Gesher primary wins mental health award

A pioneering Jewish primary school has won the prestigious School Mental Health Award.

Gesher School was awarded a silver standard for its outstanding mental health and wellbeing provision by the Carnegie Centre of Excellence for Mental Health in Schools

Gesher, a primary school in Pinner dedicated to children with special needs, was recognised for its “whole school approach” to supporting students, staff, families and carers.

It offers a range of activities to the pupils, including mindfulness, yoga, dramatherapy, regular counselling, art therapy, celebration assemblies, family workshops, and Lego-therapy.

Additionally, the school works closely with a number of specialist services including social services and the NHS’s child and adolescent mental health services.

Tamaryn Yartu, Gesher’s headteacher, said: “I’m extremely proud of Gesher achieving this award. At Gesher we believe that happy children learn, and that now more than ever, positive mental health and emotional wellbeing is critical to our children and young people being able to navigate the changing world.”

The award was established in 2017 by the Carnegie Centre of Excellence for Mental Health in Schools – part of Leeds Beckett University – and social enterprise Minds Ahead.

Dr Steve Burton, interim 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 and engaging with the wider community including staff and parents/carers.”