I have written previously about the prevalence of woke ideology in schools, notably the promotion of intersectionality via the teaching and promotion of Critical Race Theory. Over the last year, I have been monitoring a peculiar element to this ideological trend that is gaining traction: a pro-refugee movement called Schools of Sanctuary, which is effectively the education wing of the City of Sanctuary movement and whose overall objective is political and cultural change to facilitate pro-refugee policies and legislation. Aside from GB News’s coverage in October 2023, which involved Nigel Farage reporting on it, and Toby Young’s commentary in episode 59 of the Weekly Sceptic, there has been limited scrutiny of it. There is evidence that this organisation, either directly or indirectly, politicises education under the facade of charity. In doing so, it places schools in breach of existing legislation and guidance and undermines political impartiality.
The requirements and obligations of schools when dealing with political issues are quite clear. Section 406 of the Education Act 1996 forbids the “pursuit of partisan political activities” and the “promotion of partisan political views”. However, according to section 407 of the Education Act 1996, controversial political topics can be taught provided they are done so in a balanced way. The Department of Education’s guidance on political impartality in schools published 2022 recognises that pupils should have “an understanding and respect for legitimate differences of opinion”. It reaffirms the Education Act 1996 by stating schools “must prohibit the promotion of partisan political views” and insists pupils be given a “balanced presentation of opposing views on political issues”.
The 2022 guidance also draws on the definition of “partisan” as established by Dimmock v Secretary of State for Education and Skills (2007) and defines partisan activities as “one-sided” with the intent to “further the interests of a particular partisan group, change the law or change government policy”. Rather importantly within the context of this article, the 2022 guidance also recognises that charitable organisations can be politically partisan. Schools of Sanctuary tries to justify some of its political activism by invoking the Equality Act 2010. While that legislation means it is unlawful for a school to discriminate against its staff or pupils on the basis of their “protected characteristics”, it does not oblige schools to actively campaign for a political cause. And some of the aims, ideological foundations and resources of Schools of Sanctuary, and the behaviour of those schools that have engaged with the organisation, appear to be in breach of the Education Act 1996 and the 2022 guidance.
The background of some of City of Sanctuary and Schools of Sanctuary’s trustees and the content of its materials and resources suggest a political objective and an adherence to identity politics. The trustees of City of Sanctuary include the chair, Yusuf Ciftci, who completed a PhD on immigration policy and the ways to influence changes in said policy. Much of this appears to have influenced the general strategy of City of Sanctuary. One of the trustees, Alice Mpofu-Coles, has been a Labour councillor for Whitley Ward, Reading, since 2021. She describes herself as “a passionate advocate for social justice” and a “tireless activist”. She is also a trustee of Alliance for Cohesion and Racial Equality Ltd, a charity that aims to address “imbalances in power and bring about change founded on social justice, equality and inclusion”.
According to its trustees’ report of 2022, City of Sanctuary is seeking “big political change” and intends to build a “strong and widespread movement” that will “translate into public support for changes in policy and practice”. With a General Election just a few weeks away, there is an opportunity for City of Sanctuary and Schools of Sanctuary to pursue that objective. The Illegal Migration Act 2023, in particular, is being targeted by City of Sanctuary and Schools of Sanctuary, as demonstrated by School of Sanctuary’s “useful” General Election door hanger, which urges people to repeal the Act. These aims clearly point to a political objective and thereby run counter to the Department of Education’s 2022 guidance.
An ideological imbalance in Schools of Sanctuary is implicit elsewhere in its literature and resources. A resource pack from Schools of Sanctuary suggests as much as it says there is an “increasingly hostile environment for people seeking sanctuary in the U.K., feeding anti-immigrant sentiment, racism”. Elsewhere on its website, Schools of Sanctuary claims there is “widespread hostile – and often inaccurate – rhetoric in the public and in the media driving increasingly cruel immigration policies and encouraging attitudes of distrust and hate”. It asserts “the challenges that people who are seeking sanctuary experience often intersect with racism”. This organisation seems to think immigration can only ever be positive and beneficial. Any concerns, criticism, challenge or opposition to immigration are by implication racist and unjustified.
