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'When children are safe and happy, they will learn'

Robbie Meredith
BBC News NI education correspondent
BBC Ciara. She has brown eyes and brown hair tied back in a plait. BBC
Ciara was playing Irish traditional music alongside Irish dancers

A County Armagh school is bidding to be the first outside Belfast or Londonderry to be named a School of Sanctuary.

A School of Sanctuary is one which provides additional support to pupils, including refugees and others who need a place of safety.

It is an official accreditation achieved by schools who meet a number of criteria.

St John the Baptist's College in Portadown has about 540 pupils, over 200 of whom are newcomers.

A newcomer pupil is one who is often originally from outside the UK and does not initially speak the same language as their class teacher.

BBC News NI visited the school during a special multi-cultural day held for all pupils and their families.

Connie. She has long dark brown curly hair, brown eyes and wearing a blue school uniform.
Connie, 11, says it's "good to see other people's traditions and cultures and what they do"

Eleven-year-old Connie was one of those taking part.

"We're trying different food and seeing what other cultures do for traditions," she told BBC News NI.

"I'm really, really excited.

"It's good to see other people's traditions and cultures and what they do."

Irish traditional music

Three girls playing instruments. One on the left is playing the accordion, one in the middle is playing the violin and the one on the right is playing a banjo. All have long dark brown hair tied back and wearing blue school uniforms. A sign saying 'Welcome To Ireland' is beside them.

Twelve-year-old Ciara was playing banjo as part of group playing Irish traditional music alongside Irish dancers.

"I'm looking forward to it a lot because I play loads of music," she said.

"It's good to know about all the cultures, because there's so many different ones in our school."

Three girls standing in front of a display for Poland. The girl on the left has light brown hair and wearing a green floral dress and lanyard. The girl in the middle has blonde hair in plaited pigtails and is wearing a black and white t-shirt, necklace and jeans. The girl on the right has brown hair tied back and is wearing a red and white graphic t shirt with Polish tag, and jeans.
Countries, like Poland were among those being represented

There were displays, stalls and food from countries like Kenya, Poland, East Timor, China and Portugal and many others, as well as dancing and African drumming workshops.

Pupils from a number of primary schools in Portadown also visited for the day to take part.

A woman in traditional Kenyan dress. A display board for Kenya is behind her.
There were displays, stalls and food from countries, including Kenya

Teacher Stacey Rodgers told BBC News NI that a number of pupils were refugees and that there were 23 different languages spoken in the school.

Stacey Rodgers. She has blonde hair, brown eyes, wearing a white strap top.
Stacey Rodgers is co-ordinating St John the Baptist's College's bid to be a School of Sanctuary

"We have pupils from East Timor, from Portugal, from Afghanistan, from Syria, from Indonesia," she said.

"We also have pupils from Kenya, Zimbabwe - we've just such a broad range of pupils."

A group of girls doing a dance in a school gymnasium. A balloon arch is behind them.
Dancing and African drumming workshops were also part of the multi-cultural day

What support is available for the children?

The school provides things like extra English lessons for pupils, and also support to their families to help them integrate into the mid-Ulster area.

But they also provide extra help for all pupils, whatever their background, in other ways.

"We would have students who are suffering loss, bereavement, trauma," Ms Rodgers said.

A number of pupils care for family members or are in care themselves and receive extra support from staff.

"Sanctuary really is about creating a safe space, some place for anyone," said Ms Rodgers.

"We also have a bank of funding that would help with school uniforms, day trips."

Noella Murphy. She has long blonde hair, wearing a cream blazer and white top.
Principal Noella Murray wants to show the school is as "open and inclusive and welcoming as possible"

The school has a special "nurture" area for pupils to receive targeted support outside the classroom which it has set up and funded itself.

It also provides food hampers and vouchers for families from the area struggling with the cost of living.

The principal, Noella Murray, said holding a multi-cultural day for pupils and their families showed that the school "wanted to be as open and inclusive and welcoming as possible".

"Because we have children from so many different backgrounds, we want them to feel safe and happy," she said.

"When children are safe and happy, they will learn."

A display of food laid out on a table with people around it. There is a rice, bread, salad and pastries
Families of pupils had contributed foods from around the world

Families of pupils contributed foods from around the world and many pupils and staff wore national costume for the day.

Ms Murray said schools were often the "first stop" for families to settle in to the community.

St John the Baptist's College, for instance, has a welcome booklet with important information for families in a number of different languages.

Signage in the school is also multi-lingual.

Stacey Rodgers said that achieving the status of a School of Sanctuary would mean a lot.

"Our school ethos aligns so closely with the School of Sanctuary - of understanding, culture, welcome, celebration, safety, empathy," she said.

The school is due to find out at the end of May if it has been successful in its bid.