Edinburgh College becomes College of Sanctuary
Edinburgh College has been awarded College of Sanctuary status in recognition of the support it provides to refugees and asylum seekers in accessing educational opportunities.
The College of Sanctuary status – awarded by the City of Sanctuary UK network – recognises and aims to enhance the work of colleges in providing support and opportunities for refugees, asylum seekers, and those seeking sanctuary in the UK.
To gain the award, a group of staff from across the College united to audit and enhance the range of support provided to students seeking sanctuary currently enrolled at the College. This involved expanding training for staff on sanctuary-seeking issues, improving signposting to support services, broadening engagement with local refugee and asylum seeker support organisations, and enhancing opportunities for students of all backgrounds to become involved in college life.
In addition, the College partnered with ECSA (Edinburgh College Students’ Association) to provide a remunerated work placement opportunity for a student seeking sanctuary to lead on incorporating the student voice into the heart of the project. Through this work, Student Engagement Assistant, Zahra Maleki, interviewed a number of students to learn more about their journey to the UK, College experience, the support that they receive, and plans for the future, to help the College gain a deeper understanding of the lives of these students and the challenges they face.
The award, and the activities undertaken as part of it, build upon the significant progress Edinburgh College has made in recent years and establishes a benchmark for future efforts to ensure students who are seeking sanctuary feel welcome and supported to thrive during their time at College.
Audrey Cumberford, Edinburgh College Principal, said: “I’m delighted that the College has been formally recognised as a College of Sanctuary. This award is recognition not just of the work undertaken this year, but recognition of the enormous work done by our staff in this area over a number of years, and, in some cases, decades.
“As Scotland’s capital city, Edinburgh is a diverse and welcoming place. Our college embodies that. We have people from over 135 countries across the world choosing to come to study here. In everything we do, we aim to ensure Edinburgh College is a place where people are given an opportunity to build a better future for themselves, irrespective of where they have come from in the past.”
Gün Orgun, City of Sanctuary Coordinator for Scotland and Northern Ireland, who headed the appraisal panel for Edinburgh College, said: “It was great to visit Edinburgh College and speak to staff and students involved in their College of Sanctuary project. Our visit underscored all the great provision outlined in Edinburgh College’s application and the depth of staff commitment across the College, including senior management, was great to see. The panel noted a number of impressive areas of practice and comments from students demonstrated a strong sense of belonging within the College.
“Receiving this award is not an easy task, requiring a significant effort and going above and beyond statutory requirements - and Edinburgh College provided several great practice examples of what being a College of Sanctuary is all about. We look forward to seeing Edinburgh College’s provision in this area develop in the years ahead.”