Such beliefs inevitably necessitate a filtering of factual evidence. With the upcoming General Election, Schools of Sanctuary has issued guidance on having “courageous conversations” as part of its push to get people to “step up” This guidance states it “isn’t about debating the other person” and instead emphasises the strategy of emotional persuasion, of encouraging individuals to “speak from the heart” rather than relying on facts. This is a convenient strategy to use with many children, since it dispenses with the need to find, analyse and evaluate tangible evidence. This is essentially derived from the concept of “lived experience” and avoids the troublesome problem of contending with data which does not fit an established narrative.
And where Schools of Sanctuary does stoop to mentioning facts, it does so selectively. Take, for example, the assertion that asylum seekers only receive £49.18 per week which “must cover all food, transport, hygiene items, phone data and clothing”. To be sure, this specific figure is not incorrect. But it certainly lacks context and overlooks a considerable number of other facts, such as the ability of refugees to access Universal Credit, Child Benefit (both of which can be backdated to the date of an asylum claim) and NHS services with free prescriptions and dental care. None of this is mentioned by Schools of Sanctuary and it is not surprising since recognising such facts would undermine the organisation’s agenda. Besides not being objective and impartial, this filtering of information is not exactly consistent with City of Sanctuary’s self-proclaimed belief in “high standards of honesty and behaviour” either.
This intellectually myopic approach is reinforced through the accreditation process which the organisation has developed. Schools of Sanctuary recognises that schools can be used as training camps for producing generations of social justice activists. To that end, it takes a leaf out of Stonewall and the Carbon Literacy Project’s book by accrediting schools which comply with its criteria and objectives. One of the stages of this process is an audit tool, which is a self-assessment document containing a long list of criteria and demands which a school must meet to gain accreditation. Staff must log evidence in this document and compile a portfolio ahead of an inspection from a representative from Schools of Sanctuary. During an inspection, Schools of Sanctuary evaluate this evidence and interview staff and pupils. If a school is deemed compliant, then accreditation is awarded and it can then officially advertise itself as a “School of Sanctuary”.
This audit tool, as indicated in criterion 1.5, draws on some of the core concepts of critical social justice ideology, such as “anti-racism” and “unconscious bias”. The influence of Critical Race Theory is evidenced elsewhere in Schools of Sanctuary materials; its website, for example, says “white people who are privileged can safely stand up to racism”. A resource pack asserts it has never “been more apparent that every school should work towards becoming actively anti-racist” and says schools managers should be “ensuring staff and students engage with anti-racist learning and activities”. Complying with these diktats is required if a school is to be accredited as a “School of Sanctuary”.
So far, this article has primarily looked at the intentions of Schools of Sanctuary and suggested it has clear political and ideological objectives, contravening key impartiality rules, as set out in legislation and official guidance. The question remains, however, whether any of this has succeeded in embedding itself in schools and whether teachers have begun to serve Schools of Sanctuary’s political interests, and in doing so violated the law.
Within my own school, which has ambitions of gaining Schools of Sanctuary accreditation, pressure has been exerted on pupils to support the charity’s political objectives. This has, for now, principally been done by getting them to write messages of support on large paper orange hearts, which are then pinned up around the school. These messages typically demand “action for refugees”. There are, however, plans to use PSHE and morning registration to promote ideas from Schools of Sanctuary. The school email system has been used to encourage staff to attend pro-refugee protests, and managers have begun to demand heads of department produce evidence showing they are compliant with Schools of Sanctuary’s requirements. I have raised concerns about the breaching of political impartiality rules at the highest level but so far have been ignored.
