A STALYBRIDGE primary school is celebrating after being given a top award for making sure pupils’ mental health can be improved.
St Paul’s made it their aim to make its provision for everyone’s mind and emotional wellbeing is better during the Covid-19 lockdown.
And that work has paid off as the Huddersfield Road establishment has won the AcSEED Award in recognition of its efforts.
In its review, inspectors highlighted a number of things they were particularly impressed with.
These include the emotional health and wellbeing policy, a supportive approach when behaviours fall short of expectations, embedding emotional language in staff training, a parent’s mental health workshop in response to requests for more information to help support their children’s mental health, termly reviews to reflect on the wellbeing services being accessed by students, a parent/carer workshop run by the charity MIND and emotional check-ins for vulnerable students.
Others also convinced inspectors St Paul’s was worthy of the award, including a school spider app, Lego therapy, a gardening club in conjunction with the Royal Horticultural Society, a rainbow room and a reflection room.
And AcSEED told St Paul’s: “The review concluded that St Paul’s Church of England Primary School meets the AcSEED criteria for emotional wellbeing and mental health support, and has therefore been accredited with The AcSEED Award.”
Leanne Forrest, pupil wellbeing lead at St Paul’s, said: “During Covid, we identified this need and I have been on a mission with others at St Paul’s to ensure our wellbeing provision is the best it can be.
“For the last 18 months we have been working hard to improve our mental health and emotional wellbeing provision.
“We are all delighted to have been accredited with the AcSEED award.”
Deputy head Lucy Crompton added: “We are delighted, and we are now part of a select few schools that have been accredited.
“Thanks to the whole of our school community in helping us to achieve this.”
Charlotte Gatherer founder of the AcSEED award told The Correspondent:
“AcSEED promotes adoption of best practices in supporting the emotional wellbeing and mental health of young people in UK schools and colleges, and provides recognition for organisations that satisfy the AcSEED criteria for wellbeing support”.
“The AcSEED assessment team were particularly impressed by the strong wellbeing ethos at St Paul’s Church of England Primary School, by their wide range of mental health and wellbeing provisions, and by their strong focus on continuous improvement.
We are therefore delighted to announce that St Paul’s Church of England Primary School has been accredited with The AcSEED Award”.