School Mental Health Award Showcase

Carnegie Centre of Excellence for Mental Health in Schools
School Mental Health Award Showcase
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Contents
Introduction 4 Moorlands Primary School 6 Lordswood School 8 Brannel School 10 The Oaks Secondary School 12 Boothroyd Primary Academy 14 Epsom & Ewell High School 16 Ravenshall School 18 Dixons Marchbank Academy 20


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Improve self- confidence, resilience and emotional intelligence for pupils and staff in your school.


The Department for Education recognises the direct link between positive mental health in schools and successful educational outcomes; the Mental Health Award for Schools builds on this link and provides a framework for educational institutions to evidence policies and initiatives that work towards improving emotional health and wellbeing for both staff and pupils.
For more information or to apply for the Mental Health Award please visit:
www.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/schoolMH/
or email at [email protected]
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Moorlands Primary School
School Profile
Moorlands Primary School is much larger than the average-sized primary school. Each year group has three single age classes, taught in chronological age group, mixed ability classes.
Our ethos:
High Expectations, High Achievements, Challenge and Enjoyment for All
Our vision: Passion and high aspirations, driven by enthusiastic professionals, result in a respectful and reflective learning environment which sparks individual curiosity and creates lasting memories. Children learn with developing independence and aspire to achieve more tomorrow than today.
The percentage of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, FSM, has fluctuated slightly over the last 3 years, although, is consistently below the national average.
As a whole school, we are extremely proud that we have achieved this Award! It has given us structure, confidence and the ability to further act upon
a range of needs of our staff and children, starting with maintaining and improve positive well-being to seeking external support.
We have been able to reflect on our practise throughout and tailor the award to suit the needs of our school. We can’t wait to share our structures with others and this is starting with our local CAMHS lead.
The impact will hopefully continue to build our understanding of all mental health needs and we are now tracking well-being alongside SEN to support recognising mental health needs as a real barrier to learning.
We will continue to reflect on our practise and look forward to building further, but at Moorlands we are now secure in knowing Well-Being is top of the agenda for both our Staff and Pupils.
We are part of the Salendine Nook Family and Community Hub with 7 schools in total and meet at least half termly to discuss local support within the Community and any issues that we can share and support schools and parents with. Our website has a section for local community.
moorlandsprimary.org.uk/page/?title=In+our+Community%2E%2E%2E&pid=122
We also have a half termly Apaches event which is an Inter-generational project which originally started with Grandparents but now we have a number of adults who want to support or learn from our pupils. This has included traditional game playing, poppy making and craft.
Primary 4-11 years. Approximately 635 on roll.
3-form entry.
Impact of the award
How do you reach out to others schools and charities?
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Next steps
Moorlands dedicated a week to understanding Charity at the beginning of the year. Each Year group have together chosen a charity to support. For example, Year 2 are support local charity ‘Ruddi’s Retreat’ which supports families with terminally ill children have access to holiday homes for free. Year 3 will be donating time by visiting and sharing events with our local Dementia group.
As stated above, we are about to join forces with CAMHS to share what we are doing in school, get feedback and hopefully share with other schools too.
Further engaging parents, reducing the stigma of mental health and sharing what we offer in school and links to external support. Early Intervention!
Sharing our good practice with others.
“ We couldn’t be more proud of the care, commitment and dedication our staff continue to show our pupils and each other. Well-Being is at the forefront of everything we do. We continue to learn, support and build on mental health and the
Hannah Woodhouse,
Mental Health Award Lead and Assistant Head Teacher
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Lordswood School
School Profile
Impact of the award
Lordswood school is part of the Griffin Schools Trust with a commitment to providing a high quality education for children aged between 3-11 years. It
is a two form entry school with approximately 400 children on roll. It follows a values based education principle and cares deeply about the holistic child, not just the academic achievement. The Trust vision of Proud Traditions, Wide Horizons and High Achievement is embedded throughout the school.
Since embarking on the journey to achieve the Silver Award, Lordswood school has become more reflective in its practice and raising awareness of mental health and wellbeing. All staff are keen to offer support to anyone who needs it, including parents, other staff members and children. The curriculum has been developed to incorporate a “Time to Talk”, which all staff have embraced, providing children opportunities, in addition to PSHE and Philosophy for Children (P4C), to talk and discuss feelings and issues around mental health and wellbeing. The children are more confident in describing their feelings and the trusting relationships between the school community has increased immensely. We value the impact that outdoor learning has
on a child’s wellbeing. A healthy mind and a healthy body is our aim. Senior Leaders also recognise the importance of staff wellbeing and are organising additional wellbeing activities.
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“ Lordswood has developed a fantastic culture with
an amazing staff team, who are committed to enabling children to achieve their potential, academically, socially and emotionally. We take great pride in our pastoral care, promoting and raising awareness of mental health and wellbeing with all stakeholders, Governors, staff, parents and pupils, to ensure that children thrive at Lordswood. ”
Jayne Lusinksi
Head
How do you reach out to others schools and charities?
The staff regularly work with other agencies to provide the best possible support for those in the school community. The school prides itself in its engagement with the community and many charitable agencies. Close
links are embedded with the Salvation Army and Harrow Court. The
school regularly organises fundraising events for a variety or charities
and organisations. Members of the wider community are invited to a wide timetable of events such as; nativities, arts festivals, sports festivals and showcase performances, including the School’s Shakespeare festival. As part of a trust of 12 schools nationwide, opportunities to share good practice and talents are regularly available and utilised. Year 3 will be donating time by visiting and sharing events with our local Dementia group.
As stated above, we are about to join forces with CAMHS to share what we are doing in school, get feedback and hopefully share with other schools too.
As a school, Lordswood is embarking on a journey to publish work and take mental health to the next level, whilst building on the already embraced competencies to ensure children and staff are given the best opportunities within the family that is Lordswood school.
Next steps
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Brannel School
School Profile
Impact of the award
How do you reach out to others schools and charities?
Next steps
Secondary 11-16 Academy (MAT) 729 on roll
30% PP
21% SEND
This award has had a hugely positive impact on Brannel School. Being the first school in the South West to have this award has been a great achievement and means that staff, students, governors and members of the wider community are able to see and recognise the day to day things that the school does to support the young people and staff at Brannel.
Brannel school has often had outside agencies coming into the school to work with both staff and students on specific mental health issues such as self- harm and bereavement.
The school recently held a “showcase” on the theme of mental health to share what we do as a school as well as share personal stories of both staff and students journeys when struggling with their mental health.
We now want to offer support other schools who also want to go through the school mental health award as well as share all of the wonderful things we do as a school in terms of mental health support.
To revel in the joy of gaining this award and then to share our success with other schools particularly other schools within our academy trust. We would then like to look at what steps we need to take to work towards the silver award, maybe even gold.
Overall we would like to continue to keep up with all the work we already do in school to support mental health and reduce the stigma around this.