There are signs that other schools are embracing the political activism of Schools of Sanctuary. Evidence from a newsletter produced by Birmingham Schools and Colleges of Sanctuary in March this year indicates some teachers are providing pupils with a decidedly unbalanced treatment of the issue of immigration and asylum. In one school, “pupils studied the shocking findings in a recent report from Asylum Matters and used their maths skills to present the information”. They also “heard about the Lift The Ban campaign”, which aims to make it legally possible for asylum applicants to work while waiting for those applications to be processed. In the same region, schools were running “days of action” in which academic subjects were being set aside so pupils and staff could engage in activism for refugees. One school was reported to have “embarked on a journey of activism” which involved pupils writing to various public figures. In the process, pupils “gained a deeper understanding of social justice issues”. Similar activism has emerged elsewhere, such as a primary school where “pupils were so outraged when they learned how little money asylum-seekers received”. Other schools have made a point of taking to social media to post videos calling on MPs to “oppose the anti-refugee bill”. All this ties in with Schools of Sanctuary’s suggestion in its resource pack that schools should establish lunch time clubs to “campaign for refuges and asylum seekers’ rights” and encourage pupils to work with activist groups like Right to Remain. Besides the fact that academic subjects are potentially being set aside, this all suggests some schools are not providing a balanced treatment of a controversial political issue.
How much of a problem is this? According to the Schools of Sanctuary website, the total number of schools involved is approximately 400. There are some 32,163 schools in the U.K., which would mean Schools of Sanctuary has infiltrated just 1.24% of all schools. Hardly a majority, but still a concern as the organisation is gaining momentum, with 2023 seeing 140 schools signing up. That’s a 55% increase compared to 2022 and there’s obviously time for the organisation to spread its influence across our schools.
However, the problem is more significant than the statistical evidence suggest. Thomas Sowell noted that modern teaching practice increasingly emphasises the venting of emotions over conventional intellectual methods and guides students to “prepackaged conclusions”. In other words, children are not taught essential critical thinking skills and are not encouraged to think independently; they are in effect indoctrinated. Following GB News’s report, Schools of Sanctuary issued a response in which it stated it was “proud” of those schools that had already signed up for the initiative. In its response, Schools of Sanctuary claimed it does “not promote a political perspective”. Quite how this sits with the desire for “big political change” referred to in the trustees’ report is unclear.
With the influence of Schools of Sanctuary, schools are potentially overstepping legal and ethical boundaries by facilitating pupils’ conversion into political activists who perhaps do not appreciate that alternative, equally legitimate points of view exist. This is concerning, irrespective of whether the intention is to build a “culture of kindness and compassion”. The question remains as to whether Schools of Sanctuary will try to further use the education system to promote its political cause. School governors, senior managers, the Charity Commission and the Department for Education ought to be scrutinising organisations like Schools of Sanctuary more closely if schools are to comply with their legal obligation to be politically impartial. And those who are running schools and choosing to overlook this significant issue should be held accountable.
To join in with the discussion please make a donation to The Daily Sceptic.
Profanity and abuse will be removed and may lead to a permanent ban.
“….increasingly hostile environment for people seeking sanctuary in the U.K., feeding anti-immigrant sentiment, racism”. Elsewhere on its website, Schools of Sanctuary claims there is “widespread hostile – and often inaccurate – rhetoric in the public and in the media driving increasingly cruel immigration policies and encouraging attitudes of distrust and hate”.
Seems to me the public have every right to be concerned and declare that enough is enough. Go look at the crime stats in other European countries also. It’s all there in black and white and it’s not getting any better. We are entirely justified in now adopting an ”anti-immigration sentiment”, and it doesn’t have anything to do with racism.
Just one more recent example. I don’t know what it is about Germany and Afghans;
”A suspect armed with a knife killed one man before stabbing three others at a Euro 24 party in east Germany.
The male attacker, 27, was then shot dead by police called to the scene.
He launched his rampage in a garden where a family were hosting a private party in the city of Magdeburg to watch Germany’s 5-1 thrashing of Scotland.
At least three people were injured in the attack around 9.30pm on Friday night, with two – a woman aged 50 and a man 75 – suffering severe wounds. A second man, 56, was slightly injured.
Police have not yet released a statement as to the current condition of the victims.
According to local media reports citing police information, the perpetrator was an Afghan national.
A police spokeswoman said the attacker went for police officers on their arrival in Genossenschaftsweg in Wolmirstedt, Saxony-Anhalt. One officer drew his pistol and fatally shot him.
“Firearms were used,” a police spokesperson told Bild on Saturday morning.
“The perpetrator died in hospital.”
