School of Sanctuary

We are a School of Sanctuary – and what a privilege that is!

I am delighted to announce that, as of Wednesday 18th January 2023, St Saviour’s CofE Primary School has been officially recognised as a School of Sanctuary!
Along with one other primary school, we are joint in being the first School of Sanctuary in the borough of Waltham Forest and we are also currently one of only six Schools of Sanctuary in London. 

Listen to us on Spotify – GET LISTENING https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/get-listening/episodes/School-of-Sanctuary-e2hm0ul

Follow the link below to listen to our podcast where we explain why we applied for this status and our goals for the future.

The application and appraisal process was rigorous and comprehensive and we are extremely proud to share the following  feedback from the appraisal team;

“During the meeting, appraisal team members were in awe of how articulate, thoughtful and engaged students were and how passionately they talked about what they had learnt and how they felt about their school. We were then hugely moved by the words of a parent, lived experience staff member and representative from a close local partner, whose testimonies clearly evidenced how they felt the school was a place of safety, warmth and comfort. All of them shared meaningful examples of how the school had gone out of their way to support them. Conversations with staff later made clear that these activities had involved buy-in from the entire wider school community and that their efforts had been reflective, purposeful and intentional.

Overall, as an appraisal team we were hugely impressed by how the school has approached its sanctuary efforts by looking at both the experiences of the individual child and the big picture, far beyond the school gates, and how it has recognised that they must work to support welcome in both cases to truly contribute to building a culture of safety, belonging and compassion that supports everyone. 

As one appraisal team member mentioned, this has involved ‘no small amount of emotional, mental and physical effort and investment from so many different school staff’ but it is evident that this has clearly resulted in sanctuary being deeply grounded in the school ethos, culture and behaviours of staff and students. 

We wholly applaud and congratulate St Saviour’s for all they have achieved and are delighted to recognise them as a School of Sanctuary.”

I would like to thank you as a school community for your ongoing support and for the encouragement that you give to your children. Together, we are making a positive difference in our community and beyond and I look forward to what we will achieve in the future.