In Part 1, we explored the difference between being a welcoming school and creating a community where everyone genuinely belongs. We considered how biblical hospitality calls us to notice those who may be excluded and to ask difficult questions about the culture and systems we create.
But what do these intentions look like in everyday school life?
Radical hospitality is not an abstract ideal. It is expressed through the choices we make, the relationships we build and the structures we establish. It begins with how we treat one another and asks us to consider how our schools might be transformed through the people we welcome.
Start with the adults
If we want children to experience belonging, we need to pay attention to the culture modeled by adults.
Children learn not only from what we teach but from how we treat one another. This emulation is the same for adults!
Consider the staffroom. Who eats alone? Whose voice dominates conversations? Who rarely speaks? Who is invited into informal discussions, and who may feel like an outsider?
These questions are not designed to create blame. They are invitations to become more attentive and to a certain extent consider the old phrase WWJD: What would Jesus do in such a situation?
A school might have excellent policies on inclusion … while an individual staff member quietly struggles to find their place. A new colleague might receive a warm welcome on their first day … but remain outside established friendship groups for months afterwards.
Our responsibility is to create structures and habits that make belonging more likely.
That effort might involve being intentional about introductions, ensuring that new staff have meaningful opportunities to build relationships, inviting different voices into decision-making, and checking in with colleagues beyond their immediate teams.
Radical welcome starts in the staffroom before it reaches the classroom. As a leader I believe belonging and this radical hospitality need to filter all aspects of an organisation.
Change the question
One of the most important shifts we can make is the question we ask when someone is struggling to belong.
We might naturally ask: “How can we help this child or adult fit in?”
A more challenging question is: “What is it about our school or organisation that makes it hard for this person to belong?”
The difference is significant and one which we posed during our transitional sessions for when families join us for the start of the academic year.
The first question places much of the responsibility on the individual to adapt. The second invites us to examine our own practices and assumptions.
“One of the most important shifts we can make is the question we ask when someone is struggling to belong.”
For example, if a parent who speaks limited English rarely attends school events, we might ask whether our communication methods, timings, or expectations are creating barriers.
If a child with SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) finds it difficult to participate in a particular activity, we might consider how the environment, teaching approach, or organisation could be adapted.
If a new member of staff is not engaging in meetings, we might reflect on whether the culture genuinely encourages different perspectives.
These questions do not remove individual responsibility. They broaden our understanding of shared responsibility and help us look for practical change.
From host to co-creator
Hospitality can sometimes position one person as the host and another as the guest.
The host decides who is invited, where people sit, and how the experience is organised. The guest receives the invitation but may have little influence over the community itself.
Radical welcome invites us to move beyond this model.
Those we welcome should have opportunities to become co-creators of the community, contributing their experiences, gifts, ideas, and perspectives.
In a Christian school, this framing is connected to our understanding of the body of Christ. We are not all the same, and our differences do not diminish our shared value. Each person has a contribution to make.
Implementation could mean inviting parents to help shape school initiatives, listening carefully to the experiences of families from different backgrounds, ensuring children have meaningful opportunities to influence their learning environment, or making space for staff to contribute beyond established roles.
The question becomes: How can we do this with people, rather than simply doing something for them?
That shift from doing for to doing with can change the nature of our relationships.
The ACE Way: See, Welcome, Change
At Arundel Church of England (ACE) Primary School, I have been reflecting on radical hospitality through three movements that connect with our Christian vision.
See
Faith gives us eyes for Scripture.
Whom do we notice? Who may be overlooked, excluded, or struggling to belong?
Welcome
Hope makes space.
Whom do we make room for? How do we create genuine opportunities for participation and belonging?
Change
Love requires action.
How does someone’s presence change us, our practices, and the culture we are creating?
These movements remind us that hospitality is not passive. We see, we make space, and we act.
See, Welcome, and Change also connect with our wider ACE identity: Analytical, Challenging, and Ethical. We aspire to become the people God is calling us to be. We care for one another through practical love. We seek to excel not simply in outcomes but in the quality of the communities we build.
What could you change tomorrow?
Radical hospitality does not require us to wait for a major initiative or a complete transformation of our school.
It can begin with a few deliberate actions.
1. Notice someone who is often overlooked. Take time to speak with the colleague who is quieter in meetings, the parent who seems uncertain, or the child who finds social situations difficult.
2. Review one system. Choose a routine, communication method, or school event. Ask whether it is accessible and welcoming to everyone who needs to engage with it.
3. Share ownership. Invite someone who is affected by a decision to help shape it. Listen before deciding what support they need.
4. Build belonging beyond the first day. Consider how you will support new children, families, and staff during the weeks and months following their arrival.
These actions may seem small, but cultures are formed through repeated choices.
Who is not yet at the table?
Jesus says in Matthew 25:35: “I was a stranger and you welcomed me.”
The challenge for Christian educators is not simply to welcome the people who naturally fit our expectations. It is to reflect on those we find difficult to welcome, those whose needs challenge our systems, and those whose experiences may broaden our understanding of community.
We should ask ourselves honestly: Who is not yet at the table, and what are we going to do about it?
Radical hospitality is not simply opening the door.
It is changing the room.
It means allowing the people we welcome to influence how we understand belonging, justice, and community. It asks us to see each person as someone with dignity, voice, and a contribution to make.
Our Christian schools have an opportunity to offer more than a friendly environment. We can seek to become communities where welcome leads to belonging, belonging opens the door to participation, and participation helps transform the culture for everyone.
The work begins where we are, with what we have, and with the people already entrusted to our care.
