In Ireland, the land of a thousand welcomes, there a few places more welcoming than our school. We have always been an open, accepting and inclusive school. With Ireland becoming increasingly more culturally and ethnically diverse, we believe that our students’ backgrounds is something which should be showcased and celebrated. That is why we are trying to achieve our School of Sanctuary status.
We began our process in February, 2021 when we signed our pledge. This was during a school lockdown, so we launched our process officially when every student, member of staff and some famous ex pupils signalled their intent to commit to School of Sanctuary process through placing their handprint on the School of Sanctuary mural at the Fair Hill entrance.
In order to be recognized as an official School of Sanctuary we need to adopt three key principles, that is not to say that we were not already doing a lot of this. The three principles are:
Learn: What it means to be seeking sanctuary; this may include hearing refugees describe their experiences first hand
Action: Decide on actions that are needed in the school to help develop a culture of welcome and inclusion
Share: Share our findings with the wider community and other schools