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Celebrating diversity and inclusion is central to our school’s identity as a multicultural educational institution that benefits from over 57 different spoken languages and dialects, a rainbow of cultures and children with many different lived experiences including those who have faced displacement. We recognise the strengths and opportunities that this diversity brings to our school and strive to ensure it is embedded as a central part of our school identity, culture and policies.

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Learning either within lessons, form time or across curriculums is engineered to be inclusive of all.

Moreover, many of our curriculums include topics and lessons which explore SoS related issues such as displacement, globalisation and discrimination.

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Our EAL policy demonstrates our commitment to ensuring that all students have the ability to access the curriculum, grow and achieve their potential.

We ensure that assessment is conducted and EAL proficiency is obtained within the first two weeks of enrolment. This is done using the the Bell Foundation EAL Assessment Framework for Schools and helps guide teachers on the appropriate strategies to put in place for each student.

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JPA EAL Policy - In House School Policy only

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We have already worked very hard to make sure we are supporting students who have faced displacement, however we also know that this is a continuous journey that must be developed and nurtured.

This section outlines our plans for the next year.

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Many lessons across JPA's curriculum embed themes which raise awareness about displacement related issues, promote acceptance and understanding, and celebrate the diversity and internationalism which is an integral part of our schools' identity. Moreover, we strive to make sure all students are able to engage with lessons and learn without displacement related issues posing as a barrier.

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Following this link will lead you to JPA's mission statement which outlines our ethos and values as a secondary education provider. You will see we celebrate our diversity and strive to ensure that all students are given the opportunity to achieve their dreams. This also outlines our approach to supporting children of different faiths including having Father Jonathan and Mr Sajid as visible presences within our school.

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'Create your future' encapsulates our purpose as an Academy: to educate, support and nurture all of our students so they can achieve their potential and fulfil their aspirations.

We are a dynamic and diverse Academy - this means we have a clear energy and purpose and all students are valued equally, regardless of their background or ability. We pride ourselves on our comprehensive intake and our inclusive approach.

Our principal aim is to encourage high expectations and high standards of achievement, both academic and personal. Our values embrace honesty, trust, reliability, creativity, respect for the legitimate rights of others, care for the weaker members of society, regard for the environment and a kindness towards other people.

We believe that a calm, friendly, disciplined atmosphere, in which hard work and co-operation are respected, is the best way to promote these values.
Key Features of Our Academy:

* Comprehensive ethos
* Academic achievement
* Extra curricular opportunities
* Discipline and rewards: PRAISE Code
* Pastoral care and individual support

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'Create your future' encapsulates our purpose as an Academy: to educate, support and nurture all of our students so they can achieve their potential and fulfil their aspirations. We are a dynamic and diverse Academy - this means we have a clear energy and purpose and all students are valued equally, regardless of their background or ability.

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In Year 8 students read 'The Bone Sparrow' a novel which focuses on the experiences of a child refugee born in a detention centre. Although the novel is fictional, this text allows us to teach context around real life displacement.

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Our history department have ensured that they teach about the cultural diversity of Britain, the positive impact inspirational figures have had on our history and their legacy on our society today.

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Worksheet linked to Black British History

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This lesson explores factors relating to migration and challenges negative stereotypes related to immigration.

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Lesson 5 - Factors Affecting Migration CA (1)

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We teach a selection of poems from the Power and Conflict cluster of the AQA literature curriculum that explore the impact of war, displacement and loss of identity.

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We have a unit of unseen poetry that encourages the students to engage with Instagram poets that are making a significant impact to challenge SoS related issues such as racism, ideas of home, resilience and strength, and identity.

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Unseen insta poets 2 Darius D Saeed Jones   

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Further evidence

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Unseen insta poets 1  Rupi Kaur and Nikita Gill 

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We understand that sharing best practice, knowledge and opportunities, and celebration of our commitment to supporting displaced children is essential to ensuring we as a City of Sanctuary are thriving in our efforts to welcome, support and celebrate children and families with refugee and asylum seeker status. We are also mindful that sharing students voices is one of our most powerful tools to driving acceptance and change within our community and beyond.

