'Award-winning St Helens school gave me support even when I wasn’t ready to receive it'

A supportive St Helens school has won a prestigious accolade at the ‘education Oscars’.

The annual TES Schools Awards celebrate the best teachers and schools from across the UK, presenting awards in 22 categories, from ‘Inclusive Trust of the Year’ to ‘Headteacher of the Year’.

Dubbed the ‘Oscars’ of education, the coveted awards were held in London last month, with one primary school in Merseyside recognised for their “culture of botheredness”.

Carr Mill Primary School was awarded the Pupil Mental Health Initiative of the Year for its fantastic work to improve mental wellbeing and attendance figures.

TES said: “The community served by Carr Mill Primary School in Merseyside faced a raft of challenges, including poor attitudes towards education, low aspirations, troubling mental health statistics and a lack of trust from families. The result was poor outcomes for all.

“The school was determined to tackle the situation with a mental health offer that would, if successful, transform outcomes for current and future generations of children. Four years on and Carr Mill can confidently claim to have a success on its hands.

“The school restructured the staff team, appointing a second deputy headteacher, pastoral manager, family support worker and learning mentor to focus on the mission.

“They flooded their community with positive school news via social media, and adopted a ‘culture of botheredness’, making extra efforts to forge closer relationships with families and convince them that they had their children’s best interests at heart.

“The school also adopted the Barnado’s PATHS programme to teach children from nursery to Year 6 pro-social skills, emotional understanding, social problem-solving and self-control.

“Pupil mentoring also has an important role. Children needing a self-confidence boost have been appointed ‘Bistro Leaders’. These pupils support younger children during breakfast sessions, taking and serving orders and leading games and activities.

“The strategy has led to a 75% reduction in pupils referred to Tier 3 mental health services and more pupils are receiving early preventative mental health interventions. Attendance is up and persistent absence dramatically down. And there are fewer suspensions and significant behavioural incidents.”

The greatest praise comes for the school comes from grateful families. One parent told them: “No other school provides support like you do. You gave me support, even when I wasn’t ready to receive it.”

A spokesperson for Carr Mill Primary school said: “We are so proud to bring this award home.”