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“ The involvement in this project has had a substantial impact on the well-being of our community. It has been an excellent tool. Through which we have prioritised the needs and support required to ensure that all of our stakeholders are benefitting from the knowledge and expertise of our key practitioners in this area. ”


“ The Schools Mental Health Award has allowed the school to reflect, identify priority areas, drive forward positive change and provide professional support for young people who attend the school. ”
Martyn Tweddle
Head of School
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The Oaks Secondary School
School Profile
Impact of the award
How do you reach out to others schools and charities?
Next steps
We are a large, maintained school for young people with special educational needs. Our pupils attend from across South West Durham, with many from further afield. We have achieved an ‘Outstanding’ grade from our last three Ofsted inspections.
We offer a diverse and enriched curriculum for over 280 pupils, supported by a wide range of accreditation opportunities. We have a number of different class models which ensure that individual pupils learning needs are met.
The award has provided a framework with which we have evaluated our existing provision for pupils and staff as well as providing a focus for further development. It has enabled us to measure the impact of the interventions
we offer and to consider bringing in new initiatives. It has also been a positive experience in terms of acknowledging our successes and the hard work of the staff.
We have strong links with the schools we have recently been federated with; Evergreen and the Croft. We also have links with other schools and community groups through the mental wellbeing networking group.
We have continuing professional development booked on the subject of ACEs ( Adverse childhood experiences) and hope to have a number of staff trained in First Aid training for Adult Mental Health. We have plans to use Strength and Difficulty Questionnaire responses to target early interventions to help students who may be experiencing issues with peers. We plan to continue to develop our systems of recording information on ‘Sleuth’ so that information about student wellbeing, interventions and other data can be more easily analysed.
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Boothroyd Primary Academy
School Profile
Impact of the award
How do you reach out to others schools and charities?
Next steps
Context of our academy
615 children on roll
Assessment on entry shows that the majority of children enter reception well below national average
34% pupils receive pupil premium, 57% are from the poorest 10% of households and 99% are from the most deprived 30%.
Over 80% of our children speak English as an additional language, 95% are of ethnic origin and 74% are of Pakistani heritage
The award has enabled us to have a whole school approach to supporting the mental health and well being of pupils, staff and parents and we have a much happier school as a result.
The award focused us on all aspects of our school life and has made sure that mental health is high on the agenda for everyone and is part of everything we do.
We work with schools across the Trust and have inspired many of the schools to have mental health training and also advised them on some of our strategies.
We are also working with our local hub of schools to support them in training
We now want to support our local community in their understanding of mental health issues and support them in supporting themselves and their children. We are extending our mental health first aid training to all support staff in our school and will be offering this to all our local schools.


