Love the Stranger
Welcome, human dignity and belonging: connecting the Church’s response to migrants and refugees with the challenge and support of Catholic school governance.
The question for governors
How do we know that a family arriving in our school community is welcomed with dignity, able to participate and recognised for the gifts they bring?
A warm first greeting matters. Governors can also ask what happens afterwards: whether children access learning, form friendships, feel safe and contribute to school life, and whether parents can communicate confidently with the school.
What does Love the Stranger teach?
Love the Stranger: A Catholic Response to Migrants and Refugees is a 2023 publication of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales’ Department for International Affairs. It offers 24 guiding principles.
Begin with human dignity
Principles 1 and 12 ground our response in each person’s worth. Dignity does not depend on birthplace or immigration status; the document includes access to childhood education among its concerns.
Make welcome practical
Principle 10 calls Christian communities to welcome migrants and refugees and resist xenophobia. Principles 16–18 connect this response with practical support and action against trafficking and slavery.
Recognise gifts and contribution
Principles 19–22 recognise how migration enriches communities. Migrants and refugees bring talents, knowledge, faith and experience, as well as needs that may require support.
Look beyond our own community
Principles 4–9 consider people’s ability to flourish in their homeland, the right to migrate, responsibilities of states and safe routes. The document invites a response rooted in the common good.
For a board discussion, begin with the foreword and the summary of principles on pages 6–8. Read the sections on equality and human dignity, trafficking and slavery, and the gift of migration for further reflection.
How does this connect with governors’ roles?
Choose two or three areas relevant to your school. Ask leaders what the evidence shows, agree practical support and return to the difference made.
1. Catholic mission and a culture of welcome
Your roleKeep welcome and human dignity visible in the school’s strategic direction and evaluation of Catholic life.
Ask leadersWhat would a newly arrived family experience in their first day, first month and first term? How do we know they feel part of the community?
Evidence to considerInduction arrangements, accessible family feedback, pupil voice and changes made after listening.
Support leadersGive leaders time and resources to strengthen induction and relationships. Ensure welcome is reflected in ongoing provision and improvement priorities.
2. Access to learning and ambitious expectations
Your roleSeek assurance that pupils can access an ambitious curriculum and that additional support responds to assessed needs.
Ask leadersHow are prior learning, language development and any interrupted education understood? How do staff distinguish learning English from a special educational need? Are expectations ambitious?
Evidence to considerAssessment approaches, progress over time, curriculum access, participation and evaluation of language support.
Support leadersResource staff expertise, suitable materials and language support. Recognise multilingualism as a strength and review the impact of provision.
3. Safeguarding, wellbeing and protection from prejudice
Your roleCheck that safeguarding and anti-bullying arrangements protect every child and respond to the school’s context.
Ask leadersHow are racism and hostility linked to nationality, language or migration addressed? Can pupils report concerns? Are staff alert to exploitation, trafficking and distress without making assumptions about families?
Evidence to considerAnonymised incident trends, pupil feedback, staff training and assurance about referral routes and follow-up.
Support leadersEnsure capacity for pastoral care and safeguarding training. Ask how leaders evaluate whether responses improve pupils’ safety and trust.
4. Stewardship and removing barriers
Your roleScrutinise whether resources and policies support participation in the whole life of the school.
Ask leadersDo communication, uniform, transport, meals, devices, trips or clubs create barriers? Can families access help discreetly? Which barriers have we removed, and what changed?
Evidence to considerParticipation information, feedback, budget priorities and evaluation of support. Check actual needs rather than assuming all migrant families face poverty.
Support leadersConsider interpretation, translated information and targeted practical help where needed. Review available funding and sustainable partnerships.
5. Curriculum, formation and understanding
Your roleSeek assurance that education develops informed understanding, respect and a meaningful connection between Catholic social teaching and life.
Ask leadersHow do pupils learn about migration, sanctuary, human dignity and the common good in age-appropriate ways? Do resources challenge stereotypes and recognise people’s contribution?
Evidence to considerCurriculum plans, reviewed resources, staff formation and pupils’ understanding of what they have learned.
Support leadersEnable thoughtful curriculum development and appropriate partnerships. Protect pupils’ choice about sharing personal experiences; no child should have to represent a whole community.
6. Family voice, partnership and contribution
Your roleAsk whether relationships with families and community partners strengthen belonging and inform school improvement.
Ask leadersCan parents understand key messages and raise concerns? Whose views are missing? How do families help shape school life and share their skills, languages and experience if they wish?
Evidence to considerAccessible consultation, family feedback, participation and examples of improvements shaped by parents and pupils.
Support leadersEncourage links with the parish, diocese and appropriate local organisations. Check that partnerships meet identified needs and that referrals respect confidentiality.
Keeping the governance role clear
Governors oversee the effectiveness of systems, policies and provision. Leaders and designated staff manage admissions processes, teaching, pastoral support and individual safeguarding concerns within their responsibilities.
In academy trusts, apply these questions within the scheme of delegation. In maintained schools, use the governing body’s agreed responsibilities and committee arrangements. Work with the relevant diocesan protocols and current statutory requirements.
This formation activity does not require families to disclose immigration histories or traumatic experiences. Where specialist advice is needed, leaders should use appropriate professional and safeguarding routes.
From welcome to belonging
Before the meeting: circulate the foreword and the summary of principles. Invite governors to reflect particularly on principles 1, 10, 12 and 19–22.
- Pause and pray — 2 minutes. Use the prayer below. Think about arriving somewhere unfamiliar and needing to understand how things work.
- Reflect — 3 minutes. What is the difference between receiving a welcome and experiencing belonging? What does this ask of our school?
- Consider evidence — 5 minutes. Discuss one anonymised insight from pupil or family feedback and one relevant piece of school evidence. What do they tell us, and what remains uncertain?
- Agree action — 5 minutes. Identify one question for leaders, one practical way to support improvement and a review date. Agree what evidence would show stronger participation, learning or belonging.
Choose a manageable action within the board’s remit. Ask about sustained impact rather than counting welcome events or charitable activities alone.
A prayer for welcome and belonging
Loving God,
you call us to recognise one another
as members of one human family.
Open our hearts to those arriving among us.
Help us listen with patience,
recognise gifts we have not yet seen,
and remove barriers we have not yet understood.
Bless children and families seeking safety,
those separated from people they love,
and all who are building a new life.
Guide our decisions as governors and trustees.
Give us courage to challenge prejudice,
wisdom to support our school leaders,
and generosity to make room for others to contribute.
May our school be a community
where every person is treated with dignity
and welcome grows into belonging.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Read the source and continue your formation
Use the full publication and its 24 principles alongside this resource when preparing your board discussion.