We are delighted to announce that Kingham Hill has been awarded The Wellbeing Award for Schools – a national standard for positive mental health and emotional wellbeing.
Developed by the National Children’s Bureau and Optimus Education, the Award recognises the outstanding work being done to promote mental health and wellbeing within school communities across England.
In order to be considered for the Award, schools are required to go through a process of self-evaluation, action planning, portfolio building and verification to show they have met the necessary standards for the award. It takes between 12-15 months to complete, and is a demanding process that involves the whole school community.
Led by our Head of Wellbeing, Mr Tim Martin, we successfully demonstrated to the awarding body that here on the Hill we are working hard to embed a culture which values the happiness and emotional welfare of all the members of our community.
The Award is built on eight objectives which epitomise best practice. Amongst these objectives, accredited schools must be committed to promoting and protecting positive emotional wellbeing and mental health, regard wellbeing and mental health as the responsibility of everyone and actively promote positive staff wellbeing.
In their verification visit, the award verifier highlighted that Kingham has an 'approachable, supportive staff and a strong sense of identity and community.' They also said that 'Parents were very complementary about the school and felt that their children were well-cared for and understood as individuals. They chose the school for its ethos and friendly atmosphere. They describe staff going over and above for their children, with particular mention to Mr Martin and Mr Taylor for their kindness and diligence.'
Our 'Equipped To Flourish' (ETF) programme enables all pupils to think through their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. We want pupils to work hard, play hard, serve well and rest well and we hope that our emphasis on and promotion of wellbeing will allow pupils to see how fundamental this is to enabling every pupil to achieve their potential, in and out of the classroom.
Headmaster, Pete Last said, 'I am delighted that our emphasis on the importance of wellbeing has been recognised through The Wellbeing Award for Schools. At the heart of our Wellbeing and Mental Health Strategic Plan for 2023-2026, is our intention to enable the pupils, staff and parents of Kingham Hill to flourish. Our Christian values underpin our caring culture, where we support individuals to be themselves and to achieve their best, whilst actively promoting the attributes of kindness, empathy and honesty. Under the guidance of our dedicated Head of Wellbeing, Tim Martin, we look forward to further enhancing our offering in order to ensure our focus on the wellbeing of our pupils, staff and parents continues to develop.'