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“ More and more primary aged children are suffering from mental health issues and many schools do not know how to help these children or don’t because of other priorities. I feel that mental health and well-being should be high on the agenda for all educators and needs to include all stakeholders. Th e award really helped my staff focus on all areas including our curriculum, our policies and even our environment to really put mental health well being at the heart of our school. ”
Kyrstie Joslin


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Epsom & Ewell High School
School Profile
Impact of the award
How do you reach out to others schools and charities?
Next steps
Epsom and Ewell High School is a secondary school located at Ruxley Lane, Epsom, Surrey, England that opened in 1989. It is a coeducational, academy that educates children from ages 11-18, with over 900 on the roll
Mr Newman (Head of School) said: “Students, teachers and parents are now very aware of the comprehensive mental health provision that we offer and the key part it plays in our commitment to excellence in teaching and learning.”
“As a result, we have seen an increase in the number of children speaking about their mental health issues and reduction in the stigma around it, which then positively impacts their ability to do well at school”.
Epsom and Ewell has supported other schools in the trust by providing advice and guidance in how to implement mental health strategies and achieve the greatest impact with staff students and parents.
We have also worked extensively with some of our feeder primaries to help them develop their mental health offer.
Since achieving the award we have been contacted and provided guidance to other school around the country.
Publish our vision which places wellbeing at the centre of our commitment to excellence in teaching and learning.
Build upon and improve our mental health provision for staff.
Continue to work with other schools to help them develop their unique mental health approach.
Create wellbeing leaders within our junior leadership team.


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“ I am extremely proud that Epsom and Ewell High School is the first secondary school in the UK to receive the gold standard for the School Mental Health Award. Staff and students have worked hard to break down the stigmas surrounding mental health and have created a special environment within school which has had a hugely positive impact on teaching, learning and wellbeing. ”
James Newman
Head of School


Ravenshall School
School Profile
Impact of the award
How do you reach out to others schools and charities?
Next steps
Ravenshall School is a large day special school which caters for pupils
with complex learning needs. The majority of pupils have significant
learning difficulties combined with other special educational needs such
as behavioural difficulties or autistic spectrum disorders. A number of students have more complex learning needs including sensory and physical impairments and specific learning difficulties. We cater for all key stages and have a sixth form. PfA (Preparation for adulthood). We currently have
172 pupils on role.
The award has proved to be an exceptional tool in which to self-assess
our current strategies in place for the mental health and wellbeing of our whole school community. Any shortfalls in provision have shown up and as a consequence steps have been put in place to fill the gaps.
We have 2 SLE’S and our Head of school is a NLE. I have been invited to talk about the award at another school which is very exciting because, having mental health as a core business model is so important to me.
Continue to build the profile of mental health and wellbeing so it becomes as natural to talk about as maths and English!
“ This has been such a valuable experience for me. I feel I have learned so much how the different strands of the whole school cohort comes together to provide a positive environment for us all, in whatever way we can. Even the littlest of changes make a world of difference!! ”
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Dixons Marchbank Primary
School Profile
Impact of the award
How do you reach out to others schools and charities?
Next steps
Primary phase from Nursery to Year 6 499 pupils on roll
The award has ensured that improving our mental health provision for the whole school community is at the forefront of our thinking. It has raised the status and highlighted the importance of mental health as a key driver to success, in all aspects of life.
We have joined the Mental Health Champions network in the Bradford district in order to share and pioneer good practise in the area. We have also spoken at Bradford Primary in Partnership (BPIP) meetings to local head teachers, in order to inspire them to improve mental health provision in their own schools. Our school is also supporting other local and national schools in embarking on their journey toward the School Mental Health Award.
We are completely committed to the continued development of our own mental health offer, with plans for training for a Mental First Aider for adults planned in the Autumn term. In addition to this we are also dedicated to being passionate advocates for improving mental health provision in education both locally and nationally.


“ We will continue to develop our mental health provision, not just to achieve gold in the future, but to ensure that what we have put in place makes a long- term, sustainable and positive impact on pupils, staff, parents and the wider community ”
Helen Haunch
Principal of Dixons Marchbank
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MA Leadership of School Mental Health and Wellbeing
Mental health has been described by the British Prime Minister as “one of the greatest challenges of our time”. This course will ensure you can promote positive mental health and wellbeing and help to prevent mental illness in children and young people in schools.
To find out more or to apply visit:
courses.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/leadership-school-mental-health-wellbeing/