East Morton CE Primary School, Cullingworth Village Primary School and the The Academy at St James, three Academies from within the Bradford Diocesan Academies Trust family, were among a group of primary schools from across Bradford who were recognised this month for their work supporting the mental health and wellbeing of staff and students.
Reflecting the Academy Trusts values of compassion and wellbeing, each school has worked hard to ensure that their schools have developed as a nurturing environment to support the holistic development and wellbeing of children, supporting them to thrive academically, socially and emotionally.
East Morton CE Primary School secured a Gold Award at the awards last week with the report recognising the key value of ‘Love’ as a golden thread running through the school. The East Morton Healthy mind report states ‘East Morton is a school which radiates love and care for their community.’ ‘There is an ingrained ethos of love and inclusion that is seen and felt across the school. Across the curriculum there is an underlying thread of love, kindness and community”
Anne Proctor, Head Teacher at East Morton CE Primary School commented “This recognition is a testament to the collective efforts of our dedicated staff, supportive parents, and, of course, our exceptional children. It fills my heart with immense pride to see our school’s commitment to promoting the wellbeing of every child acknowledged with this Gold Award.”
Meanwhile, Cullingworth Village Primary School received a silver mark with equally strong endorsement of the values led and caring approach the school is proud of. The Cullingworth Healthy Minds Chartermark report states “The school has a welcoming and nurturing atmosphere” and “There is a clear whole school approach to mental health and well-being which is outstanding”.
The Academy at St James, a third school within the BDAT family also secured a silver mark, supporting a number of the schools other recent accolades which demonstrate a commitment to supporting the wider wellbeing and health of their staff and students including the work the school continues to champion around physical education.
Each of the schools attended the awards ceremony at The Midland Hotel in Bradford, where they received their award from The Lord Mayor of Bradford, Councillor Gerry Barker.
Louise Woofendin, mental health lead at Cullingworth Village Primary School commented “We are delighted to have achieved the Healthy Minds Chartermark for our outstanding whole school approach to mental health and well-being support for our school community. Well-being and emotional support has been a school priority for many years and we are pleased that our strong culture and ethos to support wellbeing has been recognised.
Henry, a year 5 Wellbeing Warrior from Cullingworth Village Primary School said “It was really fun and we’ve had a very good time. It taught me how to help people who are feeling sad.”
Carol Dewhurst, Chief Executive of Bradford Diocesan Academies Trust said “I am incredibly proud to see three of our fabulous primary schools recognised for the work they do every day to support the wellbeing of the children in our care. At BDAT inclusion and compassion and caring for each other are hugely important in how we operate and look after each other. We don’t need badges to know how well we look after each other but this recognition is a well-deserved testiment to the hard work and ethos of the staff and students we are lucky to have within our schools”