Each year, schools around the UK hold an International Week to celebrate different countries and cultures of the world. The IRC's Senior Education Officer, Freda Alrefaai, recently met with staff from Bishop Luffa School in Chichester to talk about their celebrations and why they choose to see all their students as international.

Speaking with Susie and Elizabeth, who are both members of the school’s International Team, they confirmed a sense of internationalism truly is at the centre of how this school builds community between staff, students and the wider community.

Bishop Luffa continues to make a concerted effort to build a sense of equality across its student body by planning celebrations and activities which show the importance of culture and multilingualism for each of their students.

International Week 2023

Elizabeth, a Spanish teacher and member of the International Team, took the lead on planning these events. Each day, tutor groups completed a different cultural activity focusing on students sharing their own cultures or learning about a chosen culture which other students share at the school.

Examples of this were Nigeria Day, Philippines Day, Ukraine Day, UK day and British Sign Language Day (BSL activities led by staff and students who are hearing-impaired). In these activities, students learnt about languages, cultural events, musical instruments and more.

Students also shared a bit of themselves by trying the IRC’s “I am From Poem” where they reflect on what makes them who they are and joyful memories they hold dear. Elizabeth used examples from IRC Education Officers’ poems and asked students to guess where they were from.

What does the International Team do?

The International Team is a collaboration between students and staff with the aim of bringing equal access to opportunities for all students at Bishop Luffa School. Susie, EAL Coordinator, voiced how this belief in equality goes all the way to the top with leadership throwing its full support behind the international team and their efforts.

Students in the team are from a variety of counties including the UK, and Susie voiced how they encourage “older students to lead on activities”. Another project involved asking the students to make cards with their country of origin and spoken languages. These were then made into an enormous map with the ID cards of the children to celebrate their diversity. 

The international team also hosts fundraisers throughout the year to make tangible improvements to students’ school lives. One fundraiser helped fund pupil premium, refugee students to go on a class trip to Tenerife. Another fundraiser will be used in the coming months to purchase books in students’ home languages to stock up the school library with a range of cultures, reflecting those of the student body and encouraging a real love of reading across languages.

The school has been invited by the British Council to take part in the Stronger Together Project after sharing with them the wonderful work they have done with their students. To view resources linked to this project, click here.

Elizabeth also gained International School status for Bishop Luffa in recent years - a huge accomplishment which is a testament to their work on EAL, inclusion and creating a warm welcome for all students.

Adapting to life in the UK

For families arriving in the UK, it can be a challenge to adapt to life in Britain and some families are at the very beginning of that journey in Chichester. Bishop Luffa School makes extra efforts to welcome students, form strong bonds with parents over time and check in with students to see that their needs are being met appropriately.

They often advocate on behalf of their students when challenges become apparent with housing and other larger issues outside of school and they adapt to the needs of the students by hiring staff with relevant languages and skills. All of this can contribute significantly to newcomer families’ sense of belonging to see that their new school is there for them and is prepared to support them in and out of school.

Bishop Luffa completed Healing Classrooms training and co-hosted a Healing Classrooms Conference with the IRC in October 2023 which brought together local stakeholders, service providers and educators to learn how to provide the best support for all the newcomer refugee families in their community.

Sign up to IRC's free Healing Classrooms training today!

The Healing Classrooms programme aims to support schools and educators to develop inclusive and nurturing learning spaces for refugee and asylum-seeking students. We have a selection of courses available including the Healing Classrooms Basics Course and the new CPD Course. We also offer free whole school training online. Email [email protected] to book now.

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