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Our screens are used to share important messages, cultural capital and celebrations. These pictures show the global greetings from our main languages

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The TV screens are also used to provide extracurricular learning opportunities about important figures and events from around the world

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To prepare KS4 for the descriptive element of their GCSE exams students are given opportunities to describe many different locations, characters and objects.

This lesson uses the famous National Geographic front cover with 'Afghan Girl' to explore child refugees and the legacy of their displacement experiences while practicing creative writing strategies that empower those who have faced hardship.

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We strive to share practice, connections and our support for Schools of Sanctuary and all refugee advocacy, but we know that sharing starts by spreading the message to everyone who walks through our doors. That's why our amazing students have created a sensational display that both advocates for refugees and showcases their cultural heritage and pride. All visitors can see our displays on entrance and thus all visitors know where we stand on the rights of refugees and asylum seekers.

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Key Stage 5 French uses the language to teach students about multiculturalism, displacement and the benefits of a diverse society.

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A Level English language explores the impact of other cultures on the journey of English. Students investigate the impact of monarchy, invasions and trade to build a world view of why our language is a melting pot of inclusion, diversity and opportunity for partnership with the wider world. This Powerpoint is an amalgamation from different units as they are too large to share.

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This scheme of work uses a contemporary poem that challenges damaging views of immigration and asylum seeking. The poem allows KS5 teachers to explore media representations of displacement, challenge damaging stereotypes and empathise with the experiences of refugees and asylum seekers.

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We use form activities which teach acceptance, understanding and curiosity for internationalism.

We have a range of tasks but some of these aren't able to be evidenced such as 'Tuesday Newsday' Where we use Newsround and other global news resources to teach students about current event.

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Students guess the global origin of words. This activity helps to teach how interconnected languages are, and how the English language is a strong representation of the multiculturalism of the UK, both historically and now. The activity aims to teach children, through our language, that we are more connected to other cultures than we may realise.

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Students were asked to write a paragraph on why being a school made up of many different cultures makes us amazing.

Some of their responses encapsulated it perfectly " Just like the tastiest meal is made up of a variety of ingredients, the number of different cultures here makes our school amazing!"

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JPA delivers a range of different EAL interventions both during the school day and after school. Our specialist staff work hard to ensure students are given the best chance at developing their English proficiency and understanding of the cultural capital references that is key to thriving in British society.

This includes our NEST afterschool club where students from Newcastle University read with, chat to and play games with students who have refugee or asylum seeker status.

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We have collaborated with a school within our MAT to deliver resources and training that will be useful when they embark on their journey as a potential School of Sanctuary. This included our best practice with EAL strategies from our EAL lead.

We have also collaborated with Hebburn Comprehensive, outside of our MAT, who has a growing number of refugee children in their care. We have provided them guidance and contacts to help them look into School of Sanctuary and find extracurricular activities to support their refugee and EAL students.

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We use assemblies to inform and guide students on many relevant topics including becoming a school of sanctuary, anti-racism and mental health.

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JPA's assembly to raise understanding of racism in schools among KS3, 4 and 5.

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Assembly: Becoming a School of Sanctuary

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Assembly: Becoming a School of Sanctuary

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An assembly which explains teenage brain development in order to give students an understanding of their own mental health, staff an understanding of student behaviour, and links to the mental health support routes in our school. This links to SoS as mental health provision is essential to all students, but especially those with increased ACEs (adverse Childhood experiences): children with experience of displacement are likely to be at increased risk of ACE.

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Jesmond Park Academy has a two pronged process for an advanced induction. Firstly students with refugee or asylum seeker status receive a bespoke personal welcome which includes, where necessary, a multiagency meeting; allowing JPA to develop an action plan that ensures the child's needs are met including their first week with us, interventions, buddying, language and mental health. We ensure the student has access to uniform and the necessary equipment in advance of their first day. Then a team will be assigned to ensure they are looked after including pastoral, year team and support staff.

We have also begun a parent forum event where parents and carers of our refugee children are welcomed to their own open evening in which we go through important information, key policies, a tour of the school, access to teachers and a final welcome in the EAL intervention room so they can visually understand their child's school experience. We use 6th form translators to support and give parents the chance to raise concerns, offer opinions or ask questions.