The knifeman is also suspected of murdering another man, aged 23 and also from Afghanistan, earlier in a high-rise building close to where the family party took place.
Police were alerted when he threatened people on an allotment on his way to the party venue, according to the Magdeburger Volksstimme newspaper.
Germany on high alert amid fears extremists could target the European football tournament.”
https://sg.news.yahoo.com/one-dead-three-injured-rampage-134646953.html
Round up ALL Afghans and send them back.
Job done.
Next.
I have down-ticked you for your comment. I know a lovely hard working Afgan who sought refuge here in the 00’s He is hard working and a taxpayer in the UK.
DON’T LUMP THEM ALL TOGETHER.
That’s a bit too simplistic. The guy who recently knifed a policeman in Germany made an asylum application in 2014 which was rejected. However, while the procedure was still ongoing, he hooked up with some female muslim and impregnated her. Due to revised German nationality laws (revised by the governing SPD with the ultimate intent to grow new voters for itself), this child was considered German and hence, as father of German, the guy got unlimited leave to remain¹. Until his knife attack on Stürzenbacher, he was considered a perfectly peaceful ‘well integrated’ family man by the German authorities. I don’t know he was on welfare or working.
¹ There’s obviously something fubared here if rejected asylum seekers just need to have sex with some random muslim tart in order to be allowed to stay in the country where they had sex forever. This seems like a weird way to qualify as valued immigrant.
Too damned right. Thanks.
The problem is Judy that we are beyond the point where we can allow “tribunals” to establish the decency or otherwise of immigrants. How much would that cost? And let’s imagine the tribunal process becomes infested with wokey lefties – we would be spending millions for no results. It cannot happen.
As I am always reasonably inclined I will moderate my suggestion: round up all Afghans on benefits and ship them out. If that doesn’t work then my original suggestion becomes substantive.
There is no glibness intended in my comments, we are quite simply fighting for the soul of our nation. I have no issues with foreigners who have signed up completely to Britain and the British way of life. So long as they are working I don’t have a problem.
Good to see you back. 👍
I cannot express how much I loathe the London parties and the civil service. My once lovely town now has gangs of threatening men from the third world wandering around. I read Cameron utterances with both astonishment and fully ashamed that I once voted for that man. Apparently not wanting to import rapists and criminals from the third world makes you racist, Cameron even said mass migration was Enoch Powell’s fault. Under no circumstances will I ever vote Tory again. This from someone who cried the day Mrs Thatcher left office, I loathe the Tory party now with a contemptuous hatred.
I expect socialists to be mad communists who wreck and destroy everything, I also expect politicians who claim to be conservative to show an ounce of courage and undo the wreckage on mass migration, net zero and COVID lunacy. Instead the Tories have gone with crazy Marxism to please brainless posh jerks like war monger Tobias Elwood, to “tack to the centre”. Apparently it’s a “winning” strategy.
How can this Liberal Progressive woke virus be wiped out. Maybe we could put Astra Zeneca on it. Then once they develop the vaccine it should be made compulsory as a condition of employment in schools.
Very good.
I think you are on to something varmint.
Forbid all “charities” from having access to schools, or making “suggestions” about the school curriculum, or demanding compliance with “suggestions” in order to obtain “charity accreditation”.
Schools don’t need “accreditation” from anyone but the education authorities.
I’m glad my sons are both adults and I have no grandchildren, with no likelihood I ever will.
Western civilisation is being dismantled before our eyes.
As a start the legitimacy of “charity” status has to be addressed and for the vast majority of organisations the tax exempt status must be removed. This crummy, racially divisive outlet is a perfect example. What right has this organisation to be anywhere near schools and by whose authority? Who is running the checks on Sanctuary Schools and their “curriculum?”
Personally, if I had children in this school I would be kicking up a right stink. This sort of freelance invasion of the education system has to stop.
The targeting of children is all part of the globalist agenda and somebody has to start the fightback. It is heartening to know that there are good, brave and honest teachers such as Anonymous Teacher who are prepared to do this work but what an indictment of our society and our establishment that we have allowed such festering viruses to even get a toe-hold in our schools.
Those in charge of our education system should be advised they are not far from a court appearance.
