Through the initiative of the City of Sanctuary Action Group, four new ESOL classes started at Coventry Refugee & Migrant Centre last year. The classes are run purely by volunteers, with a qualified ESOL teacher in each class. Nearly a year on, both the students and teachers are very enthusiastic about how things are going:

“It is very good for me. It helps for understand, it’s very nice.”

“Very very good, especially Ashton and Tom!”

“We want more classes, too many people need lessons.”

“I like this class, every teacher is good speaking, in writing, speaking, listening and everything.”

And from the teachers:

“It’s absolutely amazing, the students are so keen and there’s so much peer support – they really took on board that we would only have English spoken in the lessons. We’ve got the students on three tables with a volunteer on each table. It’s like three classes within one class. I’m really excited about it!” Ingrid

“It’s going fantastically well. We’ve got a huge waiting list. This really feels like we are making a difference.” Ashton

“This class is a good kick-start for people’s English. They are very eager to learn.” Abe

“We do speaking, reading and writing. The students seem to enjoy it and cooperate well together. There’s a good atmosphere and people are making new friends.” Frances

The classes are open to beginners and intermediate level and are open to all (especially to those who are not eligible for college classes). If you would like to find out more do contact Rachel via Coventry@cityofsanctuary.org.

A City of Sanctuary is one where neighbourhoods and work places are friendly and services are accessible and welcoming.

We have just completed a project in partnership with NHS Coventry to make GP surgeries more welcoming to refugees and other newcomers.

We are lucky to have a GP on our City of Sanctuary working group who is well respected by patients and doctors alike. To date, 24 GPs have personally signed the City of Sanctuary Pledge and we have an excellent health centre based in the Refugee Centre for those who do not yet have their refugee status.

However, some GPs are unfamiliar with refugee issues and don’t use interpreters when necessary, despite it being a free service. Similarly, some refugees do not yet understand the health care systems.

We asked doctors and refugees what difficulties they experienced and then ran workshops to share these findings with refugees and health professionals.

Below are three attachments. One is for doctors, one for receptionists and one for refugees. The refugee leaflet is also available in French, Arabic, Somali, Mandarin and Tigrinya on request. Please adapt and use these documents in other cities too.