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Parent Voice and Advanced Induction: Parent Forum Invitation

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Parent Voice and Advanced Induction: Parent Forum Invitation

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Here you can view the invitation to the parent forum. The letter was sent with the relevant translations specific to the first language of each child. These events allow students to feel connected with our school, understand their child's school day and have the opportunity to voice their ideas or concerns face to face- with the help of 6th form translators.

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JPA is made up of a large and highly qualified work-force enabling us to provide holistic educational and pastoral care for our students.

Students who have experienced the difficulties of displacement, where appropriate, will be able to access support through specialist intervention staff including our EAL, literacy and phonics, and numeracy HTLAs, bilingual TAs, an EAL lead, and a School of Sanctuary Coordinator. Moreover, JPA offers a range of pastoral and mental health provisions which include the year teams, SEND team, our school counsellor and visiting female counsellor, Streetwise and links with Barnados.

Moreover, we have a multilingual workforce with teachers able to speak Farsi, Bengali, Urdu, Punjabi, Arabic, French, Spanish, Mandarin, Italian, Russian, Polish and more.

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In order to make sure staff are aware and able to be involved in School of Sanctuary activities, we post opportunities and celebrations in our staff bulletin. We also use this to ensure staff are aware of different cultural celebrations that will hold importance to our students.

This document shows some of the articles written to educate staff on important cultural celebrations that are of importance to our students.

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We recognise that sometimes students who have language barriers also have a special educational need. This can often be the case for students who have experienced trauma, malnutrition or extreme stress in childhood; therefore, we have a range of specialists both permanently on site and professionals who visit to help ensure the needs of these students are supported.

One example is the work of the HIARP team who do an incredible job at supporting deaf students, many of which are EAL and some who have experienced displacement.

In the picture you can see a cultural capital task used by one of our HIARP team to share cultural understanding.

Another example of this is when we have had support from speech and language therapists who have also brought in Arabic/English interpreters to assess the students’ understanding/use of spoken Arabic.

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We understand that to ensure the best outcomes for students who have faced displacement, it is integral to support the research efforts of universities seeking to broaden the academic understanding of related issues.

JPA has been helping a researcher from Northumbria University whose project is investigating " how the displacement has changed the focus and role of civil society actors across the three countries, concentrating, in particular, on existing organisations supporting forced migrants and Ukrainian cultural organisations in these three countries"

The research information sheet is attached.

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Information sheet for Debordering Europe - Interviews VCS Policy

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Our EAL lead completed the IRC's Healing Classroom training and then delivered a condensed version to all staff.

Teachers have then been directed via our staff bulletin to complete the full training themselves if they wish to.

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We use our staff bulletin to direct all staff to training opportunities such as Healing Classrooms

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Collaboration: Giving back to organisations that support refugees

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Collaboration: Giving back to organisations that support refugees

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We are committed to giving back to the organisations who have supported us and seek to improve the experiences of refugees in our wider community.

We have endeavoured to facilitate Native Scientists by contributing to their social media reach and generating networking opportunities such as connecting them with local STEM professionals who have joined their volunteer lists. We will continue to build our relationships with other schools in the SoS network and support organisations that seek to support refugees.

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This was delivered by the SENCO when we began our SoS Journey

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We run a range of clubs that cater to the varied interests of our students. This gives students the opportunity to develop new skills, build friendships and advance their language and communication abilities.

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We celebrated Refugee Week through a number of activities including a form, teacher lead presentation and task which allows students to share their voices, a 'Meet the Author' event with Gavin O'Toole in which he will use his new book 'Land of Waves' to educate Key Stage Three on the experiences of displaced children, and a collaborative effort from a large group of volunteers across the school to create our School of Sanctuary display.

