Posted on: 28th October 2025

We are delighted that Leeds City of Sanctuary has received funding to employ a Schools of Sanctuary Coordinator in Leeds in a part time capacity for two years. LCoS is working in partnership with RETAS and Leeds City Council on the development of the role which has a focus on working with schools to achieve their Sanctuary Award, as well as working to raise awareness of the issues people seeking asylum and refugees face on coming to and settling in the UK. We will be starting the recruitment process in mid-November. 

City of Sanctuary runs a national awards programme which has a sector focus, for instance schools, libraries, councils, theatres of sanctuary. The key elements three elements of the awards are to learn what it is to be like an asylum seeker or refugee , embed  to learnings in the organisation to assist understanding and share details of what you have learnt with other similar organisations. In May of this year the University of Leeds became a University of Sanctuary. The university has been working toward ethe award for around two years. There is some highly significant work and engagement that the university is engaged with such as: offering sanctuary awards (usually post graduate / PhD), supporting displaced academics around the world with digital resources, undertaking research in the sector, as well as engagement in the Leeds community through the Life Long Learning Centre supporting English classes / access to higher education, the galleries encouraging participation in the arts and opening up facilities to people seeking asylum in Leeds.