Moorside Primary School and Nursery has become a nationally recognised School of Sanctuary after demonstrating an understanding of refugees.

The Schools of Sanctuary programme is a network of over 300 primary and secondary schools committed to supporting refugees in the UK.

Schools join the network if they can prove over a period of time that children learn what it is like to be a refugee and this is embedded in the curriculum in subjects such as  geography, history and religious education.

They are then reassessed on a three-year rolling basis.

Other schools in the Harrogate district to have achieved School of Sanctuary status include Grove Road Community Primary School, St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, Springwater School, and Outwood Primary Academy Greystone.

Moorside’s award certificate was presented during last week’s national Refugee Week.

Claire Rowett, headteacher at Moorside, said:

“At Moorside, we have established an inclusive and welcoming ethos, where the importance of safety is embedded across the curriculum.

“Learning about people across the world and their contrasting environments and experiences to our own in Ripon, has taught our children that our one rule, to be kind, is not just associated with school, but is a rule for life, and that nobody should feel alone.”

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Schools of Sanctuary is organised by City of Sanctuary UK, an organisation established in 2005 to promote the UK as a welcoming place of safety for all.

Yvonne Jefferies, the lead for Schools of Sanctuary at Ripon City of Sanctuary, which is part of City of Sanctuary UK, said:

“This award is not given lightly. Schools work very hard to demonstrate that they understand what it means to be a refugee and to arrive here in the UK, likely friendless and very anxious.”