We are in the process of arranging a charity football match for the end of term, hopefully with the support of NUFC who have just became the first Club of Sanctuary. We hoped to run this during refugee week, but as we are in the midst of exam season this hasn't been possible. We will use the event to raise funds for School of Sanctuary and WERS. It is an ideal time to use sport as a driver or refugee awareness as the Euros have begun and the Olympics is fast approaching

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Teachers work hard to bridge the gaps in students' cultural capital. This is within lessons on a larger scale and one to one during interventions. Here you can see some of cultural capital resources used by our EAL and literacy HTLAs.

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Curriculum

We will further endeavour to embed topics relevant to forced displacement into the curriculum. This will be discussed in CPD sessions.

Form

We will build more relevant topics and learning opportunities into form time. We will push to ensure that all of the major cultural celebrations linked to our community are recognised during form time using a database of relevant resources. Year teams will be directed to include the database in their direction of form teachers.

Intervention

We will continue to provide intense EAL intervention in SSB, use support staff during lessons and run the NEST club who have funding for a further three years after school.

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Parental Involvement

Next year we will prioritise developing a greater connection with the parents and carers of our refugee and asylum seeker students. This year we have ran the parent forums and ensured communication, the next step is to invite them to join our mission by providing them with opportunities to volunteer, either through assemblies or support roles.

Speakers

We have been able to give our students a voice through the pupil voice committee, student feedback and creative tasks. Moreover, we have been able to connect students with others who have experienced displacement by using online content such as interviews with Olympians from the refugee team and United Nations content. However, we would like to give a greater platform to those more involved with our school and local community; therefore, next year we will seek to involve parents, 6th formers and WERS in public speaking events.

Refugee week

As Refugee Week falls within the same month as Pride Month, we will strive to have our LGBTQIA+ team work with the School of Sanctuary Coordinator in order to raise awareness for refugees displaced on the basis of gender and sexuality.

Native Scientists

After the success of the Native Scientists workshop this year, we are eager to host them again either in Arabic or another of our key second languages. In order to nurture a positive relationship with this wonderful organisation, we have tried to support them by providing social media content and connecting them other schools and volunteers.

Resources

Work on building an area of the library that is stocked with books written in alternative languages other than English in order to promote bilingualism and maintain first languages - work on funding streams and donation opportunities to complete this

Voice and Influence

Build upon the student lead project

Staff Training

Deliver yearly CPD for whole staff then offer a one off CPD session as one of the staff options.

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We were very grateful to be able to host Native Scientists, an organisation that connects EAL STEM professionals with students in order to ignite curiosity in their native language. Native Scientists sent us a doctor, an astrophysicist, an engineer and an entomologist to run experiments in Arabic.

The students enjoyed this event enormously so we were proud to publish a celebration newsletter which has since been published on Native Scientists' social media platforms.

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We understand that food is an integral element of many cultures and religions. As a school with a large number of Muslim students we have adapted our menu to offer halal option.

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As a very large secondary school that teaches a diverse range of subjects, the resources relevant to each class and teacher can differ greatly; however, each teacher has access to dictionaries and thesaurus', electronic dictionary book marks which translate into specific languages, and laptops which students may use in class and at home. Teachers have been guided towards useful apps like Say Hello and a bank of resources

on our school OneDrive with useful documents to guide teachers on strategies for EAL and displaced children.

Moreover, in order to encourage trans-languaging between staff and students, all staff have a poster with the greetings for the most spoken 12 languages in our school. These are positioned behind the teachers PC so that they can use them to greet EAL students. This strategy has been very well received by students. It is worth noting that this poster was created as a collaborative task between staff and students, allowing our bilingual staff to contribute to our SoS efforts while empowering students to ensure their native language is appreciated and represented in our school.

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Our languages department works hard to provide students the opportunity to connect with and maintain their native languages. An example of this is their yearly entrance into the Anthea Bell translation competition.

Furthermore, at key stage 4 students are also given the opportunity to complete a home languages GCSE in which many of our students gain an additional GCSE enabling them to verify their language skills to future employers and universities.

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Every year we host two culture days; one for 6th form and the other for lower schools.

Students are encouraged to attend school wearing cultural dress. Moreover, food, music and dance is used to allow them to celebrate their cultures. 6th form students are also given the opportunity to deliver assemblies.

