Ivanhoe College and Ashby School are now part of the Refugee Welcome Schools scheme - with plans to add more Ukrainian students later this year.

At the moment, two Ukrainian children are attending Ivanhoe College with more expected in the next academic year.

LiFE Multi-Academy Trust - which also includes Ibstock Community College - is officially the first MAT in the country where all schools are accredited Refugee Welcome Schools status with Citizens UK and NASUWT (The Teacher's Union).

Refugee Welcome Schools Group have made it their mission to ensure they are more inclusive and welcoming to newly arrived children.

Ivanhoe College students and staff have been keen to get involved.

As part of the process, the North Street school's students developed:

• a Refugee Welcome Plan detailing how they intend to create a welcoming environment for refugees
• a Refugee Awareness Plan on how they will educate all pupils, staff and the wider school community on the issue of refugees and the importance of welcome
• a Refugee Action Plan to participate in community campaigns aiming to improve the lives of refugees in the UK.

A spokesperson for Ivanhoe College said: "We are pleased to say we have already been able to put our plans into action as, we currently have two refugees from Ukraine attending Ivanhoe with more starting with us in the next academic year.."

Last month, there was a celebratory event at St James the Greater church, in London Road, Leicester.

Ivanhoe College students read a poem out during the event at St James the Greater Church in Leicester

The event recognised the efforts of children and staff at each institution and to officially accredit them as Refugee Welcome Schools.

Around 200 students and teachers gathered to showcase the ways they are make young refugees feel more at home.

Ivanhoe College said: "We are proud that a number of our students presented at the event, talking about their work, and also performing a poem they had written."

 The Welcome Refugee School accreditation is just a small part of the work being done by Ivanhoe College, Ashby School and Ibstock Community College with Citizens UK.

Earlier this month, Ivanhoe College hosted the first National Forest Community Alliance meeting.

This proved successful, with attendees from a range of local organisations including the Rotary Club, The Youth Hostel Association, Coalville CAN, and a number of Ashby Churches.

Students from Ivanhoe and Ashby School presented the projects they have been working on this year - mental health, anti-racism and welcome refugees.

Fran Picciano-Moss from Citizens UK explained more about the process of 'Community Organising' and the desire to set up a National Forest branch of Citizens to work alongside the Leicester and Leicestershire Group.

Community Organising is about bringing civil groups and charities together to work on actions to improve their local area.

By working together the groups increase their people power to be able to campaign and pressure local authorities, councils and the government to make the changes they want to see to improve the lives of those in the community. 

The key starting point of Community Organising is listening, and so, at the meeting, participants got the opportunity to have some one on one chats with others that they did not know to start establishing common ground.

We intend to host another meeting in the Autumn term, so if you are involved in any local civic group or charities and would like to be involved or find out more, please drop an email to Dawn Deacon - [email protected]  - and you will be contacted when the school re-opens.