I was at Trinity College of Music in the late 1970s with a Martin Speake. He went on to become a brilliant Jazz Saxophonist. This year he was suspended from Trinity Laban because he wrote a private email where he disagreed with the stance of the College in regard to inclusivity and how BLM was being invoked to describe UK Jaz as Institutionally racist. I pointed out on a Trinity Facebook page that BLM are Marxist and received strong emotional responses followed by my removal. It seems students across the music colleges are demanding Martin’s suspension and he has lost some gigs as well. Here is one such demand from a ‘distressed musician’
https://www.change.org/p/to-the-privileged-equality-feels-like-oppression
As a student at Trinity Laban, I have been deeply affected by the recent comments of Martin Speake. Comments that have perpetuated harmful and defamatory narratives about black musicians in the jazz industry. His lack of sensitivity for individuals of diverse races and backgrounds contradicts the principles that every educational institution should uphold. Furthermore his actions have created an uncomfortable and distressing learning environment, undermining my trust in his ability to provide fair and unbiased supervision or assessment.
The impact on my mental health has been significant, causing me great distress and discomfort within this learning space. Unfortunately, I am not alone in this experience.
Jazz is rooted in the African American experience and has been shaped and enriched by generations of black musicians whose talent and innovation have left an indelible mark on the genre. Martin’s behaviour undermines the contributions of black musicians and the idea that black musicians are overrepresented in the jazz industry overlooks the systemic barriers and challenges that black artists continue to face in the music industry. It is widely known that black musicians have encountered (and continue to encounter) discrimination, limited opportunities, and unequal access to resources compared to their white counterparts. The Musicians from the Global Majority Insight Report demonstrates that discrimination is still an unfortunate reality for musicians from the Global Majority, with 85% saying they had witnessed or experienced some form of discrimination.
We demand that Martin be removed from his position at our university immediately as his conduct and beliefs are inconsistent with the values and principles of the institution. This is essential not only for creating a safe and inclusive environment but also for upholding the university’s educational ethos around diversity, inclusion and providing an excellent student experience.
Sign here if you believe that all students deserve an education free from racial bias and for the immediate dismissal of Martin Speake from Trinity Laban.
There are several links to this story and most on the side of DIE (EDI, EID, DEI whatever) and most sound like how I would imagine a Red Guard would sound during a struggle session. There are currently two partitions for and against Martin. I know Martin and he is not only a brilliant saxophonist but a good person.
Please sign the following petition in favour of Martin
https://www.change.org/p/support-martin-speake
Signed.
Thank you Hux.
Me too.
Whether it’s so called refugees or racism or transphobia or climatism or whatever, it is all the same anti western poison, and intended to be destructive of western culture. Here are the demands from BLM
1. Dismantle capitalism
2. Climate change is ‘racist
3. Abolish prisons
4. Get rid of borders
5. Unemployment is ‘violence’
6. End stop and search
7. Get rid of the police
8. The government appointment of a Pakistani heritage woman is ‘racist’
9. Condemn the suffragettes
10. Churchill is ‘staunchly racist’
11. Big charities are ‘colonisers’
The founders of XR Stuart Basden asserted the following:
“And I’m here to say that XR isn’t about the climate. You see, the climate’s breakdown is a symptom of a toxic system of that has infected the ways we relate to each other as humans and to all life…
– The delusion of white-supremacy centres whiteness and the experience of white people, constructing and perpetuating the myth that white people and their lives are somehow inherently better and more valuable than people of colour.
-The delusion of patriarchy centres the male experience, and excludes/hinders female assigned people from public life (reducing them to a possession or object for ownership or consumption). Patriarchy teaches dominating and competitive behaviours, and emphasises the idea that the world is a place of scarcity, separation and powerlessness.
– The delusions of Eurocentrism include the notion that Europeans know what is best for the world.
– The delusions of hetero-sexism/heteronormativity propagate the idea that heterosexuality is ‘normal’ and that other expressions of sexuality are deviant.
– The delusions of class hierarchy uphold the theory that the rich elite are better/smarter/nobler than the rest of us, and make therefore better decisions.