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During Refugee Week we had a visit from Gavin O’Toole, writer of ‘Land of Waves’, who talked to Key Stage 3 about child migrants and how it’s important to share and learn about their experiences through stories.

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Literacy and reading is prioritised by JPA with form time reading interventions to help bridge gaps in literacy.

We have an extensive library that holds a world of books including many books that educate on different cultures.

Moreover, specialist EAL reading material is available in the library and in our student support base. This includes translated and abridged versions of course, canonical and reading for pleasure texts; books to help staff develop their practice with EAL teaching; and books that are engineered to advance understanding of cultural capital.

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Sharing with other schools

Once we have gained SoS status we will offer to mentor another school . This could be North Gosforth within our MAT who has already sought EAL support or Hebburn Comprehensive who we have already supported with networking connections.

Sharing Online

We will continue to maintain a social media presence that celebrates our commitment to Schools of Sanctuary, Refugee advocacy and celebration of our multicultural community.

Sharing with the wider community

We will continue to give back to the organisations within our community through positive social media representations and networking

We will hold a significant charity fundraiser that raises awareness and funds for School of Sanctuary and a local refugee charity

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Resources: Teaching Inclusion and Cultural Capital Through Art 

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Resources: Teaching Inclusion and Cultural Capital Through Art 

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We also use these colouring books from the Professional Cartoonists' Organisation, who developed this book specifically for refugee children who have recently arrived in the UK. The pictures explore a range of themes and focus' including those designed to teach cultural capital, those designed to present Britain as a place with a diverse and accepting culture and those designed to teach vocabulary.

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It is important for us to show all of our visitors we are proud to be a School of Sanctuary (pending) and a school that celebrates our cultural diversity, so to celebrate Refugee Week students across all year groups came together to create a display to showcase this.

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After the author visit from Gavin O' Toole we are running a creative writing competition which challenges students to write a short story or poem about a refugees journey.

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We have provided a range of opportunities to allow students to share their voice relating to School of Sanctuary including quote collection, displays and classroom discussions.

However we have also created a team of student ambassadors who are working with the Newcastle City Council’s Voice and Influence Team to create content that raises awareness and understanding.

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Student Voice: Quotes from our refugee students 

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Student Voice: Quotes from our refugee students 

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We value the importance of empowering students through autonomous creativity, in which they are given the space, freedom and resources to share and celebrate their identity, culture and our togetherness as a school. Here you can see some of the creations of our students. We are very proud of the engagement of our students who are eager to support each other and celebrate each others differences which you can see from a white board mural from when Ramadan and Easter fell within the same time period.

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We publish a magazine that shares key events and achievements at JPA. In this summer edition we celebrate achievements throughout the year. You can see our pledge to SoS, the Native Scientists event, a celebration of African World Heritage Day, our celebration of Chinese new year and much more. It is important that our pride in being a welcoming and multicultural school community shines through in everything we do.

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We have managed to secure the foundation award which recognises our commitment to celebrating our multicultural identity as a school. We will pursue the intermediate level next.

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The Native Scientists organisation visited JPA to deliver a science workshop in Arabic. Aimed at celebrating the home-languages of students and providing role models in the field of science.

Arabic-speaking EAL students were able to access this workshop and share their heritage or home language with others.

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Upon being awarded School of Sanctuary status, every classroom proudly displayed the official poster. Interactive corridor screens across school display the official School of Sanctuary banner - alongside welcome messages in a number of languages.

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The Student Voice group produced a flyer of information about the School of Sanctuary. This was shared with prospective parents and students during the Year 6 open evening.

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Student Voice: School of Sanctuary Certificate

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Student Voice: School of Sanctuary Certificate

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Students from the JPA Student Voice group proudly receive the School of Sanctuary certificate at the Newcastle School of Sanctuary awards.

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The Student Voice group launched an art competition with the theme 'celebrating our differences' to celebrate School of Sanctuary status. JPA students from Year 7 to Sixth Form made art which showcased diversity, multiculturalism and inclusion.

The winners were given gift vouchers with the support of Newcastle Council's Youth Voice & Influence team.

All of the art entries are displayed across school - on interactive screens and in the library.

