planned and organised the day!

Parents and carers attended our inclusion coffee afternoon. Here, lots of different services hosted stalls to inform parents about the type of support that was available for families.

This included trauma informed services and mental health support.

We have recently launched our brand new Laudato Si centre. Opened by the Bishop of Salford, John Arnold, the centre is used to support the wellbeing of our children in school.

All children can access it and children who have recently arrived at school go in with Mrs Hodgkinson to have space and time.

The centre is calming, quiet and allows children to flourish.

We pride ourselves on our warm welcome and the wealth of opportunities we provide for parents to come in school and be part of their children's education. As the first educators, our parents and carers are involved in the day to day life of the school.

It is also an opportunity for parents and carers to network and socialise, developing links in the community and supporting one another.

We hold family learning sessions for EYFS parents, where families can work together to learn and make different items to support their children's education. This time we made story sacks and phonics resources.

St John the Baptist RC Primary recognised 'Refugee Week 2024' this week! We looked at different elements and unpicked their impact on children around the world. We discussed emotions, journeys, historical refugees and how they were welcomed.

In our Celebration of the Word, we discussed how the Parable of the Mustard Seed was so apt from this week's Gospel. We are small, but can do great things too!

As a school, we celebrated 'A day of Welcome' on Friday 14th June 2024. We enjoyed online author sessions by Gulwali Passarlay and Nadine Kadaan.

Key Stage 1 and Lower Key Stage 2 were able to gain an understanding of who refugees are and they explored how to make their classrooms a welcoming place.

Upper Key Stage 2 learnt about Nadine's work and her homeland, Syria, her experience of leaving there and settling in the UK.

Key Stage 2 children have written prayer intentions for Refugees.