Carlton le Willows Academy is one of the first schools in the country to be awarded an accolade that recognises commitment to developing the wellbeing of students.
The Bounce Forward Healthy Minds kitemark is only awarded to schools who have successfully implemented and maintained good quality teaching and learning to develop healthy minds.
In recognising the accolade, Lord Richard Layard of the London School of Economics said Carlton le Willows was "leading the way".
He added: “Your school has committed to an approach that is proven to improve the lives of young people that will be statutory for all schools from September 2020.”
The award comes in recognition of the school’s character, resilience and wellbeing lessons, which form an established part of the citizenship curriculum and help equip students with skills to cope with obstacles.
Every Year 7 student at the school is taught resilience lessons which have been validated by national charity Bounce Forward.
Mike Tomlinson, head of character, resilience and wellbeing: “At Carlton le Willows we place education of the whole child at the heart of the curriculum.
"We believe that teaching resilience to our Year 7 students helps them recognise and acknowledge their own strengths and vulnerabilities and learn habits that help them get the most out of any given task as they progress through school.”
Starting as a research project by the London School of Economics and Bounce Forward, Healthy Minds was funded by the Education Endowment Foundation and trialled in 34 schools over five years.
The curriculum is now available to all schools. It consists of 113 lessons over four years and includes topics such as resilience, mental health, social media, mindfulness, sex education, alcohol and drug awareness, relationships, decision making, media awareness and more.