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The Student Voice art competition collected student-made art under the theme 'celebrating our differences'. As well as being showcased across school, the art was shared on social media and in Park Life, the school magazine.

Newcastle Council's Youth Voice & Influence team also showcased the artwork in their social media and newsletter.

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JPA students worked with refugee and asylum seeker group Action Foundation - to produce a short film highlighting life as a young displaced person.

The short film, Small Matters, premiered at a blue riband event at The Glasshouse Gateshead. JPA students fielded a Q&A and screened the film. Earlier, students appeared on BBC Radio Newcastle to promote the event.

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City of Sanctuary Forum held at The Great North Museum Hancock in Newcastle. Featuring a range of sanctuary organisations - including Newcastle United Foundation, The Glasshouse Gateshead, the NHS, West End Refugee Service and more.

JPA staff and students attended the Sanctuary Forum to represent the Schools of Sanctuary – as Newcastle’s only secondary school given the award.

Students spoke about the projects they are involved with, giving them a chance to have their voices heard.

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The first edition of our school magazine published since being awarded School of Sanctuary status. Featuring articles sharing and celebrating the news of the award, the art competition to raise awareness, and a range of multi-cultural clubs and activities.

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English as an Additional Language students receive regular interventions to support their ability to access the curriculum. Using the workbooks and resources produced by CGP - these engaging sessions are grouped by English language proficiency, and feature a range of activities to progress Speaking, Listening, Reading and Writing.

EAL sessions are delivered in a dedicated EAL room within the Student Support Base. This welcoming space has dual-language resources, foreign-language books, games and activities for use by EAL students.

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Jesmond Park Academy has a social media presence across Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter).

School of Sanctuary stories and images are shared regularly across these platforms, as well as the school website. It is a great way to connect with organisations, charities and individuals who have the same values as our school.

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Networking: Newcastle Secondary Schools 

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Networking: Newcastle Secondary Schools 

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As the only Secondary School in Newcastle to hold the School of Sanctuary status, Jesmond Park Academy welcomes visitors and students from other educational establishments to share best practice and answer questions.

These sessions have drawn a number of prospective Schools of Sanctuary - keen to join the growing network and contribute to the overall City of Sanctuary.

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The school library at JPA is stocked with a range of titles with direct links to the lived experiences of displaced persons.

The National Literacy Trust's Young Readers Programme have compiled the booklist that celebrates the contributions, creativity and resilience of refugees and people seeking sanctuary.

The books are especially useful when teaching empathy and supporting children's understanding of how conflict causes people to leave their homes

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JPA offers a range of extra-curricular enrichment activities. These clubs can be accessed by all students across school, with breakfast, lunch and after-school sessions available.

Dual-language resources are available to allow all students to access sessions, where they can make new friends, explore new interests and improve language proficiency in a friendly and welcoming environment.

Clubs include Foreign-Film Club, Anime Club, Steel-Pan Band, Science, Yoga, Chess Club, Cooking Club and a range of sports sessions.

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JPA celebrated the annual Culture Day, one of the most popular events on the calendar. Students and staff attended school in their cultural dress. Home and heritage languages were shared across school, as well as foods, flags and music. Diversity and multiculturalism were celebrated – JPA’s first Culture Day as a School of Sanctuary.

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In a live Q&A session, JPA’s School of Sanctuary Student Voice group heard from Asylum Speakers founder Jaz O’Hara, and Giel, a South Sudanese speaker and advocate for refugee rights. Asylum Speakers is a media platform amplifying the voices of those impacted by forced displacement – alongside regular talks and Q&As, they have produced a bestselling book and a popular podcast.

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At JPA we have a range of popular titles available in multiple languages. It is important that our EAL students can access material in their home or heritage language, and develop their bilingual literacy skills.

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Newcastle University's North East Solidarity and Teaching (NEST) group held their final reading session with JPA students for the 2024/25 academic year. The NEST reciprocal reading sessions are run by University student volunteers - with English as an Additional Language as a focus for development.

Coming in each week, the volunteers have built a lovely rapport with our New to English cohort and some of our students who have been displaced. As a School of Sanctuary, building these positive connections is really valued. JPA looks forward to working with NEST again in the 2025/26 academic year.

