A Day of Welcome

Resource type: Event

Price band: Free

Key stage: KS1, KS2, KS3, KS4, KS5

Region(s): All of UK

A Day of Welcome is an annual event that takes place on the Friday before Refugee Week. It provides an opportunity for primary and secondary schools to engage with issues relating to refugee migration and to promote a culture of welcome and understanding. A Day of Welcome 2025 will take place on Friday 13th June.

Schools interested in running A Day of Welcome can register to access a range of supporting resources, including:

Assemblies and lesson plans for primary and secondary pupils.
Free online events for pupils and teachers.
Information and guidance for teachers on refugee education
Posters and stickers.

Cost: Free with registration.

About Norfolk Schools of Sanctuary: Norfolk Schools of Sanctuary is part of the City of Sanctuary movement. It is run by a group of educators and volunteers who are committed to building a culture of welcome for refugees and asylum seekers in Norfolk and beyond. A Day of Welcome is organised in partnership with Anglia Ruskin University.

Further resources:

Sign up for the NLT’s free online author events taking place during Refugee Week (16th-22nd June). There are three age-adapted events taking place through the week with guest authors talking about why and how they choose to explore refugee experiences in their writing. The events are accompanied by teaching and learning resources that are free to download with the NLT’s free membership.
Badger Learning publishes a range of English-Ukrainian dual language books to help older readers (ages 8-14) build comprehension and reading fluency. In addition, they also offer a set of six dual language fiction and non-fiction e-books that are available to download for free, alongside a free English-Ukrainian phrasebook.
Celebrate language diversity and different cultures with the youngest pupils with this selection of picture books chosen by Scottish Book Trust.
Useful sources of primary book recommendations that explore issues faced by refugees and asylum seekers include Best Books for Schools, Books for Topics (KS1 and KS2), and Scottish BookTrust (ages 3-5 and books for 6-14 year-olds).
Download free teaching resources aimed at pupils aged 10+ to accompany My Name is Samim, a story of hope, courage and resilience that follows the journey of a 13-year-old boy from Afghanistan, fleeing his home after the death of his parents. You can also read a guest blog by author Fidan Meikle for Just Imagine about using refugee stories in the classroom.
The Story Seekers is a free, fully-resourced oracy and creative literacy project from the National and Unicorn Theatres for pupils aged 6-11 based around finding, telling and sharing stories from around the globe.
Find out more about the resources and support available to help your school become a School of Sanctuary.
Watch a recording of the Building Sustainable Provision in Schools for Refugee Children webinar from The Bell Foundation, one of several recorded webinars looking at ways to support refugee children and EAL learners on their YouTube channel.
Find more resources to help you explore the refugee experience with your pupils in the Refugee Week entry on the Literacy Year calendar.
Explore our range of resources to support EAL students here.