Carnegie Mental Health BRONZE Award

The Carnegie Mental Health Award for Schools is a UK-based recognition program that celebrates schools and colleges for their outstanding commitment to supporting student mental health and wellbeing. Willingham \primary school began working towards this year-long goal during the 2023-2024 academic year.

It is delivered by the Carnegie Centre of Excellence for Mental Health in Schools and the award acknowledges schools that

• Take a whole-school approach to mental health

• Embed wellbeing into leadership, policies, and daily practice

• Support both students and staff wellbeing

• Provide early intervention and targeted support

• Engage families and the wider community

Rather than focusing on one-off initiatives, the award looks at how mental health is integrated into the school’s culture, curriculum, and systems.

Good mental health is vital to overall wellbeing and development and Willingham Primary School wanted to strive to provide excellent mental health support for the whole school community and the Carnegie Mental Health Award helped the school to:

• Benchmark our current mental health provision (at the point in which we started to work towards the award)

• Develop structured improvement plans

• Gain national recognition for good practice

• Strengthen support systems for pupils and staff

It is widely respected across the UK education sector and is aligned with guidance from the Department for Education on promoting mental health and wellbeing in schools.

In short, the Carnegie Mental Health Award for Schools is a framework and recognition scheme that supports schools in creating safe, supportive, and mentally healthy learning environments.

Staff across the school have worked to exceptionally high standards in alignment with the Carnegie Mental Health Award framework, ensuring that mental health and wellbeing are embedded into every aspect of school life. Leaders have demonstrated clear strategic commitment, policies have been carefully developed and consistently applied, and staff have received high-quality professional development to confidently support pupils’ needs. Pastoral systems are robust and responsive, early identification processes are effective, and targeted interventions are thoughtfully implemented and evaluated. The school community actively promotes a culture of openness, inclusion and psychological safety, with strong partnerships established with families and external agencies. Through consistent reflection, monitoring and evidence-informed practice, staff have ensured that wellbeing is not treated as an add-on, but as a core priority underpinning teaching, learning and relationships.

The 8 areas of the Carnegie Mental Health Award framework are:

1. Leadership and Strategy

2. Organisational Structure and Culture

3. Staff Development

4. Supporting Staff Wellbeing

5. Identifying Need and Monitoring Impact

6. Targeted Support and Appropriate Referrals

7. Curriculum, Teaching and Learning

8. Working with Parents and Carers

Willingham Primary School has successfully achieved the Bronze Standard of the Carnegie Mental Health Award for Schools in recognition of its clear commitment to developing a whole-school approach to mental health and wellbeing. As evidenced in the attached Final Assessment Record, the school has demonstrated strengths across all eight areas.  Achieving the Bronze Standard reflects Willingham Primary School’s dedication to creating a safe, inclusive and mentally healthy environment for its whole community and its ongoing commitment to continuous improvement.

 

Some quotes from the report: 

'Visitors to the school regularly comment on the calm learning environment, an atmosphere built on high expectations that pupils embrace and thrive in.'

'The highlight of work relating to pupils has been the development of therapeutic support within the school, particularly through the introduction of canine therapy, talk therapy, and play therapy, which have had a profound impact on children’s wellbeing.'

'The lead is passionate about their work, which has been instrumental in securing positive developments in the mental health and wellbeing of pupils and staff at the school.'