Become an FE College of Sanctuary

STEP ONE – Sign the organisational pledge, committing the college to acknowledge and support the CoS charter & organisational values and upholding our vision of welcome and belonging in the UK. This takes less than two minutes and is one of the minimum criteria.

Share your pledge and announce your intention to your wider college community.

STEP TWO – Connect with your Sanctuary Lead Contact. Once you sign the pledge, you will be contacted by the FE College of Sanctuary Team who will let you know about the next applicant cohorts to work towards the FE College of Sanctuary award and introduce you to any local members of our networks.

STEP THREE – Read and review the College of Sanctuary resource pack, noting the the minimum criteria and the Colleges of Sanctuary website for ideas and inspiration. Undertake an audit of what the college has done to date to meet the award minimum criteria.

Consider who in your college may be seeking sanctuary, what support they may need and how to include them in the process, as well as reflecting on how your curriculum planning & college-wide events could be adapted to include learning about sanctuary. Create a plan to fulfil outstanding criteria and consider linking this to the college development plan.

STEP FOUR – Complete an application form that clearly states how you have fulfilled the the award minimum criteria. Typically this should be accompanied with an evidence portfolio/ folder  supporting your application and might include photos, newsletters, students’ work, emails, policies and more.

Discuss with your Lead/ main point of contact about a realistic and convenient application submission deadline plenty of time in advance. When ready, submit your application to your Lead/contact who will arrange for a panel to review your application and share some feedback. This will be followed by an appraisal meeting. Please note that the appraisal team typically includes people from local refugee organisations, people with lived experience and/or others working within this space and is intended to understand local perspectives of your colleges support to people seeking safety.

Make sure City of Sanctuary UK is set up as a supplier to enable the transfer of the accreditation fee upon being informed about a successful award. Contact the Colleges Lead for details on how to transfer this fee (you can read more about the reasons we have an accreditation fee here.

STEP FIVE – Once awarded, transfer the award fee and plan a celebration in collaboration with your local group and/or Lead. Make sure to share your achievements on social media and on the college website and reach out to local press. Continue to implement your sanctuary efforts and develop a plan for re-appraisal in three years.