Evidence was insufficient to show impact for this benchmark.

Evidence was insufficient to show impact for this benchmark.

Evidence was insufficient to show impact for this benchmark.

While there was some useful data about pupil wellbeing and support included, there was no 'before' data to compare to the current data.

Evidence was insufficient to show impact for this benchmark.

Evidence was insufficient to show impact for this benchmark.

Evidence was insufficient to show impact for this benchmark.

Evidence was insufficient to show impact for this benchmark.

Pendle Community High School and College demonstrates a strong, policy-driven commitment to promoting positive attitudes towards mental and physical health. The Mental Health and Wellbeing Policy is underpinned by trauma-informed practice and the THRIVE approach, ensuring that wellbeing is embedded within daily routines, restorative practice and pupil voice initiatives. Student-led wellbeing walks and clubs reinforce this culture, creating safe spaces for open conversation and peer support. Pupils show increasing confidence in discussing emotions, greater engagement in wellbeing activities and improved emotional regulation. Wellbeing is clearly visible as a lived value across the school.

Case studies demonstrate careful assessment, sensory profiling and structured regulation strategies that respond directly to individual needs. Pupils benefit from imaginative therapeutic activities, collaborative planning and consistent classroom implementation. Impact is evident in improved self-regulation, reduced dysregulation behaviours and increased independence. Pupils develop perseverance, emotional awareness and social confidence over time. The detailed examples of Lucie’s sessions illustrate growth in resilience, identity development and emotional literacy, showing that interventions lead to meaningful and sustained progress.

Emotional wellbeing is embedded across the PSHE and RSE curriculum and reinforced through restorative approaches, pupil voice activities and structured wellbeing sessions. Pupils are supported to understand identity, friendships and emotional responses within a coherent curriculum framework. Challenge-based activities encourage perseverance and reflection, helping pupils build resilience through experience. The integration of trauma-informed language and relational practice ensures that emotional development is not isolated from academic learning but woven into everyday school life.

Structured activities, clubs and sensory regulation strategies demonstrate how movement supports focus and wellbeing. Sessions such as football challenges and sensory garden activities are used intentionally to develop perseverance, release energy and improve mood. Pupils increasingly recognise physical activity as a strategy for managing emotions and preparing for learning, which contributes to improved classroom engagement and readiness.

Staff are trained to identify warning signs of mental health concerns and follow established procedures. Individual Care Plans, targeted support and multi-agency collaboration ensure that pupils receive timely and appropriate intervention. This proactive approach leads to earlier identification of need, improved emotional outcomes and a strong sense of safety within the school community.

Staff training is strategic and comprehensive. Annual INSET on Attachment and Trauma ensures that all staff understand the impact of ACEs and emotional regulation needs. The THRIVE approach, Team Teach training and ongoing CPD promote consistent, compassionate responses to behaviour. Staff share a common language focused on connection rather than blame. This has strengthened staff confidence, improved consistency across classrooms and supported better behavioural and emotional outcomes for pupils.

The school values strong partnerships with parents and carers. Regular coffee mornings, workshops and direct access to pastoral and health professionals provide structured opportunities for engagement. New parents are welcomed through personalised meetings that explore family circumstances and support needs. This approach strengthens communication, builds trust and equips parents with strategies to support emotional wellbeing at home. The impact is evident in improved collaboration between home and school and feedback is gathered at different events that positively reflect collaborative relationships and shared understanding of learning needs.

Pupil leadership is a notable strength. Selected students lead the Wellbeing Club and Friendship Club, planning activities that promote inclusion, have impacted peer support, friendships and confidence. Wellbeing walks provide structured opportunities for open dialogue in a relaxed environment. These initiatives have developed leadership skills, empathy and maturity among pupil leaders while increasing social inclusion for vulnerable pupils.

In addition to its universal provision delivered through assemblies, the PSHE programme etc, the school uses both observations and data to identify children in need of additional support. Evidence from both pupil and staff voice shows the positive impact of a range of strategies, including Lego therapy and lunch clubs, on children’s ability to self-regulate, take turns, listen to others etc. ISPs also help pupils and staff to understand which strategies can help individual children to support their own wellbeing.

