Merseyside Schools are big winners at national awards
3 prizes
have gone to Schools in Merseyside at the Tes
Schools Awards,1 of the biggest nights in the UK
education calendar which was held on Friday, 17 June
2022.
Jack Turner from Everton Free School won the
Teaching Assistant of the Year Award, while the
whole School won Specialist Provision School of the
Year. Meanwhile Maricourt Catholic High School in
Maghull won the Pupil Mental Health Initiative of
the Year award.
Everton Free School is an extension of the
charitable arm of Everton Football Club, based in1
of the most deprived areas of the UK. The
alternative provision serves young people aged 13 to
16 who are either at risk of exclusion or have been
permanently excluded, offering them the opportunity
to improve their life chances and, in the words of
the School's late patron Sir Ken Robinson:- "find
their element."
Teaching assistant and musician Jack Turner embodies
that attitude, having worked at the School for more
than7 years, bringing what his employers describe as
"Jack magic" to the young people there through his
musical skill and all-round creativity. He has
repeatedly been able to connect with some of the
most disengaged students to help them develop their
self esteem and confidence.
Jack Turner, from Everton Free School said:- "This
award will mean the world to me and the School.
We're all made up! My advice to any aspiring
teaching assistant is to throw yourself into it and
get out of your comfort zone."
Everton Free School won the Specialist Provision
School of the Year award, partly due to recent exam
successes. The School achieved well above expected
progress in all core subjects for all year groups
compared with the rest of Liverpool and England.
Meanwhile their GCSE pass rate of 88% compares very
favourably with 57.7% for other AP providers in
England and 34.4% within Liverpool.
Judge Vijita Patel said:- "There's a very,
very strong philosophy that is distinctive about
this School; they've taken that and made it a
golden thread across the provision. They're very
focused on pupils' sense of self, their identity
and their aspirations, and they do this with a
curriculum model that's very explicit about
making sure pupils have a lesson each week that
is in the community, being part of the
community."
Claire Lamontagne, Head of Everton Free School
said:- "This is so timely; we're just about
to celebrate 10 years as a free School. We're
absolutely delighted to win this award: we've
made a huge team effort."
Maricourt Catholic High School won the Pupil Mental
Health Initiative of the Year award, thanks to work
that has gone on for a number of years.
During Pandemic recovery, the School focused on
resilience training, conducting a whole School
survey to identify the key cohorts of students,
before providing training to 400 young people across
all year groups. They also teamed up with Everton in
the Community to introduce a 20 hour self esteem and
personal development programme for 60 Year 8 and 9
students, who were most impacted by the Pandemic and
were finding it harder to bounce back.
The School has recognised that this work needs to
continue, which has led to a whole School:- 'Call it
Out' programme and the recruitment of wellbeing
champions. These champions have recently launched
their own podcast, taken part in a national respect
campaign and teamed up with a coaching company to
extend the wellbeing resources.
Judge Dr Tara Porter said:- "This was a really
strong submission, with wellbeing front and
centre at the School, with wellbeing
interventions starting in Year 7 and continuing
all through School life."
Danielle Lawler, Assistant HeadTeacher of Maricourt
Catholic High School said:- "This award is a
testament to all the work that everyone has put
in for the students, both pre and post Covid.
The students and staff have all contributed to
this success."
Chief judge of the Tes Schools Awards and Editor of
Tes magazine Jon Severs said:- "The Tes
Schools Awards are the Oscars of education,
recognising and celebrating everything that's
great about our Schools and School staff. We had
so many entries from Teachers and Schools across
the country; choosing the winners was no easy
task. Congratulations to the winning Schools and
thank you to all School staff who do such vital
work every day."
The Tes Schools Awards were held at the Grosvenor
Hotel, on London's Park Lane. They were held in
person for the 1st time in 3 years, after 2 virtual
ceremonies.
For the full list of winners of the Tes Schools
Awards, visit:-
TES.Com.
Construction bosses urged to take employee mental health more seriously
AS part of its Building
Minds campaign, health and safety expert Citation,
is urging bosses in the construction industry to
take employee mental health more seriously as the
mental health crisis in the sector continues to
worsen.
The construction sector has some of the worst rates
of mental health than any other sector in the UK,
with men in the industry 3 times more likely to die
from suicide than the average male.
In an industry notorious for its poor mental health
rates, research carried out by Citation has found
that 72% of firms in the sector admitted to having
no dedicated policy for providing mental health
support.
Despite manager mental health training being 1 of the
most effective ways of reducing employee mental
health struggles, the research also highlighted more
than 70% of managers in the sector are unsure of
what support they can offer struggling staff
members.
Whilst having trained managers can help to manage
existing mental health problems in the industry, a
statement that more than 80% of construction bosses
agree with, Citation also believes more needs to be
done to change the culture around mental health in
construction.
The health and safety expert's research found that
employers believe the reasons for these high rates
of mental health problems are due to the perceived
stigma around talking about mental health. The
research shows that 78% of construction employers
believe staff are uncomfortable speaking about
mental health, with 77% stating their staff avoid
talking about it as they think it shows:-
'weakness.'
These shocking figures show that employers need to
work harder to foster a more empathetic culture and
create an environment where employees feel
comfortable speaking up if they're struggling.
As well as the perceived stigma around mental
health, industry bosses agree that there are other
contributing factors to the poor rates including:-
stress from general life (64%) and from working long
hours (52%).
It's the employer's responsibility to create an
environment where staff can speak about their mental
struggles, and although the majority of bosses don't
currently provide mental health training, more than
82% agree that more training and support is needed.
Lee Mills, Service Director, at Citation said:- "There
is a lot of work that needs to be done by
employers in the construction industry. The dire
rates of mental health issues in the sector
can't continue, and the most effective way of
tackling these is through training. Not only
does training equip managers with the tools to
support struggling employees, it also gives them
more confidence in talking about the topic,
which in turn, filters down to the wider
workforce, helping to lessen the perceived
stigma around it. Our research really highlights
how serious the perceived stigma in the industry
is, and it's time that bosses step up to try and
do something about it."
As part of the Building Minds campaign, Citation has
teamed up with the construction industry's longest
established trade body, The National Federation of
Builders (NFB) to find a solution on how to address
the perceived stigma around mental health.
Danny Clake, commercial director at The NFB, said:-
"The gendered nature of construction presents a
key concern when attempting to tackle the high
suicide rates. Males who are employed in male
dominated occupations have been found to be less
likely to seek help from a mental health
professional. Primarily, men tend to be in full
time employment, with greater job strain and
demands, and lower job control. Long working
hours, high psychological demands, and
work-family imbalance have all presented as
significant factors for mental health concerns
in men, which are combined with a culture of
silence between men around discussing mental
health. Promoting mental health initiatives in
the workplace gets a conversation going, opening
the floor for men to feel validated, which may
be the difference between them seeking help
versus staying silent."
