In early 2021, we in Naas CBS commenced our journey to becoming an accredited School
of Sanctuary and achieving the “Champion” School of Sanctuary award. Being a School of
Sanctuary means being visibly and actively committed to strengthening a welcoming, safe
and inclusive environment which benefits and values everybody. It’s about fostering a culture
and practice of empathy, welcome and inclusion FOR ALL. Our teachers Ms. Ward and Ms.
Prendiville became involved with The School of Sanctuary and have kept the programme
alive for the last two years. Many of our school initiatives which seek to promote inclusion
and diversity build on our capacity as a School of Sanctuary- initiatives like our Transfer
Programme, our celebrations for Stand Up Awareness Week, European Day of
Languages, World Disability Day, our FUSE Anti-Bullying programme etc. Also, and
importantly, our students have been learning about migration and about forced displacement
throughout the world. This became very real for us when we welcomed our Ukrainian
students in 2022. We feel that it is vital to understand global migration and to have empathy
and a welcome for people who seek sanctuary in Ireland. We are working towards being
reviewed for accreditation by Schools of Sanctuary Ireland in May 2022 and we hope to
receive our Champion Award then.