Outstanding Approach to Wellbeing

Sponsored by Sports Direct

Children and young people are more effective learners when they are happy, healthy, and thriving. Staff are better educators when they are genuinely supported. This award recognises a school or setting committed to prioritising wellbeing alongside academic achievement and demonstrate a holistic, impactful approach to student and staff wellbeing by embedding the four Well School pillars. 

Finalists

HIGHLY COMMENDED

Burnley High School, Burnley 

 

Burnley High School serves one of the most deprived communities in Lancashire, where pupils face significant barriers linked to poverty, mental health and low physical activity. Recognising wellbeing as essential to learning, over three years the school worked to implement the Youth Sport Trust’s Well School framework, helping embed wellbeing across every aspect of school life.  

A strong Well Culture now underpins daily practice, built on relational, trauma-informed approaches and has helped to create a clear sense of belonging across the entire school community. Staff and pupils describe the school as calm, safe and caring, with predictable routines and wellbeing embedded into policies. Recent staff surveys show 100% feel valued and believe wellbeing is taken seriously. 

Through Lead Well, pupil voice and leadership have flourished. Student Ambassadors lead assemblies, anti-bullying campaigns and active play, while staff contribute through wellbeing working groups and shared leadership structures.  

Physical activity has been transformed through Move Well. Active warm-ups, movement breaks, inclusive clubs and targeted programmes for under-served pupils mean 92% of pupils now achieve 30 minutes of activity daily, while 70% reach 60 minutes (an incredible increase from 32% in 2023). Participation in sport among under-served pupils has risen by 40% and similarly, attendance of [vulnerable learners] at after school sports clubs has risen by 38%. 

As a result, attendance has improved significantly, earning Burnley High School national recognition for reducing persistent absence and re-engaging vulnerable young people. Behaviour incidents and exclusions are now rare, while academic progress and focus in lessons has significantly improved, particularly for students previously at risk of becoming disengaged. 

WINNER

Windsor Academy Trust, Halesowen 

 

Windsor Academy Trust (WAT) is a family of 15 schools across the West Midlands, united by a clear belief that young people thrive academically when health and wellbeing are intentionally prioritised. The Youth Sport Trust’s Well School framework has been embedded at trust-wide level, placing PE, sport and physical activity at the heart of its vision to help pupils achieve and thrive. 

Windsor Academy Trust empowers both pupils and staff to shape their environments. Well Culture is driven by Senior leaders ensuring wellbeing is at the heart of operations; directly informing policy, resourcing and decision-making, and is supported by regular wellbeing surveys, targeted staff interventions and resilience training. Staff expertise is also strengthened through Youth Sport Trust-informed professional learning, supporting inclusive, high-quality PE and character development across all schools. Additionally, pupils act as Wellbeing Ambassadors, Student Senators and Sports Captains, and are supported through leadership development.  

All primary schools within the trust deliver structured active breaks, and curriculum time for PE exceeds national recommendations across the trust. Over 75% of primary pupils attend at least one physical activity club weekly, supported by mass participation events such as WAT-A-Run. Strong PE and dance pathways extend into secondary education, contributing to positive progression into higher education. 

With technology and social media having a significant impact on young people’s wellbeing in the modern era, the trust’s Live Well pillar focus centres around equipping pupils to sensibly and safely navigate a digital world. Their comprehensive curriculum covers digital literacy, online safety and mental wellbeing. 

Windsor Academy Trust has also worked in partnership with school trusts and NHS partners to develop Co-Creating Healthy Futures: Schools and Health – A Framework. The framework recognises that education and health are deeply intertwined; where we find educational disadvantage, so often we find poorer health outcomes, and vice versa. Therefore, it provides guidance and examples for a new era of collaboration between schools and health services, to improve education and health outcomes and the life chances of children and young people. 

Full list of shortlisted entries:

  • Lime Tree Primary, Academy, Trafford 

  • Haberdashers Crayford Primary, Bexley 

  • Dame Dorothy Primary School, Sunderland 

  • Broadbent Fold Primary, Tameside 

  • Windsor Academy Trust, Halesowen 

  • Burnley High School, Burnley 

  • Our Lady and St Chad Catholic Academy, Wolverhampton 

  • St Luke's Church of England School, Exeter 

  • The GORSE Academies Trust, Leeds