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The Criteria

The Criteria

The minimum criteria have been developed in collaboration with network members, experts in FE and people with lived experience of seeking sanctuary to help Further Education Colleges achieve the City of Sanctuary network principles and the overarching goals of the FE College of Sanctuary programme; work through the Learn, Embed and Share processes; and contribute to realising City of Sanctuary UK’s vision of welcome.

The City of Sanctuary UK Vision

City of Sanctuary UK is a small refugee-sector charity that works to build a movement of welcome for all in the UK – and committed to justice and solidarity for people seeking sanctuary. We want to see a UK where people seeking sanctuary have opportunities and are supported to thrive in safe and welcoming communities.

The Sanctuary Award Framework

To achieve a Sanctuary Award, Further Education Colleges must go through the Learn, Embed and Share processes, demonstrate the fulfilment of the ten minimum criteria and evidence co-producing their efforts with people seeking sanctuary. We expect to see that FE Colleges have been reflective, intentional and collaborative.

LEARN

  1. Staff Awareness Raising and Training: The college trains and raises awareness about the experiences of people seeking safety in the UK amongst all college staff and leadership. This is used to build sensitivity towards learners seeking sanctuary and build staff expertise to effectively support new arrivals from sanctuary seeking backgrounds.
  1. Student Learning: The college teaches all students about forced migration and the experiences of people seeking sanctuary to correct misconceptions, reduce prejudice, and foster connection and empathy. This may be through subject-based schemes of work, in tutorials, personal development sessions, workshops, college wide activities and student orientation.

EMBED

  1. Designated Sanctuary Lead: The college has a designated expert staff team/staff member as a named point of contact for sanctuary seeking students. This contact information is: clearly displayed on a designated webpage for refugee and asylum seeking learners; shared during induction and is present at enrolment days. The designated lead conducts a yearly review of how well the college is serving these students, focusing on their access, progress and overall experience.
  1. Educational Access: The college seeks to widen access to FE for people seeking sanctuary and has developed activities and processes to ensure learners seeking sanctuary can pursue meaningful education pathways. 
  1. Supportive Environment: The college adapts college provision and practice to ensure learners from sanctuary seeking backgrounds feel safe, can succeed in their studies, receive comprehensive support and can participate in extra activities and enrichment programmes.
  1. Community Celebration: The college recognises and participates in Refugee Week and similar celebratory events to connect with the wider movement of welcome and show solidarity with people seeking safety.
  1. Student Engagement: The college enables the participation of all staff and students in welcoming activities, such as befriending and/or exchange activities, community outreach; charitable actions; or acts of solidarity and encourages student ownership and leadership of sanctuary activities.

SHARE

  1. Public Commitment: The college openly shares its dedication to sanctuary by…
  1. Community Partnerships and Outreach: The college collaborates with local refugee organisations, forums and partner organisations to build a culture of welcome in the local area beyond the college.
  1. Network Engagement: The college engages with and supports wider sanctuary networks, including their local City of Sanctuary group (if present), other local sanctuary awarded organisations and the FE Colleges of Sanctuary network. This participation helps strengthen and sustain collective efforts to support people seeking sanctuary.

We also expect FE Colleges to explain how they have ‘co-produced’ their application and efforts with learners and people seeking sanctuary. This means that FE Colleges must work meaningfully and collaboratively with people seeking sanctuary to shape and lead their School of Sanctuary journey and achieve these principles (where possible).

For further information on the FE Colleges of Sanctuary minimum criteria and suggestions on how to meet them, please refer to the application guidance and the audit tool in our Award Key Resources.

Please note: City of Sanctuary UK recognises that FE Colleges vary widely in their contexts and capacities, and there is no expectation that every College of Sanctuary will follow the exact same path or that every college’s application will look the same. The criteria have been developed to ensure the credibility and standardisation of the award, but hopefully with enough flexibility for colleges to be able to devise their own unique pathway, in recognition of the needs and dynamics of their community and local context.