Meet a young refugee aged 11 that's made Shrewsbury her home and her school: Wilfred Owen School gets an award for its work with pupils and Refugees.

Shropshire Star

The School is the first in Shrewsbury to get a Sanctuary Award. We chat to a refugee who came here aged 5 and is now 11, and listen how the school have helped her.

Transcript

00:00So we're here at Wilfridown School in Shrewsbury and a rather special award on the table,

00:06Head Teacher, just fill us in on who you are and what we've got on the table here.

00:11I'm Karen Matthews, I'm the Head Teacher of Wilfridown Primary School and we have our

00:15School of Sanctuary Award, so we're the first school in Shrewsbury to be awarded this award

00:19and it's in recognition of the work we do to make our children feel safe and welcome in our school.

00:25Yeah, and that includes welcoming people with all kinds of circumstances including refugees.

00:31Yeah, so that's a big part of it. Our story started, Awa's here with us now and our story

00:35started with Awa many years ago when Awa joined us in reception and the work that we've done to

00:41support Awa and other families entering into our community and when we looked at the School of

00:45Sanctuary Award it wasn't just about that for us, it was also about how we make all of our children

00:50from all walks of life feel safe and welcomed and that they see us as a safe haven.

00:55Yeah, so what does that involve kind of on the ground then, that's like individually

01:01looking at your pupils and kind of you know going the extra distance out of the classroom as well?

01:07It's about making sure that they know that they've got always somebody to talk to,

01:11we've always got an open ear, we've got a really strong pastoral team at school,

01:16we really heavily involve ourselves in our community so the community know that we're

01:21not just here for their children but we're here for our community as well so we really push to

01:25offer opportunities for all of our community to be involved in school but from the children's

01:30point of view it's them knowing that actually we are, they have trusted adults here and they

01:35have safe adults here and we're willing to help and listen to anything they need to share with us.

01:40And your colleague Rebecca next to you there, Rebecca you've played a big part in getting this

01:44award I understand? Yes I did, we worked together with all the teachers and staff members and

01:52children who helped with a big part of the project, we had a huge art project last year

01:57which we focused on supporting refugees, the children created lots of beautiful artwork and

02:05sort of delved into why it's important to open our school up to anybody who's struggling or

02:11coping with coming from different countries so yeah the portfolio was including all of our

02:18children and obviously looking at refugees how we can welcome all of those into our school.

02:24Are there many pupils at the school here that are from different countries that have come from that

02:29kind of background? In terms of the school we actually have a low number of children that come

02:34from different countries, it's increasing over the years and that's why we felt it was important that

02:38we recognise that this award is for all of our children in all of our school and I think

02:44when we had the assessment to see if we would be awarded the school I think one of the

02:49things that one of the gentlemen's in the room said to me was that you know we have 11 children

02:54in school but we work as though we have so many more and so you know we want all of our children,

03:00we want to be any child that comes into our school straight away we're ready to make them feel

03:04welcome. So what does it mean then Rebecca to get there? It's always nice to have a pat on the back

03:10isn't it? I just think it's such a special award for our school and I feel privileged to have

03:16been part of this huge process but we really couldn't have done it without Mrs Matthews who's

03:21obviously the person behind it as well and our staff, our children, we are a family and I like

03:26to think of us all as a community and like Mrs Matthews said it's welcoming all children that

03:30they feel safe and I just feel very honoured. And it was presented to you by a special lady

03:36just there on the left, Keriman, just fill us in on your role here today. Yes, my name is Keriman

03:43Yacoul, I work for Shropshire Support Refugee, also I work for Shropshire Council as educational

03:50refugee support worker and I have the honour to be the assessor of this award this year and

03:59I've just, I was very pleased, sorry, so it was a very honour for me to do this assessment really

04:10so it's an amazing school, the job they do it's really above and beyond their role, they are

04:16welcoming atmosphere and really safe a place for anyone to come in, they welcome the parents,

04:22they welcome the refugees, they welcome whoever want to come to this school really and well done

04:29Owen and they really deserve this award. And we were all treated to a lovely little song in the

04:35hall weren't we? Nice way to start the day isn't it? And another special lady we've got in the

04:42middle here, young lady called Awa, that's right isn't it? And Awa, what's your last name?

04:49And how old are you now then Awa? 11. So how old were you when you came to this school?

04:54Five. Okay so yeah so you've had a good few years here so you know what it's all about

04:59and where were you originally from then Awa? Syria. So what's a bit of your story then,

05:05what can you tell us kind of about your journey and your experience kind of you know being here

05:10at the school? So everyone's like really kind so they didn't judge me or anything, some people did

05:17think that me speaking English was like a bit weird because I came to an English school but

05:23it was very kind because the teachers like took me out, taught me, no one rushed me and as I like

05:31started speaking English everyone was like proud of me and made me feel like I was really in place

05:38and people and like the teachers and they were very helpful to me and my pupils in my class

05:47were really helpful and funny and kind. Yeah so you've adjusted to our British sense of humour

05:55and I mean so when you first came here as a five-year-old you couldn't speak English,

06:01I mean to someone like myself I mean sometimes people struggle to understand me over here so I

06:06do speak I do speak a bit black country you know but to someone like myself that just seems like

06:12it must be terrifying yeah but they're not you kids sometimes you just take it in your stride

06:17what's your memory of what was it very scary when you came and it was a different language can you