In addition to extensive work on wellbeing in the PSHE programme, all children have access to wellbeing activities (meditation, physical activity etc) on a daily basis and are able to articulate how these helps them to self-regulate. Evidence submitted included feedback from pupils showing the positive impact of regular ‘Being Me’ lessons on their understanding of what constitutes good physical and mental wellbeing.

Feedback shows that the school’s developmental curriculum has helped even the youngest children to gain an understanding of the impact of exercise, diet, sleep etc on their wellbeing. Pupil voice has helped to shape the broad range of physical activities on offer at break and lunch times and children are able to articulate the positive impact that exercise has on their wellbeing.

This work is still developing but pupils have already enthusiastically identified a number of additional activities or resources that they would like across the school to support wellbeing. They have contributed directly to the shaping of the programme in a number of ways – for example by devising rules to govern how the various playground zones are used.

The school has implemented many different wellbeing-related measures and they have seen an increase in positive attitudes. Initiatives that have been introduced have been welcomed by pupils and this has rippled through to the whole school community. Pupils report feeling more comfortable with talking about their feelings, and the language they use to describe their experience to staff members has increased in complexity and frequency. The data shows noticeable changes in behaviour-related incidents.

There has been a significant shift in the amount of provision in place for pupils since starting the award, and pupils have reaped the benefits of these improvements. For exanple, in terms of ‘uptake’ in number of pupils engaging in physical clubs, there has been a 32% increase Sept 2023-Sept 2025. The wellbeing ambassador-led work has been particularly beneficial for pupils.

Staff now feel more confident identifying early signs of anxiety or other mental health issues and either reporting them to pastoral staff or engaging students directly and pupils report that they talk more about feelings now and how to deal with stress. Parents have noted how the sleep champion challenge has helped pupils at home too.

Some improvements have been made in the school, particularly with food choices and active travel, and (as previously mentioned) sleep. The school has plans to continue collecting data in these areas and more.

Many pupils knew where they could go for help previously, and it meant that the school nurse was overrun with demand, so the school has identified need for greater support for mental health specialists - and pupils are now directed to specialists in a local clinic to alleviate pressure. The number of PSHE lessons have increased for pupils so that they are having regular input about where to source help.

Staff report feeling well supported to discuss emotional health and are happy that they are supported by an experienced school nurse with mental health experience, both for pupils and themselves. 12 staff members have completed ENSA training,
and 3 have completed Papyrus Suicide Prevention training - so a better-trained workforce has enabled pupils to be surrounded by confident staff members. MyConcerns logs have increased over the last 3 years, as staff regularly log concerns.

New initiatives for parents have been introduced to help them support their children's needs, and the feedback from parents has been positive. Pupils are noticing the differences in their families, as they feel better understood, which supports their mental health.

Applications for Student listeners have increased and the role of Wellbeing Prefect has been added to the School Prefect roles, so pupils now have increased responsibilities in areas to support wellbeing. The school has improved its publicity of the role so more pupils are benefitting from the initiative. Pupil feedback is resoundingly positive, and this shows how the efforts put in have made a positive difference.

The evidence submitted was insufficient to show impact for this benchmark, and did not provide 'before' and 'after' data.

The evidence submitted was insufficient to show impact for this benchmark, and did not provide 'before' and 'after' data.

The evidence submitted was insufficient to show impact for this benchmark, and did not provide 'before' and 'after' data.

The evidence submitted was insufficient to show impact for this benchmark, and did not provide 'before' and 'after' data.

The evidence submitted was insufficient to show impact for this benchmark, and did not provide 'before' and 'after' data.

The evidence submitted was insufficient to show impact for this benchmark, and did not provide 'before' and 'after' data.

The evidence submitted was insufficient to show impact for this benchmark, and did not provide 'before' and 'after' data.

The evidence submitted was insufficient to show impact for this benchmark, and did not provide 'before' and 'after' data.