SCHOOL CHILDREN’S SUPPORT

We now have 18 awesome volunteers working across three schools, who delivered 72 hours of tuition during the first half term including subject specific teaching e.g. religious education, biology and English. We also have a history teacher just going through the volunteer recuitment process.

This team of volunteer tutors works with around 150 children; 126 living within the community, from Afghanistan, Syria, Russia and Iran, plus 24 housed at the hotel, although this number does fluctuate. Numbers have increased by 30% in the last five
months.

The team is also supporting other children whose families are not in need of Sanctuary help but who are struggling with their schoolwork, English and/ or social exclusion issues, including children from the Ukrainian community.

There is a disturbing amount of bullying going on. The schools are very much geared up to coping with this but they need to be told about it, so we are encouraging children, parents and the volunteers supporting them to report any bullying incidents.

We are still finding that some beneficiary parents are unaware of what is expected from their children. Indeed, some of the children are unaware of what is expected from them! All homework is completed online, and we are currently trying to find out how many more laptops are needed so we can apply for a grant from a foundation that was set up specifically for this purpose. Schools Liaison Lead Evie Owen also works with the schools to ensure children know how to access the multiple platforms they need for their homework, which can be quite complicated!

NEW ARRIVALS

The start of the year has been very busy with new arrivals in the community (so not including those moving into the hotel). We registered five new families/ groups in January and seven in February – a total of 46 individuals. These are mostly via WSCC on government resettlement schemes, and we are working closely with WSCC caseworkers to delegate tasks in support of these households.

There is a high uptake of the weekly drop-in and women’s group following registration with us, especially for women learning English as beginners and those who feel isolated and want to benefit from social community. Many attend the drop-in to seek advice and signposting regarding Education to Employment from Pathways to Independence (PTI) Manager Kerry Foster and the PTI mentors.

WOMEN’S GROUP

We resumed at the beginning of January after the holidays and we continue to welcome a steady stream of new women and children joining us as well as our regulars. Between 15 and 25 women have been attending each week so far this year.

The creche team, led by Nicky Hales, do an amazing job of looking after the little ones so that their mothers can join in English lessons and crafts. We continue to welcome around 10 women from the hotel each week, and we are grateful to WSCC for providing transport for them.

Our teaching themes for this term are focusing on life in the UK, including our geography, education system, and government.

DROP-IN SESSIONS

The weekly drop-in continues to host 70 to 80 attendees every week, and we welcomed new beneficiaries and returning families in March. Some new volunteers brought additional support, especially in kitchen duties and children’s activities. We also maintained our educational collaboration with Chichester College, providing our beneficiaries with learning opportunities, while volunteer and Community Nurse Sue Walsh will shortly be starting to carry out regular health checks during the sessions.

The children’s corner has been busy with a combination of games (Jenga and Uno), playing with toys, Play-Doh and painting, including ‘magic painting’ which only needs water to reveal the pictures and is therefore a lot less messy.

And there some great conversations going on, as always, with beneficiaries and volunteers. Drop-In Lead Jude Clouston said, “Thank you to all those volunteers who engage the benficiaries in conversation and help them with their English pronunciation, reading and understanding. I have been told several times recently that we have the best teachers!”

We adapted our activities to respect cultural practices, especially during Ramadan, to ensure inclusivity for all attendees. Additionally, volunteer Gurjit Purewal organised sports sessions at Westgate to emphasise the importance of physical activity. These efforts help maintain Sanctuary in Chichester as a supportive environment for everyone involved.

We’re looking forward to our annual Eid al-Fitr celebrations at the drop-in!…