In 2022, The Leys gained the Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health Awareness kitemark for their whole school's good practice and support for staff, children and their families.
Following the submission of an updated review document, the school was visited in September by 2 coordinators from the Emotional Mental Wellbeing in Education Team (EMWiE) who walked around the site with the school’s Mental Health Lead looking at the current provision and support available both in the classrooms, individually and on the school website. Just before half term staff heard that the school had been awarded the new Emotional and Mental Wellbeing in Schools Mark, gaining an ‘advanced practice’ grade having scored 57 out of 63 on the assessed criteria against the Department for Education’s 8 principles of a whole school approach to promoting mental health and wellbeing.
Staff and governors were delighted for this recognition of all the hard work which has gone into supporting the children and their families for many years.
The school’s Well-Being Champions, a representative from each class who work with the Mental Health Leads to support their peers, were excited when they heard that the school had retained their status.
Mrs Barr (Mental Health Lead) said that,
“We are thrilled that we have also been selected to be involved in a new county project and are currently training ten Year 6 children to become Hertfordshire Youth Ambassadors. This programme is a collaboration between three local mental health organisations - With Youth, Just Talk, and The Sandbox - working together to involve young people from schools across Hertfordshire in important mental health conversations. This will give our children a voice at county level, encourage them to proactively look after their own and their peers' wellbeing and help steer local provision for the future. Hopefully it will also help our children to reduce the stigma associated with mental health in the future.”