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A new wall display has been created to share the message - Everyone Welcome. The display includes striking imagery, questions and answers about refugees and asylum seekers, and excerpts of stories written by displaced people.

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Jesmond Park Academy celebrated Refugee Week with a visit to Newcastle Civic Centre on Wednesday. JPA represented the Schools of Sanctuary, in an event titled Stories of Sanctuary - hearing from people who have come to live and be part of life in Newcastle and the journey they have undertaken to be here.

There was Persian guitar from Aslan Mehraban, live painting by Hesam Moshfegh and textiles with Somayeh Oji. The close of the event saw a Tai-Haku Tree of Sanctuary being planted outside the Civic Centre, whilst JPA’s very own Kaijani read a poem titled A Refugee written by Roua Horanieh.

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The theme of Refugee Week this year is ‘Community as a Superpower’ – artwork for this year has been designed by illustrator 8bitfaz. We are holding a competition for students to design their own ‘Superhero Refugee’ – the designs will be showcased in the school to raise awareness.

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During a live session, JPA students, together with pupils from across the UK, had the chance to hear from Sita Brahmachari about her new book Phoenix Brothers. The event was part of the National Literacy Trust’s work with a number of authors for Refugee Week. Sita shared why she felt compelled to develop the story of Amir and Mo, whilst also discussing why she writes about the experiences of refugees.

Lina Fadel, editor at The Other Side of Hope, also contributed to the live session. The publication showcases poetry and fiction written by refugees. Lina raised some key points:

· Why is it important to talk about the experiences of people seeking refuge?

· How are refugees represented in fiction, in the media, and in everyday conversations?

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As a School of Sanctuary it is important to share the values of diversity, inclusion and acceptance of others. June is Pride month - dedicated to celebrating LGBTQ+ communities all around the world. This Pride Month, JPA celebrates Rainbow Day, with students and staff coming to school in bright colours.

For many displaced people, LGBTQ+ issues are the reason they may be seeking sanctuary. Raising awareness of these issues is important. At Jesmond Park Academy, everyone is welcome.

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In the final week of the Summer term, a group of JPAs EAL students ventured down into Jesmond Dene. This is a fantastic opportunity right on our doorstep to connect with nature and develop language skills.

The group followed the principles of Forest School - playing games and fun activities, whilst learning about the flora and fauna of British woodland.

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The Summer 2025 edition of Park Life magazine features a great number of articles on key School of Sanctuary-related events including Rainbow Day headlining the issue.

The volunteer work of Newcastle University's North East Solidarity and Teaching (NEST) is featured, alongside two separate online author events from Asylum Speakers and the National Literacy Trust.

The Newcastle Civic Centre tree-planting ceremony held during Refugee Week is showcased alongside some great photos from Culture Day.

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The National Literacy Trust kindly donated a book bundle centred around the theme of refugees and migration, following this year's Refugee Week. This range of titles, from award-winning authors, is a welcome addition to JPA's growing collection of sanctuary-related books.

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All teaching and support staff were given EAL Training to share key information, ideas and learning strategies to support the EAL students within school. Drawing on the Bell Foundation: Secondary framework, staff were tasked with thinking how EAL students can access the nuances of each curriculum area. The five key principles to EAL pedagogy were highlighted, and useful tips and guidance for the four areas of language development were built upon.

This type of training is ideal to ensuring a whole-school approach to EAL support.

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Students in Key Stage 4 learned the story of Walter Tull, as part of a series of lessons held around Armistice Day. Walter Tull was a British footballer and army officer of Afro-Caribbean descent, who was tragically killed in action during the First World War. Tull's story of overcoming discrimination and racism was inspiring to students, as they discovered more about his life.

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School of Sanctuary: Student Voice Group

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School of Sanctuary: Student Voice Group

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The Student Voice Group is an integral part of the School of Sanctuary programme - giving students themselves the opportunity to make a difference within the school environment. The group meets every fortnight to discuss and plan events. The upcoming Christmas Concert will be a key moment to raise awareness of sanctuary-related issues, with a range of student-led resources and stalls planned.

