Outwood Primary Academy Greystone Recognised For ‘Excelling’ In Mental Health Work

A Ripon-based primary school has been awarded Gold Status by the Carnegie Centre of Excellence for Mental Health Award.

This award, led by Carnegie School of Education and Minds Ahead CIC, ensures schools are using evidence-based approaches, aligned to the latest professional guidelines surrounding mental health.

The assessment report found that Outwood Primary Academy Greystone has been ‘excelling across all eight competencies’ used as a framework for the award, and that ‘the school places huge emphasis on the community being at the heart of everything they do.’

During its assessment, the Quarry Moor Lane-based academy was found to place a ‘huge emphasis on the community being at the heart of everything they do.’

Victoria Kirkman, Principal at Outwood Primary Academy Greystone, said:

“We are absolutely delighted to have been awarded Gold Status. 

“At Outwood we believe in putting children first and this goes beyond just academically. We want to ensure the children we teach are supported to be good citizens who are assets to the community, as well as being supported to achieve academically. 

“To this aim, we want to make sure their mental health and wellbeing is looked after. We take immense pride in receiving this award and the hard work by our brilliant staff, especially the pastoral support of our Mental Health and Wellbeing Ambassadors, Mrs Dunn and Mrs Sutton, that it recognises.”

Within the assessment report is glowing praise of the academy’s work in the area:

“The school is rightly proud of the ethos that the community is at the heart of everything it does. This is reflected both in the local and wider community, including the national arena. Exemplary practice has been shared not just within the cluster of schools, but local authority-wide and nationally.”

The academy’s plans for the future were also noted in the report as being ‘ambitious’ as the academy plans to create an Academy of Excellence for Mental Health and Wellbeing, ‘with a view to disseminating exemplary practice on a local, national and global level.’

Victoria added:

“We are happy that our plans for the future were praised, and it has encouraged us to press on with these with the same positive attitude that we have approached all our work.

“We simply want to help as many people as we can, and not just the children we teach or the local community, but as people from across the globe.”

Professor Damien Page, Dean of Leeds Beckett’s Carnegie School of Education, said: “Achieving this award is not just recognition of a whole-school approach to mental health, it’s a recognition of the school’s commitment to improving the life chances of children.

“We’re truly proud to have worked with Outwood Primary Academy Greystone in this vital work and look forward to further collaboration.”

Dean Johnstone, founder and CEO of Minds Ahead said: “This award shines a light on the excellent work schools are doing to promote mental health for their community of children and adults.

“It is thrilling and humbling to learn about Outwood Primary Academy Greystone and the many other schools engaged in the quality award process. I’d like to offer my congratulations on this deserved recognition.”