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 event designed specifically for schools as part of Refugee Week. It provides an opportunity for schools to engage with issues relating to refugee migration and to promote a culture of welcome and understanding. A Day of Welcome 2024 will take place on Friday 14th June.

Schools interested in running A Day of Welcome can register to access a range of lessons and supporting resources that:

Teach pupils about the experiences of refugees and asylum seekers.
Explore the history of migration in your local area.
Celebrate diversity within your community.

The offer for 2024 will include live webcasts and specialist training in refugee education delivered by the International Rescue Committee. Further details to be announced.

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:

Best-selling author Tom Palmer created five new stories on the theme of ‘Boat People’ exploring the plight of refugees through the ages for Refugee Week 2023. Schools can listen to recordings of Tom reading the stories or download them from the National Literacy Trust website. There is also a recording of a Q&A with Tom Palmer and six mini writing workshops with accompanying worksheets to inspire pupils aged 10-14 to write their own responses.
Watch a recording of an online storytelling and drawing event with author Na’ima B Robert and illustrator Nadine Kaaden based on their book A Child Like You from the National Literacy Trust. Suitable for pupils aged 5-8.
Register your school to take part in the Read for Refugees Sponsored Read in aid of UK for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency’s UK national partner. Supported by the School Library Association, the sponsored read is designed to to help schools promote reading while helping young people take positive action in troubling times.
Download a teaching resource for EYFS pupils based on the picture book Lily and the Polar Bears from the National Literacy Trust. Available with their free membership.
For primary aged children, CLPE, Books for Topics (KS1 and KS2), the National Literacy Trust, BookTrust (younger and older readers) and Scottish BookTrust (3-5 year-olds, 9-11 year-olds) all have booklists that explore the issues faced by refugees and asylum seekers.
You can find recommended booklists for secondary school pupils from BookTrust (older readers and teenagers) and Scottish BookTrust.
Enter pupils aged 7-11 into this year’s LoveReading4Kids Poetry Prize on the theme of ‘Refuge’. The deadline for all entries is 29th July.
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 bookmaking projects that encourage children to celebrate their lives and the lives in their communities in the All Our Stories resource from the British Library.
Explore a range of teaching resources, assemblies, refugee stories and training opportunities from the Schools of Sanctuary network.
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.
Watch this free webinar on ‘How to Talk to Children and Young People About War: Understanding and Supporting our Refugee Children’ in which Dr Tina Rae, Educational and Child Psychologist, and Educational Consultant, outlines practical strategies to support refugees and create a welcoming and safe space in schools.
Find more resources to support EAL students here.