Staff and pupils at Denton's Corrie Primary School are celebrating becoming the first school in Tameside to receive the Mentally Healthy Schools Award.

The school's application was entirely voluntary and supports its long-term commitment to nurturing the mental health of its students, staff and parents. 

All staff, including midday staff, are trained to listen to any child who approaches them with a problem. Not only are pupils supported, but staff are also aware that they can receive support from colleagues.

The primary school on Cemetery Road has a pastoral team to support the emotional wellbeing of the children through various therapies and support initiatives e.g. play therapy, peer massage, Lego therapy.

In addition, there is an Off the Record Counselling service in school which both children and staff can access.

All staff have had training on the impact of trauma upon children such as Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) prior to being inspected. The school ensures that every child and staff member has access to an emotionally available adult when required. 

The accolade was awarded by Trauma Informed Schools UK (TISUK) and The Centre for Child Mental Health. Feedback received from the TISUK team stated that the consultant who visited Corrie Primary was ‘highly impressed by standard of practice’ and ‘thoroughly enjoyed the visit’.

To achieve the award, schools must provide rigorous evidence of how they support their pupil’s mental health. This is followed by an inspection by a TISUK consultant.

To be eligible, a school must protect all pupils from harm and actively promote positive emotional and mental health and social development. Schools must also provide access to an emotionally available adult, be committed to reducing stress in pupils and staff and promote positive physical and emotional health. Staff must be trained in the ‘art of good listening’ to provide reflective and empathetic responses to pupils, staff and parents.

Councillor Leanne Feeley, Tameside Council’s executive member with responsibility for lifelong learning, said: "I am immensely proud of the staff and pupils at Corrie Primary School. It is not an easy task to achieve the Mentally Healthy School award. Their proactive effort to protect the wellbeing of their pupils is an achievement to be celebrated.’

"It is important to nurture and promote the positive emotional and physical health of our children. Ensuring that they know how to communicate how they feel effectively at a young age will help them deal better with their emotions and emotional situations throughout their life. Having access to staff to support them and who are trained to listen to their problems will influence their emotional growth and positively impact our children’s futures."  

The achievement will be recognised by an online awards ceremony in the next academic year.

Corrie Primary School Headteacher Naomi Cartledge and Deputy Headteacher Jenifer Ruddock said: "We are very proud of our achievement to gain such an award.  We work tirelessly to support the children, parents and staff at Corrie to become mentally healthy citizens, as a staff we are extremely passionate about the work we do improving mental health and wellbeing for all of our community.

"At Corrie, this means building positive relationships with individual families and children, we invest in training for all staff so they are equipped to be vigilant, emotionally available and supportive. We are delighted to be the first school in Tameside to be recognised with the accreditation."

To find out more about eligibility and how to apply for the award, visit https://www.traumainformedschools.co.uk/award

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