East London Catholic school wins top mental health award

Image: St Bonaventures

St Bonaventure's School in Forest Gate, east London, has successfully been reaccredited 'The School Mental Health Award' at Gold Level by the Carnegie Centre of Excellence for Mental Health Schools. This distinguished award reflects the school's outstanding commitment to promoting mental health and well-being for all students, staff and the wider school community.

The Gold Award recognises that St Bonaventure's is excelling in all eight competencies outlined

in the School Mental Health Award framework: Leadership and Strategy; Organisational structure and culture - staff; Organisational structure and culture - pupils; Support for staff; Professional development and learning; Support for pupils; Working with parents and carers; and Working with external services.

The report highlighted that care for students' mental health and wellbeing is at the heart of the school's provision, and that the pupils espouse the school's virtues of Faith, Hope, Charity, Integrity, Courage, Humility and Kinship, both in their learning and in their care for one another. The school actively offers a range of support to pupils via workshops, one-to-one interventions, and a range of peer-mentoring programmes.

Additionally, the school maintains a robust partnership with an art therapy organisation to provide further support.St Bonaventure's dedication to mental health extends beyond its students.

The school offers comprehensive staff well-being support including an 'open-door' policy, qualified staff to listen and signpost to relevant support including the school chaplain and school nurse, counselling services, and the school's EMHP (Educational Mental Health Practitioner) runs a series of self-care workshops as well as parental workshops on children's wellbeing and mental health.

Ms Roddy, Assistant Headteacher and Senior Mental Health Lead, commented: "The Gold Award for Mental Health, recognises the dedication of our staff, students, and community in fostering a supportive and inclusive environment where mental health is a priority."

The award was established in 2017 by the Carnegie Centre of Excellence for Mental Health in Schools - part of Leeds Beckett University, and the social enterprise Minds Ahead. The Centre aims to strengthen pupils' mental health by supporting schools to make a positive change at all levels of the UK's education system, improving students' outcomes and life chances.

Rachel C. Boyle, Dean of Leeds Beckett's Carnegie School of Education, said: "The achievement of the Mental Health award demonstrates the school's significant commitment to improving children's and staff's mental health and wellbeing. It is also a commitment to developing school practices that seek to improve awareness and expertise in creating safe and secure learning."

St Bonaventure's is a voluntary-aided Catholic Secondary School in Forest Gate for boys aged 11-16 and for boys and girls aged 16-18 in the Sixth Form. For more information visit - www.stbons.org/