CELEBRATIONS were held at a Worcester primary school which was honoured for looking after the well-being of its pupils.
Perry Wood Primary and Nursery School, part of the Griffin Schools Trust, was named as a Thrive Ambassador School with four areas of expertise for the role it plays in helping to prevent mental health issues in the future.
The honour follows a rigorous assessment process with Thrive, which trains teachers and other education professionals to support the emotional and social development of all children.
Perry Wood was honoured with the environment award for making a positive impact on their pupils and on the wider community by having a focus on emotional well-being and creating an environment in they thrive.
The St Albans Close school received the reparative award for helping children who have gaps in their social and emotional development and the leadership award for making emotional well-being a key factor of children’s learning and development.
Staff were also honoured with the right-time award for helping youngsters understand their emotions and the role they play in positive mental health.
“Thrive is something we don’t just do as an add on, we have really committed to it and have weekly, timetabled sessions to prioritise children’s mental wellbeing,” said assistant headteacher Olivia Hennessey.
“As a result, the culture at school has changed, there’s a really warm atmosphere and staff have a much greater awareness of children’s emotional needs.
Over the last four years, Perry Wood has seen a big drop in fixed term exclusions, from 48 to just one while attendance has increased from 93.7 per cent to 95 per cent.
Kay Hamilton, Thrive’s relationship manager for the Central West area, said: “Perry Wood is a fantastic example of a school which has placed mental well-being at the heart of everything it does.
“It is particularly encouraging to see the impact this focus on a whole-school approach to promoting positive well-being has had on key aspects of school life.
“Look at Perry Wood’s pupil attendance rate now – if children want to come to school they will be in a much better place to access learning and they will do well,” she added.