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Students at Jesmond Park Academy have been writing Christmas cards for St Vincent's Centre in Newcastle - a vibrant local community hub also known as Vinnie's. Vinnie's provides lunches, community activities and a warm and welcoming space; with the aim of fighting poverty in all its forms. Vinnie's is also committed to supporting refugees - offering ESOL classes, citizens advice and more to the forcibly displaced people who find sanctuary in Newcastle.

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Christmas Concert 2025: Schools of Sanctuary Fundraiser

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Christmas Concert 2025: Schools of Sanctuary Fundraiser

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On Monday 8th December the Jesmond Park Academy Music Department hosted the annual Christmas Showcase, celebrating the hard work and dedication of 120 students. There were outstanding performances from 9 of our music ensembles.  The hard work and dedication of the students certainly paid off!  We look forward to sharing more music with you in 2026!

This year's Christmas Concert supported the Schools of Sanctuary fundraiser, set up by City of Sanctuary UK.   A group from Jesmond Park Academy's Student Voice Project baked fresh cookies and mince pies and served refreshments to guests as they arrived for the festive performances. Guests' kind donations went to the City of Sanctuary Big Give fundraiser, which matched all contributions. With JPA's support, they surpassed their fundraising target for 2025.

Mr Lovatt, EAL practitioner, said "JPA was the first secondary school in Newcastle to be recognised as a School of Sanctuary, and this festive season we really wanted to spread the message that everyone is welcome here.  We really appreciate all of the support given to City of Sanctuary UK's fundraiser through our Christmas Concert."

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Lit in Colour was created in 2020 by Penguin Books UK and race equality think tank, the Runnymede Trust. Penguin's mission is to 'make books for everyone, because a book can change anyone’, and Lit in Colour aims to give young people the opportunity to read and study books by Black, Asian and minority ethnic writers.

At JPA we have collected a range of titles that appear on the Lit in Colour KS3, KS4 and KS5 reading lists. It's really important for us as a School of Sanctuary, as part of the ongoing National Year of Reading initiative, to celebrate the works of Black, Asian and minority ethnic writers. The books can be found in the school library.

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🏮 Happy Chinese New Year!! 🏮

Some lucky JPA students received a Hong Bao 🧧 from the Mandarin teachers today. Mandarin classes all had fun celebrating the start of Spring Festival, as the half term began. Tuesday 17th Feb marks the first day of the Year of the Horse, one of twelve different animals in the Chinese zodiac.

The MFL department wishes you Xin Nian Kuai Le and Gong Xi Fa Cai 🐴

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The Secretary of State for Education, Bridget Phillipson, has written to JPA praising our results for disadvantaged students last year, stating it places our school amongst the very best schools nationally for this measure.

Dear Colleague,

Congratulations to you and your team on the excellent outcomes the disadvantaged pupils at your school achieved at the end of the 2024/25 academic year. Your school’s performance places it among the very best nationally, and this is a significant achievement.

This success reflects the dedication of your staff and the hard work of your pupils. It shows what can be achieved when ambition and commitment come together. Thank you for everything you do to give children the best possible opportunities to succeed.

Your school’s achievements demonstrate what is possible, and I hope you will continue to share your experience and best practice with others. Even the strongest schools can go further. We encourage you to lead the way as a system leader - sharing effective practice, championing networks, supporting collaboration, and helping raise standards across the sector.

There are real opportunities available for you to support improvement for a wider group of pupils including through:

- engaging actively with your region’s RISE networks and partnering with nearby schools and trusts;

- contributing to regional roundtables and professional communities to spread the approaches that are working in your context; and

- sustaining excellence by continuing to focus on disadvantaged pupils

Please pass on my thanks and congratulations to your staff and pupils. I look forward to working with you as we strive together to raise standards for all.

Bridget Phillipson

Secretary of State for Education

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At Jesmond Park Academy we have become a World Book Day Community Hub, which means we have all the copies of books that are available in exchange for the £1 book tokens.

Any children in the local area who would like to collect their books from JPA, rather than going to town, are free to come into school to use their tokens. Happy reading!