There are other delusions. (S Skinner: of course there are, it’s endless) These delusions have become ingrained in all of us, taught to us from a very young age…”
I guess that ‘Gays for Palestine’ have similar demands?
So, are XR going to declare war on the islam contingent because their belief systems are clearly at polar opposites?
What a thought – they could wipe each other out.
The delusion of homonormativty propgates the idea that it’s not normal for humans to have offspring as sex just isn’t the way mammalian reproduction works and in any case, humans are certainly not mammals. It really cannot be in any other way as human women don’t neccessarily have wombs and so, how are humans supposed to be able to reproduce, anyway? BTW, I’m absolutely no madman, the universe is just wrong about itself while I cannot possibly be!
—-
It would be nice to keep these people in some separate, dedicated place where they can delude each other in circles without causing harm to themselves or anything else …
Where did you get that quote please RW? It’s very, I can’t think of the word, but perhaps interesting?
That’s no quote. I just wrote that with the intent to parody this list of insanities. As usual, could have been better. 🙁
Brilliant. I couldn’t tell that it was parody such is the quality of some of the arguments floating around.
Evergreen College in the US went through a racial inspired melt down over 4 years ago and sadly many people have considered what is self evidently bad to be a blue print.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5Wny9TstEM
Why do schools need to be accredited by this organisation? Surely the only approval a school needs is that of the education authority.
The only free dental care the NHS provides is telling people that there is no such thing as free dental care by the NHS. Or rather, if you go there with a problem now, they’ll cheerfully tell you that a dentist might eventually see you some time next year.
That said, £49.18/ week is the disposable income of asylum seekers and people who’ve been granted asylum and that’s very little money for English standards. Insofar the state provides other things to them which have a cost (eg, NHS treatment, housing or free school meals for children who have to go to school), the total cost incurred in this way should be divided by the number of people eligible for this (most of them will not be using any NHS services at any given time). One could then make a statement that an asylum seeker recieves £49.18/ week and causes an additional average cost of £…/ week.
I was very concerned to read this article and checked my grandchildren’s schools. Fortunately they are not participating in the scheme.
Whilst I am very happy for children to be taught to have concern and care for others I strongly object to the indoctrination of young children.
it seems quite clear that this scheme oversteps the mark by a country mile and has strong political aims that it seeks to impose in a totally one sided manner.
I just rechecked and indeed my grandchildren are at a city of sanctuary school!
The proud boasts are unfortunately expressed with a number of grammatical mistakes. I guess English grammar and the King’s English is no longer seen as a priority for educating young children! If the teachers lack basic literacy perhaps a competent proof reader would be valuable.
Some glaring errors below;
…….Junior School has been recognised as a School of Sanctuary by the charity – City of Sanctuary. This awarded was given for the work the school has done in raising awareness of the plight of refugees.
We are proud to be acknowledged for this award as it recognises our HEART values and one of our British Values- Mutual Respect and Tolerance.
Teachers plan a week of cross curricular work in which RE os taught through all subjects in creative ways. Each class visit the place of worship for their faith and learn a dance from the faith or culture.
Are they not aware of how the sanctuary city idea went down in the US? They have plenty of opportunity to see black neighbourhoods wanting to stop the migrants.
Tiring of this damp, chilly and dismal English “Hottest Ever” Summer, I was thinking of a trip to India, from where I can travel to the Pakistani border, destroy all documentation and claim to be a refugee from those racist English people. No doubt I will be speedily put up in a four star hotel, given free and very speedy medical and dental treatment as well as over £49 a week spending money.
If you want to join me we could build a nice big church, run a bacon sandwich joint and the youngsters amongst us could get involved in the drugs trade and help pretty 12 year old schoolgirls to discover themselves, quoting odd phrases from the scriptures as justification.
I think there may well be a Pakistani Director of Public Prosecutions who would be absolutely fine with all that, because Diversity.
So who’s coming with me?
Absolutely brilliant! 🙂
😀 😀 😀
I suggest a bacon sandwich joint with an illegal scotch distillery in the backyard everyone knows about and handling samples of the product out to all bypassers interested in them in order to turn them into regular customers. Properly multicultural.