Following a visit to BBA by a group of delegates from City of Sanctuary, we are extremely proud to have gained School of Sanctuary status.
Staff and students are excited about becoming the second secondary school (following Bluecoat Aspley’s success) at becoming School of Sanctuary in the city of Nottingham. This shows how well and how hard everyone has worked both recently and in past years to achieve this recognition.
The last year has seen us prepare applications, attend City of Sanctuary events and ultimately receive a visit from City of Sanctuary assessors in order to evaluate what we do against a set of established criteria.
We have also begun to make links with charities working specifically with refugees and asylum seekers to engage with the wider vision to support Nottingham’s future aim of our city to gain recognition as City of Sanctuary. Most recently, the Nottingham Playhouse, the University of Nottingham and the Nottingham Trent University have also gained sanctuary status.
Please see the website to experience the work involved in ‘Building a Culture of welcome – A sense of belonging’
Through our recognition as School of Sanctuary we have made a commitment to:
- Learn: Find out what it means to be seeking sanctuary; and be actively involved in awareness raising.
- Embed: Take positive action to make welcome and inclusion part of the values of your organisation or community, to support sanctuary seekers and refugees and to include them in your activities.
- Share your vision and achievements: Let others know about the positive contribution refugees make to our society and the benefits of a welcoming culture to everyone.
City of Sanctuary UK, which has supported BBA through the application process, supports a network of groups which includes villages, towns, cities and regions across the UK and others engaged in Streams of Sanctuary, Sanctuary Awards and activities intended to welcome people seeking sanctuary. It holds the vision that our nations will be welcoming places of safety for all and proud to offer sanctuary to people fleeing violence and persecution – BBA is proud to play its part in this vision.
