University of Sanctuary action plan

Years 1 and 2

In the first 2 years of the action plan, we strengthened our partnerships across the University through collaboration with academic and professional service departments, the Students’ Union, and local charities. This expanded the reach and impact of our sanctuary activities and helped provide meaningful support for people seeking sanctuary within our communities and across the University.

Collaboration remained central to our approach. During this period, we worked alongside key networks and organisations.

We also reviewed and monitored the Sanctuary Scholarship to ensure it remained effective, sustainable, and responsive to the needs of the people it supports.

Alongside academic support, we developed arts and cultural partnerships through the John Hansard Gallery and Turner Sims. These partnerships created opportunities to enrich community engagement, foster belonging, and improve access to cultural activity.

Our key achievements in these years include:

• a review of the Sanctuary Scholarship
• delivering Refugee Week events and University activities
• improving access to University facilities for local people seeking sanctuary
• hosting an academic conference focused on forced migration and refugee studies
• working with the Widening Participation team to widen eligibility criteria for activities

Year 3

Building on previous work, we will look at education pathways for asylum seekers to identify ways we can support that journey. We will also look to see how we can support access to English Language courses with the possibility of auditing courses at the university. We will also focus on building on work with schools and colleges of sanctuary.

In Year 3 we want to continue working with organisations within the local community, and are currently hosting Council of At-Risk Academics (CARA) fellows across all faculties.