Pocklington School has become the first Boarding School in the country to be awarded the Boarding School Mental Health Award for its outstanding mental health and wellbeing provision.

The School met the strict criteria demanded to achieve the Award, established in 2017 by the Carnegie Centre of Excellence for Mental Health in Schools - part of Leeds Beckett University - and social enterprise Minds Ahead. The Awards aims to strengthen pupils’ mental health by supporting schools to make a positive change, improving students’ outcomes and life chances.

Mark Ronan, Headmaster, said: “We are proud and delighted to be the first UK boarding school to receive the Boarding School Mental Health Award. It is a reflection of the individual focus, together with an emphasis on pastoral care, which we prioritise in every aspect of school life.”   

He added: “Working towards the award sharpened our focus and helped us reflect critically on what we do well and how we can further improve our mental health support.”

Assessors gave the School Silver level in the award. They found staff excelled in working with parents and carers to keep channels of communication open and support the mental wellbeing of both pupils and the parents themselves. They also noted the School’s strong links with external mental health services, as well as the support programmes available to staff.

They praised our wide range of activities to boost the wellbeing of pupils and staff, including a wellbeing service which includes pupils, staff and families. Our holistic approach includes help for both parents and pupils to ease the transition into boarding life and being away from home.

Other strengths cited in the Award include our strong track record of supporting and showcasing our work to other schools, the excellent transition service to help both pupils and parents settle quickly into the community, and the School’s engagement of an adult who speaks several Chinese languages to speak regularly to overseas boarders and help overcome any cultural difficulties which might prevent them from seeking support.

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 Pocklington School in this vital work and look forward to further collaboration.”

Mr Ronan said: “All of our staff are fully committed to supporting the wellbeing of our pupils and Clare Swann, our Head of Pupil Welfare, does an excellent job of keeping our community up-to-date on the help that is available.

“The clear developmental framework offered by the Mental Health Awards for Schools will help us continue to strengthen the emotional health and wellbeing support offered throughout the School, to the benefit of everyone.”