A school where everyone is welcome

Building a culture of welcome, safety and belonging

At Gordano School, we believe everyone deserves to feel safe, welcomed, respected and that they belong.

We are proud to be working towards the School of Sanctuary Award, building on our commitment to inclusion, understanding and belonging. We want every student, member of staff and family to feel known and valued, including refugees and people seeking sanctuary.

A School of Sanctuary is a place that welcomes people seeking safety and helps its community understand their experiences. It is about creating a culture where differences are respected, everyone is included and people are treated with kindness and dignity.

What does this mean at Gordano?

We want welcome and belonging to be part of everyday life at Gordano, in our classrooms, our friendships and our wider community.

As we work towards the award, we are committed to three key principles:

LEARN
Developing our understanding of refugees, forced migration and what it means to seek sanctuary, helping our school community build empathy and challenge misconceptions.

EMBED
Making welcome, inclusion and belonging part of everyday school life, ensuring students and families feel supported, respected and valued.

SHARE
Celebrating the cultures, languages and experiences within our community, sharing our progress and giving students a voice in shaping a school where everyone belongs.

Putting our values into action

Our School of Sanctuary journey builds on the inclusive culture already at the heart of Gordano.

In 2025, Gordano was recognised by Challenge Partners as an Area of Excellence for Inclusion. This recognition reflects our commitment to supporting young people, celebrating individual differences and creating opportunities for everyone to thrive.

Our school values guide this work:

• Dream Big – believing in the potential of every young person.

• Do Your Best – creating an environment where everyone feels supported to learn and succeed.

• Give Back – showing empathy, respecting differences and making a positive contribution to our community.

Through our work towards School of Sanctuary, we aim to strengthen understanding, celebrate diversity, challenge prejudice and ensure every member of our community feels they belong.

Creating a culture of kindness and belonging

Our Kindness Collective supports this commitment by celebrating kindness, gratitude and positive connections across our school.

Through student voice, cultural celebrations, opportunities to learn and partnerships with our wider community, we want to ensure that welcome and inclusion are not just things we talk about, but values we put into practice every day.

From learning about different experiences and cultures to helping new students feel at home, every action can help make Gordano a more welcoming place.

Our journey continues

Becoming a School of Sanctuary is about continually learning, listening and taking positive action.

We will continue to share updates about our activities, student projects and partnerships as our journey develops. We look forward to working with our students, staff, families and wider community to strengthen a culture in which everyone is welcomed, respected and valued.

Updates will be shared on Facebook and via our existing communications such as Termly News.

Dream Big. Do Your Best. Give Back.

What's happening?

National Refugee Week
Opportunities to learn, reflect and celebrate the contributions of refugees and people seeking sanctuary.

Gordano Culture Week
Celebrating the cultures, languages, identities and experiences represented across our community.

Student voice and leadership
Students will help shape our School of Sanctuary journey through projects, ideas and actions that promote welcome and inclusion.

Community partnerships
We will work with local organisations and seek opportunities to learn from people with lived experience of seeking sanctuary.

Find out more

Visit Schools of Sanctuary to learn more about the award and how schools can help create a culture of welcome and inclusion.