06:22remember how you felt? I was like I wasn't scared I was nervous but after time I started getting

06:29really comfortable with the people and the teachers and like everyone's very kind to me and

06:35I felt like I was in place in this school. Yeah so what about kind of family and that have they

06:43kind of settled in as well who are you here with is it mom and dad or who are you? I'm with my

06:50both of my parents and my three siblings. Three siblings yeah yeah and what so what do you like

06:57to do kind of leisure time now when you're outside school what is it you like to do for fun? So on

07:03Thursday I go to like a club with that we play football in and like I have people from my class

07:11there and sometimes we go and play outside and talk on the phone yeah I talk on the phone

07:21so you like your football were you watching the England game were you were you cheering on England

07:27well we're teaching you well we're teaching you well have you heard of Wolverhampton Wanderers

07:31they're a really good club they're a really good club it's a club for where I'm from

07:37um so miss is a what can we elaborate on just kind of on um honest on our story here you know

07:45it must be a daunting experience when they're that young and being dropped into a country

07:50in another school but she seems to have adjusted very well and it was a journey for us as well

07:55which I said has led to sort of where we are today because you know we didn't it and Al was

08:01the first child we'd had that had arrived at school not speaking any English okay so it was

08:05we needed to make her feel welcome we didn't speak her language she didn't speak ours yeah

08:10so it was a journey a journey for all of us wasn't it as I said yeah she used to tease me in year one

08:14that used to say her name wrong so I know how to say it now don't I but it was just wonderful

08:19watching her confidence grow yeah and and seeing her family and their confidence grow I think it

08:25was like this sports day this year your mom took part in the parents race yes she did yeah and

08:30that's the first time your mom's took part in that race hasn't he so you know for mom to feel

08:33comfortable doing that and I was cheering her on when you were very excited yeah yeah um you know

08:39and mom has attended a lot so we do a lot of family learning courses from here mom's attended

08:43those um and so we you know we've helped mom and her development as well because she didn't speak

08:48English either so yeah it's been really um really exciting helping out on her journey and really

08:53rewarding we're going to be sad to let her go it's the final year it's a final year so where

08:58you off what's your next school okay yeah great well let's hope they up their game and get the

09:04sanctuary award hey so um do you still have family and friends in in syria are you still in contact

09:11with people um so my grandma is in syria and so it's like so my uncles and aunties and my dad's

09:19siblings yeah but in england we have one of my uncles yeah and in sweden we have one of my

09:26uncles and another one of my uncles in um holland oh wow okay my mom's sisters in turkey oh wow

09:35so do you manage to do kind of the video phone calls and all that kind of stuff yeah

09:39so what's kind of um do we know what's the plans are for the future is shrewsby your home now do

09:46we think is that the is that the yeah yeah well thank you for coming and i feel like you've done

09:53so well learning english could you teach us a couple of syrian words maybe hello and yeah

09:59how do you say hello in syrian marhaba marhaba and how do you say thank you shukran shukran

10:07well shukran to you ara and um well done to all involved at the school here thank you folks

10:13so our you were your first port of call was much when luck home of the olympics the so they say

10:18much when luck and um it's a nice little town isn't it it's a nice experience being there

10:24yeah it was very nice and the people were very kind oh that's good so you were so you came when

10:30you were five you came over here but when you were one you were started living in a camp so for four

10:36years in a camp so what what do you remember about that then our um i remember that we had

10:43friends around us that lived with us no not with us but like next to us and it was very fun going

10:50to them and even though we didn't have a lot we were still happy because some people were

10:55staying on the streets and we had a warm place and warm food to eat so what were you living in

11:03was it an apartment was it a house it was a tent a tent yeah so how many rooms would the tent have

11:09had then we would have had toilet kitchen and a living room yeah and that was it for all of you

11:15for your mom dad your siblings as well so that was a bit cozy hey and um so when you first found out

11:25you were traveling over to this country what was your thought did you think it was a holiday did

11:31you think it because i was really young so i didn't really like know what was happening so i was

11:39very happy because we were moving to our house and i thought we're gonna we're gonna come back

11:45to syria yeah yeah does it still make you sad obviously you were very young when you left syria

11:51but you know you've got your own relationship with it via family members um does it do you

11:57still reflect is it still sad do you still think about syria much it's very sad to think about my

12:05grandparents because i haven't seen them in in like six years eight years so i really want to

12:12see them and i want to go see my thing in my house in syria and the like the things that i left in

12:22yeah and um i really like but even if i go i'm not gonna go live there i'm gonna come back here

12:30because i don't think i can adjust to that life yeah because it'll be really hard for me yeah

12:36to leave the school and people the people that i actually like yeah so it's um so the hope is to

12:42get back there for a kind of a visit and yeah and to learn a bit more about that that side of things

13:13is

13:27because tomorrow's another day

13:42you are

14:13oh

14:35tomorrow's another day

14:42You are the sun, you are the dream

14:47Oh, oh, we know we can be

14:50You are enough for me

14:53You are the hope that feeds

14:55You are the hope that feeds

14:59You are

15:01You are the light

15:03You are the sun

15:06You are the dream

15:09Oh, oh, we know we can be

15:12You are enough for me

15:15You are the hope that feeds

15:17You are the hope that feeds

15:40You are

15:44You are

15:46Someone

15:49You are wise beyond your tender years

15:57Soon done

16:01You are more than over half the way

16:08You are the hope that feeds

16:17Today

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